UserWiki:IvarsBalodis

I'm not too active on here and I haven't been since last year. This page will merely be a brief summary of my ideological beliefs and opinions on other ideologies. To sum, I support agrarianism within the framework of  liberal democratic institutions (i.e., not wanting to undue the successes of the  industrial revolution and return to subsistence farming, but rather policies to better economic and social conditions in rural areas and small towns), supported by a  decentralized,  ownership-based economy which respects the principles of the  free market as a method of spurring growth, used to fund  welfare for the benefit of the nation's citizens. I support a moderate and  progressive-conservative social policy, and support  civic and  cultural nationalism. On the political compass, I sit on the center, though usually very so slightly on the  side.

Agrarianism
One of the main tenets of my ideology is the support for agrarianism. Unlike the sterotypical view of (radical) agrarianism, which at least believes the industrial revolution was a huge mistake, and at most believes that the industrial revolution should be completely undone and a return to subsistence farming should be done as quickly as possible, I believe that agrarianism is compatible with modern technology and liberal democratic instutions. As such, I support an agrarian viewpoint that is closer the liberal agrarianism. Within the framework of liberal democracy, we should promote values and ways of thinking common to rural and semi-rural/small-town communities such as self-sufficiency, high trust in tightly-knit communities, and a respect for farmers' interests. We should also enact policies that support these values such as the creation and enthusiasm for small and locally-sourced businesses though low-interest and interest-free small business loans and loans for small farmers (or the Jeffersonian "yeoman farmer"), "smart-growth" development of small towns that limits urban sprawl and degradation of the environment, and regulations against large agroprocessors and factory farms which are anti-free market and anti-competitive.

Ownership Market Economy
I believe that a perfect middle ground between capitalism and socialism can be achieved with a mostly free-market economy (with regulations mainly to protect against anti-competitive practices, such as the formation of trusts, as well as labor laws to ensure the proper compensation and welfare of the workers) that encourages widespread private ownership of businesses and property. To that end, I borrow a lot of my views from distributist economic theory. I understand that "making literally everyone a business or land owner" is a utopian and unrealistic idea, but it does not mean that we should not attempt to implement policies which promote widespread private ownership as much as we can. These policies would come in the form of tax credits for small private businesses and worker cooperatives, increased taxation, regulation, and breakups of monopolies or corporations engaging in monopolistic behavior, and social housing projects which ensure a family can purchase a home at a reasonable price without having to worry about crippling mortgage interest and debt.

Welfarism
Much of the profits generated from the aforementioned ownership market economy should be used to fund welfare programs for our nation's populace. These include a decentralized single-payer healthcare system not unlike Canada's Medicaid, tuition-free undergraduate and trade colleges with grants for universities, generous sick pay and maternity/paternity/parental leave, and social assistance for the homeless and impoverished. Welfare payments used as social assistance should be used to supplement, rather than replace, income from work so as to reduce dependence on welfare.

Decentralization
Unlike most who cite social democracy and welfarism as an economic influence, I take a much more decentralist approach to civic and institutional organizations. Given that I live in the United States, a region with highly-diverse communities, geography, and climates, formulating a region's policies, rules, and institutions from the ground-up on the local level makes the most sense. Institutions and programs will be tailored to address policies much differently between California and Maine, for example. This principle also extends to welfare programs and regulatory agencies. Much of this is borrowed from Braun Spencer's idea of agrarian social democracy; for example, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in the United States, welfare programs administered in Denmark, and Canada's universal healthcare program Medicaid. Alongside this will be strong affirmation of states' rights and minimal interference in the federal government in states' legal affairs.

Progressive Conservatism
On cultural issues, I take a moderate, reformist, progressive-conservative, or classically progressive stance depending on the issue and circumstance. I am against exterme conservatism and reactionism just the same as extreme and revolutionary progressivism. All societies and cultures have examined and adapted traditions to fit their current conditions, while maintaining useful and harmless customs deemed acceptable within the development of said culture. That makes conserving for the sake of conserving as well as destroying all past cultural elements for the sake of "progress" both ahistorical and impractical. To that end, I believe that reform is inherently good, if undertaken incrementally while closely examining each cultural practice and adapting if needed.

On specific social and cultural issues, I support the right of same-sex marriage, oppose abortion (but support widespread availability of contraceptives as a replacement to prevent them in the first place), believe that non-hard drugs should be decriminalized but treated as a mental health issue warranting rehabilitiation, oppose pornography (citing its detrimental effects on healthy relationships) and prostitution (much like drug use, should not be a crime but rather warranting rehabilitiation).

Government Power
In line with my ideas of decentralization, I also believe that governments should be less-involved in the lives of citizens, and citizens should be allowed to act and say as they please so long as they are not outright committing acts of violence. There should be strong protections to allow whistleblowers to expose any potential corruption or misdeeds of the government, which adds an additional accountability measure to ensure the power of the state is kept in check. The government should not be abolished as we should still have public utilities like emergency services, transportation, healthcare, and certain economic regulatory agencies (although administered at a decentral level), but other "alphabet agencies" such as the CIA, FBI, and DEA, and statewide and local equivalents, should have their powers strongly-limited.