[USFRIENDINVICTORIA]

"I've often wondered at what point a line might be crossed..."

You can see where a whole line of points can be crossed, if you use a 2 dimensional model of political ideologies. (There is no perfect model -- but, a 2D model is far better than the usual 1D "spectrum" model.) Here's one such model.


Your libinlaw and you are somewhere over the line toward libertarianism, at about the point where local police acquire tanks. Not very long ago, that point would have been somewhere on the "authoritarian" half of the model.

[Sopater]

Interesting that you should post that chart. I just took a quiz (http://www.gotoquiz.com/politics/political-spectrum-quiz.html) and landed on the far right margin, about 1/3 of the way up from the bottom (libertarian).

[MrB]

Nah, my libinlaw is nowhere close to a libertarian.
She’d have a full on socialist state with “the government” paying for all her needs, and doesn’t want the negative, authoritarian side that comes along with a government that gives you everything you want/need.

Basically a 70 yr old 12 yr old that wants the parents to provide for all her needs and require nothing of her in return.

[SampleMan]

I reject that construct of the political spectrum.

The reality is that on one side you have total state control and on the other you have total individual liberty. You can’t have so much individual liberty that you end up with authoritarianism.

All forms of totalitarianism is on the Left. State control is state control, everthing else is just methodology and justification.