Right: 0.42, Authoritarian: 0.74 (pretty much right in the centre), and I'd identify myself as fiscally conservative and culturally very liberal.

I like free markets, but I don't agree that businesses always act in the best interests of all people and thus need to be regulated to some extent. I also think certain public services (especially health care) are rights and actually serve to the benefit of everyone. That is, if everyone enjoys a certain minimal standard of living, then everyone is happy. If we had too many people living in poverty, then I believe that would actually affect the SOL of the rich. Why do you think rich people don't try to be even richer by living in poor neighbourhoods? It's not ideal to live amongst a bunch of impoverished people.

Also I don't think everyone is capable of making smart and/or moral decisions, so I believe there has to be a good deal of authority. If a person makes a decision that doesn't really affect anyone else, then whatever. But that's rarely ever the case.

lol!

Then you'd be voting for the Communist Party (the Marxist-Leninist Party in Canada). They're not on that graph because they died in the 90's and they will never succeed in any first world country.

Yes, THAT article only notes history back to the 16th century because that's around the time when a large number of British settlers began arriving and colonizing the area. That doesn't mean there wasn't anyone or anything here before the 16th century though. That aspect of Canada is just as important as any other part.

Do you know what a melting pot is? A melting pot is the combination of several ethnicities and the output of one common ethnicity. That is what the U.S. is; that is not what Canada is. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melting_pot

If humans are generally stupid, what makes you think a bunch of humans acting as the "government" will make the best decisions?

If people don't wear helmets despite the risks associated with not wearing them, that's their own fault. While we're at it, let's ban alcohol, tobacco, chocolate, and anything else unhealthy. After all, we're not privileged enough to make our decisions.

And no, I don't think we ever finished our discussion and I stand by the fact that government is slavery.

Jesus, man. You try to be difficult.

I think Army phrased that incorrectly, but I think it is pretty obvious what he meant to say: not everyone is smart or considerate of other people. The government tries to ensure that even stupid and/or inconsiderate people act as smart/considerate people do.

Even if he phrased it as he meant it, the government is NOT generally made of people who are stupid.

Right. I didn't think I'd have to specifically define "stupid" for Iansharer. My stupid I simply meant humans don't always see the big picture, don't always look out for their own safety, and they're often too selfish to care about others' safety. That is why we have government, among several other reasons.

Your logic is so F'ed. Ridiculous.

You falsely identified government regulations (and taxation, previously) as slavery and then made an argument based on that false identification. This is like saying, "5 degrees Celsius is hot; therefore, you should wear shorts and a t-shirt when it is 5 degrees out."

You do realize that you're not the only person on the face of this Earth? Because there are many other people around, there needs to be some administrative body. It's human nature to need some sort of leader(s). Unfortunately, not everyone is going to agree that those leaders are good or the best available. Those people just have to deal with the reality that the majority rules.