Socially, I've always leaned Left, although in some cases I've tiptoed Right slightly over time. For example, I don't welcome open borders because society has proved that nobody is capable of changing their beliefs to create the "best of both worlds" combined culture that liberalism is supposed to encourage. Although I think the solution is more along the lines of not creating refugees and migrants in the first place by not disrupting other countries and through foreign aid. But I didn't use to think this way - although I was never an "open borders" sort of person, in the past, I thought we should embrace weaker borders and it would all sort itself out.
I also used to be against nuclear energy (because Chernobyl) but I now know we actually build better stuff now, so it's not a problem any more. Hinkley Point's costs don't convince me, though...
Drugs policy is one outlier, although I blame the fact I grew up in Malaysia where drug trafficking carries the death penalty, and possession punishable by caning. I used to be vehemently against drugs as a result, but going to a good University and doing a degree that forces you to think and confront your own convictions changed that. Nowadays I think it's better to legalise it but regulate it like tobacco and alcohol, and educate the young so they know how to find their red lines.
Fiscally, I've never really thought about it until I graduated. Over time, I've begun to lean towards
Georgism and
Pigovian taxes. Part of it, I admit, is because I want to buy a house and I live in London. I find it amusing, for example, that a landlord works on average
8 hours a week on a property and earns
about £24k per property, or about £60 per hour - twice a doctor's salary (and requiring no qualifications!). Yet we demonise benefit scroungers, when landlords probably work even less.
I used to hate the idea of taxes, but that has changed and I now lean Left on it, quite firmly in fact. I'm in the 40% band and I would be happy to pay significantly more tax. This is because over time, I've realised that there is not a single person out there who can claim their success is only their own. Yes, you may have worked hard, but your success is dependent on your customers being able to afford your products, the police who keep your property safe, the fire department who keep you and your neighbourhood from burning down (let's see how your business does if everyone else's shop burns down), the roads that people use to get to you, your suppliers and logistics industry that keep things moving... And taxes are your way of giving back to society. The private sector is more innovative and efficient, but the public sector is not profit-driven - there should be an ideal balance between the two and taxation helps enforce it.
So I started as Ed Milliband but now I'm now closer to (whisper it) Tony Blair with a few dreamy, untested political thoughts (and no warmongering. I thought the Iraq War was stupid both before and after). I actually identify as a Liberal Democrat on these "I stand with" surveys, although I would argue that this is not accurate because we never think about how to fund our policies. This is why I end up with Bernie Sanders when I do US ones - as much as I adore him, it requires a quantum shift in terms of thinking on taxation and government responsibility and one I think is impossible in my lifetime.
Same here, except I'm a racist and a xenophobe now as well, apparently.