[quote=@SleepingSilence] Well that certainly isn't what the Wikipedia article on what being a social democrat is.[/quote] Well, then read again. From the article: [quote] Social democracy is a political, social and economic ideology that supports economic and social interventions to promote social justice within the framework of a liberal democratic polity and capitalist economy.[/quote] [quote]In this period, social democrats embraced a mixed economy based on the predominance of private property, with only a minority of essential utilities and public services under public ownership. As a result, social democracy became associated with Keynesian economics, state interventionism and the welfare state, while abandoning the prior goal of replacing the capitalist system (factor markets, private property and wage labor)[4] with a qualitatively different socialist economic system.[8][9][10][/quote] Social democracy, at least the way it is often called for in the US, seeks to work [i]within[/i] the framework of a capitalist society. Meaning it aims to put social/public policies in place, without completely getting rid of privatization. So much so that it is/was criticized by actual socialists for having more or less surrendered to capitalist ideas by aspiring to work within the capitalist system as opposed to completely destroying it like socialists want to do. Social Democracy is a compromise. [quote]Well thankfully, you need a license to buy any gun. (Among other things.)[/quote] I didn't say anything about gun licenses. I said it's harder to get a driver's license than it is to legally get a gun. [quote]Well I'm not fact checking anyone here. What do you think the problem is when it comes to people making poor health and lifestyle choices? Is it solely because of Capitalism and overabundance? Well, the U.K actually is the 6th 'fattiest' in population above the United States. So probably not. Cheapest food? (Kind of goes hand in hand.) So feel free to give me your speculation. (If you want...)[/quote] Bad food is cheap. Poor people buy cheap food. We have a lot of poor people. And yeah, to an extent I think it also comes down to shitty dietary choices. But I don't know, I'm just guessing. [quote]Who exactly decides what 'basic' things people need? We that be enough to satisfy creatures that desire? Okay, so now fancy car. Well, is transportation a basic thing? If not, why not? Everyone does it, everyone needs to do it. Right?[/quote] I wouldn't consider a car a basic need, but even if we did consider it a basic need for the sake of argument, it's a problem that would be solved with better salaries. There's a lot of poor people out there who have so many things they have to pay (and barely have the money to) that a car, for a lot of them, is too much to get and maintain on top of everything else. A living wage is not just about paying people enough to live; it's about paying people enough to live [i]comfortably[/i] and with dignity. [quote]If so, where does that rabbit hole go? Free bikes? Probably cheaper and more environmentally friendly than cars, so yeah why not?[/quote] Again, pay people living wages so they aren't struggling with basic necessities and everything else (like transportation) becomes accessible to them as a result. If they want to get a car with the money they have left after the basic needs are covered, cool. A bike? Great. I don't think people in the richest country on earth should have to live with only just enough to survive. Ideally, I want people to have enough for their basic needs, but also something extra to put into the economy. I see a lot of people on the right who seem to find it outrageous to think people should have a little spending money. You hear it a lot from the "just save your money!" crowd and it's ridiculous. [incoming sarcasm] How dare people want to enjoy their lives a little? They should just pay their bills and save everything else even if it means living in an empty apartment. Spending money on furniture and TVs is sooo irresponsible. Oh, and their phones. How fucking dare they. [quote]How about people that can't ride or have no legs? Should they get a free robotic leg? Obviously, everyone -has- two legs. That's a basic thing. People born blind or deaf, they obviously need free surgery to get as close to normal as possible. Retarded? Hmm...didn't even scratch the surface, but it already seems rather complicated for 'basic things' right?[/quote] You're doing something a lot of right-wingers do. Someone says "hey, there's a problem with X" and they try to offer a solution, but if the solution doesn't solve literally every conceivable problem, it's a bad one. Life doesn't work that way. Sometimes we have to inch our way towards progress. You can't wave a magic wand and fix every aspect of every problem. Sometimes a solution only patches three out of four holes, but having three holes patched up is better than none. [quote]I actually agree in multiple ways with that. I think at least the idea of disliking the establishment party has never been a stronger sentimental for the younger generations. I know you don't like Trump, but his win will bring forth people would normally turn their noses at. People with non-political careers. Younger sorts, perhaps even more diverse in the label sense and intellectually. I don't consider this a negative at all. I certainly think more politicians, and presidents will (or at least try) become successful by not playing the moderate or milquetoast game. The right, the left both farther on the spectrum. Thus the options, may very well feel like-choices. I sincerely hope more people like her, in general and specifically try for a political position. Maybe even have a third party getting enough votes to make both parties sweat bullets, and actually feel like they have to try to earn their civilians vote. A man can dream.[/quote] Well, color me surprised. I figured you'd hate her. [quote]Also, I'm not googling it. So I wouldn't know. But the 'Anti-LBGT stuff', I would only assume the 'T' part would be more likely to be brought up. Since that is more of the 'hot button' issue. (If I'm incorrect, please share if you find anything particularly egregious.) [/quote] The first few results that came up for me were to do with regular gay marriage, not trans rights. I think to an extent it's an old vs new thing, because even on the left there are people like Hillary who were anti-gay marriage until relatively recently, but I think the right is [i]by far[/i] more anti-LGBT than the left. Like, it's not even a contest. Hands down, the Republican party is the anti-LGBT party. That may be slowly changing, but it still has a long way to go.