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Comment by galaxyLogic | Hacker News Reader

I don't think it's a bad idea to say "We are neither left nor right", since "left" and "right" are not very clearly defined concepts, and most people have chosen their side on that dimension already .

A better question for the FAQ would be: Are you pro-democracy, or pro-autocracy?

How do you plan to promote your choice of democracy, or autocracy, in practice?

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This should be the last thought. People should be taught tolerance and be patient about ideas and thoughts that are against yours. The world is not black and white and this left and right thought process which is extremely binary is hurting us all in the long run.

Just look at how politicians went about things in the olden times. Even when they disagreed on things, they were far far better than just raging against each other like they are doing now!

"It should be the last thought" may be acceptable when you're figuring out what you believe in, but surely not when you're running for office or forming a political organization.

I would like to respectfully disagree. There are centre, centre-right and centre-left parties in Europe. If am not mistaken, Angela Merkel's party is centre-right. But even if it isn't, there are other types of parties than just Left and Right.

Right and Left which are just two sides is way too narrow view of the world.

I wholeheartedly agree that left and right are often limiting and self-defeating categories. I'm talking about having a position on important issues, like global warming, democracy, foreign policy, and even property more broadly. The "Pirate Party" seems to be aiming their cannons mainly at file sharing of entertainment.

I agree with you here. I like that they are looking beyond left and right. But it should be clear where. It could be center, center-left or center-right.

But I do understand why though. The people weren't even ready for Bernie Sanders this election. I found him as the better candidate among the lot, with a better plan. So adding the "centre" or "centre-left" party maybe way too much.

But I think the file-sharing/pirate party movement is a lil way too late. At the peak of Pirate Bay, they really were revolutionaries giving chances to new artists and new ideas through their front page campaigns and what not. But we have bigger problems like climate-change right now. File sharing would be not in my priority list in the current political environment.

To answer your question, the United States Pirate Party is pro-democracy, like all pirate parties. We believe a more representative democracy would be beneficial for all third parties in the US, and support various electoral reform policies to further that goal. We also believe in the longer term that liquid democracy[0] is the way forward. I do agree that this could be communicated more clearly on our site, thanks for pointing it out.

[0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquid_democracy

That is a great stance. Democracy can be improved. And should. But seems like not everybody agrees on that, therefore it is a political issue.

If there is no democracy then autocrats decide who can copy what songs, if any, from the internet. What you can read on the internet. If there is an internet. But if there is democracy then people can decide all that by voting.

If there is no democracy there will be no Pirate Parties, unless for some reason that benefits the unelected people in power. Hey I'm glad that there is US Pirate Party now. But is there one also in China and Russia? Why not?

> A better question for the FAQ would be: Are you pro-democracy, or pro-autocracy?

Or technocracy?

Thats just a form of autocracy

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