Asklemmy

Do you believe private property is a fundamental human right? If yes, Do you believe that people who own or run businesses should be able to pay a living wage?

Do you have a theory of political change? What is it?

Are you familiar with theories of imperialism, colonialism, neocolonialism? Are you pro-reparations?

Do you believe economic degrowth is necessary to avoid climate change?

Are you opposed to the genocide in Palestine? Do you support a one or two state solution?

Are you a British Green or an American Green?

I worry that by asking these questions directly it might affect any answers but these are "further left" than your stances.

Based on what you shared I'd say you're a "progressive liberal", which is a right-leaning moderate position. But that's where a lot of revolutionary leftists, including myself, started out.

What really matters to me when relating to progressive liberals is: If you're willing to educate yourself, and getting involved in a political party like you're doing could help.
if your positions are based on a real spiritual progressivism, or if someone acts fundamentally reformist/opportunist.

I personally think a better question is what the fuck are you trying to get out of posting this? I mean if you want someone to tell you what a good lefty you are you can always go on buzzfeed, so what's the goal here?

crime should somehow become a very rare thing to deal with.

I love the idea that this is somehow an idea specific to one part of the political spectrum

Terms like "left" and "right" are subjective, and frankly, not a useful way to understand politics due to its idealistic nature. Ask ten people what "left" even means and you'll get several answers.

This video is a useful overview.

Since you live in the US, this makes you a far left radical terrorist. You are now on a list.

Contrary to how we use the terms in common dialogue, and as shorthand (I am guilty of this as well), treating ideology as a spectrum leads to problematic understandings of ideology. Everything you just said, I agree with (generally, at least, I'm against patriotism and nationalism in imperialist countries like the US, as well as myself generally being for armed revolution), but I also believe that we should transition economically to socialism, ie an economy where public ownership is the principle aspect of the economy, not private. A social democrat may also agree with everything you said, but they would answer the opposite, ie that private ownership should be principle. I would be considered "far-left" while the social democrat would be "center-right," but both of us can agree with you 100% on what you've listed.

I'm a Marxist-Leninist, I agree with Marx's analysis of capitalism and advancements on scientific socialism and dialectical and historical materialism, as well as with Lenin's advancements on analyzing how capitalism turns to imperialism over time, and on organizational structure and practice. If you want, I wrote an introductory Marxist-Leninist reading list, that might help you learn some more about what I am talking about.

Essentially, though, you're progressive socially, but where you stand economically is pretty unknown, so we can't really tell where you "fit in," and even then terms like left vs right are complicated beyond being for socialism vs capitalism. Trying to compare, say, an anarchist and an ML on how "left" we are is silly, in my opinion, it isn't a contest nor is that an accurate way to compare ideologies. Same with comparing capitalist ideologies.

How far left am I?

You are possibly not left at all, for every single one of the issues you list in your post is also promoted by established right-wing parties.

Homeless people should get free housing.

Danish right-wing populist party Dansk Folkeparti explicitly support that:

https://danskfolkeparti.dk/holdninger/socialpolitik/

Rights for all!

Most political parties of all kinds agree on this, they just don't agree on what it actually means.

Climate change is a real issue that needs to be taken care of.

Swedish right-wing populist party Sverigedemokraterna explicitly support that:

https://www.sd.se/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/sverigedemokraternas-valplattform-2022-april.pdf

LGBTQ+ people deserve representation completely and everyone should be free of discrimination.

German right-wing populist party Alternative für Deutschland is led by a lesbian who calls her party "the only real protective force for gays and lesbians in Germany":

https://www.afd.de/alice-weidel-im-exklusiv-interview-die-afd-ist-die-einzige-echte-schutzmacht-fuer-schwule-und-lesben-in-deutschland/

Immigration is what shapes the United States (I use a lot of American examples because that’s where I live, sorry!) and they should not be tortured, deported, discriminated against, anything. It should be a free country and the borders should be less strict.

That's a bit too US-specific for any other parties to have positions on your statement exactly, but in general most parties of all kinds in democratic countries are explicitly against torture and discrimination, including those who want strictly regulated immigration. Very few parties anywhere want no immigration at all, most just want it more strictly regulated.

Weapons should be banned and crime should somehow become a very rare thing to deal with.

Weapons as in the US is exceedingly rare outside of the US, and pretty much every right-wing party ever is strongly against crime.

So, just based on these issues, maybe you aren't actually left at all.

Try this one. See where you fall. Always interesting to compare across countries as well.

https://votecompass.com/

Play this for a week: https://www.nationstates.net/

Then look where you fall in this graph

For american standards, you're basically a commie, lol

For the rest of the world, you would be center-left.

The thing that would push you farther to the left or back to the center would be economic issues: you've only talked about social issues, but what about the economy and government?

• Should the government play a big part in regulating businesses?
• Should people pay more taxes, especially if they are rich?
• Should essential services such as roads, electricity, water, postal services, healthcare and public transportation be provided and managed by the government or by private businesses?

There are also some test online that place you on the political spectrum by asking you those kinds of questions, it might be worth checking them out.

OTOH, I kinda feel bad because you live in a place where there are only effectively 2 parties (right and far right), and chosing another one is going to waste your vote essentially. People like Sanders and AOC have a huge following, but they have no chance of success imho

Those are far too generic of things to place you on the spectrum more than, "not a conservative fuckwad that doesn't care about others", which itself is a huge spectrum.

As Cowbee said, a lot of the differentiation on the left is economic prescription, and your plan for how to bring that prescription in to reality. Most all of the left is socially progressive and accepts others, so that's not differentiating much.

No one cares.

As seen by most people: centre-left to left-wing.

As seen by rabid Republicans: far-left, antifa thugs, etc. (But then again, Trumpists aren't normal people, though they once weren't as radicalised.)

I don't think it's helpful to think in terms of left and right. That presumes that each side is roughly a mirror analogue of the other.

Think in terms of forward and backward. Will your ideas and political leanings push society forward? Will you be making the world better than you found it? Or are you trying to resist change, fighting against progress because the status quo, or the recent past, benefits you in some way?

Have you traveled outside of America before and do you have a passport?

Most of what you describe isn’t politics, it’s wishful thinking. Real solutions require trade-offs, not just good intentions. Ideals are nice, but policies need to work in the real world. Free housing means someone has to pay for it, usually through higher taxes on those who already work. Open borders sound humane until welfare systems and housing markets collapse under the pressure. Banning weapons doesn’t erase crime; it just shifts who’s armed and who isn’t. Even here in Europe, where these ideas are often praised, we’re starting to see the strain of too many entitlements and too few taxpayers.

Insofar as "left" and "right" are really a thing they're just about whether or not you support monarchy or authoritarianism (right-wing) or democracy (left-wing). What you've said are cultural things that don't really map to that very well.