AMA AMA BD

[blockerdave]

Refreshing to see a post about politics like this

Thoughts on Brexit?

I thought it was wonderful. No country has ever got poorer in the long run by becoming more free and more democratic, or by trading more.

 

[blockerdave]

Wow that's interesting.

So what do you think about religion like Islam, Christianity Hinduism etc?

As I said in my answer to @SweetCaroline - all religions are bollocks.

in a universe of our size, there is no god with a special interest in one species on one planet; in a world with natural selection there is no need for miracles; and in a philosphical existence with humanism and liberalism there is absolutely no justification for sourcing morality from texts thousands of years old.

 

[Deleted member 46200]

As I said in my answer to @SweetCaroline - all religions are bollocks.

in a universe of our size, there is no god with a special interest in one species on one planet; in a world with natural selection there is no need for miracles; and in a philosphical existence with humanism and liberalism there is absolutely no justification for sourcing morality from texts thousands of years old.

Now I would beg to differ but as this is an AMA then no place for my views here... ?

 

[blockerdave]

Now I would beg to differ but as this is an AMA then no place for my views here... ?

I'm a liberal. Anything goes.

Or I can ask the question specifically in your thread if you prefer?

 

[Chris Swift]

Do you think shell suits should make a comeback?

 

[Deleted member 46200]

I'm a liberal. Anything goes.

Or I can ask the question specifically in your thread if you prefer?

Up to you ask me what you want.

 

[El Loco]

Do you think it is fair to say that the tag 'liberal' has a stigma attached to it? Why do you think this is the case?
Do you resent other so-called liberals for the bad press that they give to themselves?

 

[CerealKiller]

I thought it was wonderful. No country has ever got poorer in the long run by becoming more free and more democratic, or by trading more.

I agree that the EU has problems, but that's a quite extreme view, in my opinion. Almost half of GB's exports go to EU countries, so wouldn't putting barriers between you and them not be so good? And can you provide details about the "becoming more democratic"? Never understood that argument.

 

[CerealKiller]

I consider myself a classical liberal (in the 19th century utilitarian sense); which in England in 2017 = dangerously right wing libertarian.

Do you think the same can be applied to left-wing politicians?

 

[Master Khan]

As I said in my answer to @SweetCaroline - all religions are bollocks.

in a universe of our size, there is no god with a special interest in one species on one planet; in a world with natural selection there is no need for miracles; and in a philosphical existence with humanism and liberalism there is absolutely no justification for sourcing morality from texts thousands of years old.

Even though I disagree but thanks for answering

 

[blockerdave]

Do you think shell suits should make a comeback?

Depending on wear you go in London and the density of the Eastern European population it's possible to argue they've already come back!!

In General, as I've never been remotely fashionable and am certainly well past the age at which I would try to be, I'm all for anything that makes youngsters look foolish so yeah they definitely should.

I recently updated my "look" by stopping wearing jeans and wearing chinos instead. I wear them exclusively with logo t-shirts and retro Adidas. My philosophy is if I dress like an eccentric software millionaire/billionaire I may hopefully become one.

 

[blockerdave]

Do you think it is fair to say that the tag 'liberal' has a stigma attached to it? Why do you think this is the case?
Do you resent other so-called liberals for the bad press that they give to themselves?

I don't think it has a stigma so much as it is increasingly applied to people who have no business being referred to as such.

In the US, it's generally applied to those who are left wing, which is bizarre because the left is generally about restricting freedom in the name of supposed equality.

Things are changing now but certainly in the 2nd half of the 20th century generally the left was socially liberal and economically conservative whereas the right was socially conservative and economically liberal.

I'm liberal on both sides. My intellectual heroes are Locke, Stuart Mill, Mises, Hayek.

 

[blockerdave]

I agree that the EU has problems, but that's a quite extreme view, in my opinion. Almost half of GB's exports go to EU countries, so wouldn't putting barriers between you and them not be so good? And can you provide details about the "becoming more democratic"? Never understood that argument.

I am certainly not in favour of any trade barriers whatsoever, with anyone. One of the clinching arguments against the EU for me is that the Customs Union and Common External Tariff restricts trade and makes us poorer. The CAP keeps non-european food producers in places like Africa poor and is a morally repugnant wasteful policy.

Not enough people in the world understand the theory of comparative advantage, when it is one of the greatest insights in human history up with evolution/natural selection and relativity. Free Trade makes people richer. One of the reasons Trump is such a deluded fool is he's an anti-free trader.

Re democracy, I am a localist. Democratic decisions should be made at the lowest possible level, by people who are members of and accountable to the community that will be affected by the decision.

 

[blockerdave]

Do you think the same can be applied to left-wing politicians?

I don't quite get the premise of the question.

Suffice to say I have a very low opinion of the modern left, which I consider to be full of intellectually dishonest charlatans or dangerously deluded fools.

That said, I often read "spiked" online and they consider themselves marxists. Brendan O'Neill is one of the most honest and astute political commentators in Britain today.

 

[Dutch]

Will we ever discover other life forms and should even attempt to do so?