Introduction to the Desk of the Left

I'm going to keep my posts brief and to the point. I dislike frivolous talk. I can be verbose when the topic demands it, but for the most part I'm going to do my best to take complex political issues and remove the excessive emotional pandering, fact distortions, and unproductive rhetoric. I will not always succeed at this, so I encourage dissent and questioning in the comments.

A quick definition of the term "Left", first, since it's in the title and all. In the United States and much of the western world, the term is misued to mean Democrat or Liberal (or just to mean "NonConservative" amongst some of the more radical right). This is incorrect. It's a misunderstanding of the actual spectrum of politics, which spreads beyond the system of Capitalism to a wide variety of dynamic economic and social systems. What is deemed "Left" in America is actually closer to center right on the actual political scale (since the democrats still believe in private ownership of the means of production, which is a trait unique to Capitalism and other Authoritarian Institutions).

I dislike labels. But the closest one to the set of beliefs I hold is "Democratic Socialist". "Libertarian Socialist" is also acceptable. The core of Socialism is two-fold: Common ownership of the means of production (workers owning a part of the factory they work at and having democratic influence on company policies and wages would be a good example of this) and the abolishment of privately owned productive property, which is a crucial part of wage labor (which I would be happy to argue is very similar to chattel slavery and is fundamentally immoral).

I don't want to take up the entirety of the post with an explanation of Socialism, so if anyone has questions about that, feel free to ask them. Or research it. Either one, really. I actually feel that I write better when I'm prompted, so I should have a method of asking me questions up on the site soon.

It's perfectly acceptable to debate me. I welcome it. A man is bettered through debate and discussion and my views are useless if they can't hold up to questioning and review. If a belief is unable to stand up to a critical eye, then it is to be discarded.