TheJesterism

TheJesterism is an economically left-wing, libertarian, and culturally progressive ideology that is heavily influenced by       Libertarian Market Socialism as well as other left-wing ideologies.

Influential Figures
Karl Marx (1818-1883)

Friedrich Engels (1820-1895)

George Orwell (1903-1950)

Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968)

Nelson Mandela (1918-2013)

John Locke (1632-1704)

John Stuart Mill (1806-1873)

Pierre-Jospeh Proudhon (1809-1865)

Dorothy Day (1897-1980)

Michael Harrington (1928-1989)

Eugene V. Debbs (1885-1926)

Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900)

Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855)

Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980)

Albert Camus (1913-1960)

Franz Kafka (1883-1924)

Bernie Sanders (1941-Present)

Noam Chomsky (1928-Present)

Jeremy Corbyn (1949-Present)

Howie Hawkins (1952-Present)

Economic Beliefs
I believe that while the means of production should belong to the workers who use them, goods and services should be provided through a market economy contributed to by worker-owned businesses and co-ops. Workers would be the owners of their enterprises, and daily management would abide by the one worker, one vote principle. Profits from the worker co-ops will directly compensate the employees within. Each labor-managed firm would compete in open and free markets, and they may be able to form cooperative federations.

For a more thorough explanation, I recommend the two videos below:


 * 1) What is a Worker Cooperative?
 * 2) Worker Cooperatives: Expanding Democracy In The Workplace

Additionally, I strongly support trade unions, welfare, economic democracy, anti-trust law, fair trade, and fair competition. I oppose planned economies and extreme government economic intervention but I recognize that some economic intervention is necessary to protect the consumer and environment and to prevent economic depression/recession.

Civic Beliefs
I am civically libertarian and I reject the conception of socialism where the state bureaucracy retains centralized control of the economy. I oppose government surveillance of civilians under the guise of counter-terrorism because I believe that many of our civil liberties are being undermined. I believe that the NSA and CIA need to be intensively reformed. I want an "as minimal as possible" state to ensure the protection of the people and their rights. I believe that all authority should be questioned.

Social Beliefs
I am progressive on most social issues. I support the legalization of some drugs including marijuana and LSD, gender equality, racial equality, ethnic equality, LGBTQ+ equality, and religious equality. I oppose capital punishment, assisted suicide, unjust war, and euthanasia (except in certain cases). I personally oppose abortion except in cases of rape, incest, or danger to the mother but I am in favor of the constitutional protection of first trimester abortions. I am in favor of reducing abortions via comprehensive sex education and free birth control.

Environmental Beliefs
Global warming is a real and extremely dangerous threat to humanity. I support environmental regulation and carbon tax. I strongly oppose fossil energy and want to replace them with renewable energies such as electricity, nuclear energy, etc. I support increasing funding for researching green technologies to help combat climate change. I strongly support the Green New Deal.

Diplomatic Beliefs
I believe in Alter-Globalization. I believe in the global cooperation of the people but I also oppose economic globalization. Economic globalization harms working people and reduces civil rights. I am anti-colonialist and anti-imperialist and I believe that foreign intervention is only necessary to help countries fighting imperialism. While I do believe that a military is necessary to protect the people from bad actors, I am against irresponsible military spending and I am against the draft unless it is absolutely necessary. I believe that the draft should be expanded to both men and women instead of just men. I am anti-authoritarian and anti-fascist. When it comes to indigenous diplomacy, I support Indigenous sovereignty and want their land and customs returned to them. I also want reparations for Native Americans for the injustices served towards them by the United States. I support reforming NATO to reflect the above diplomatic beliefs.

Religious Beliefs
While I do believe strongly in the separation of church and state, I am (somewhat) religious. I am a confirmed Catholic who attends a Catholic school run by the Jesuit religious order. I believe in Liberation Theology and strongly respect the Jesuit order and its progressive Catholic teachings. I am also a free-thinker who believes that beliefs should not be formed on the basis of authority, tradition, revelation, or dogma, and that beliefs should instead be reached by other methods such as logic, reason, and empirical observation. I am also an agnostic theist who believes in the existence of God but regards the basis of this proposition as inherently unknowable. In short, I am a free-thinking Catholic Agnostic Theist with a strong respect for the Jesuit order and its progressive Catholic teachings.

Philosophical Beliefs
Philosophically, I am an Existentialist (specifically a Christian Existentialist) and  Absurdist. My biggest philosophic influences are Friedrich Nietzsche,  Søren Kierkegaard,  Jean-Paul Sartre,  Albert Camus, and  Franz Kafka.

Governmental Beliefs
Governmentally, I support Radical Democracy,  Semi-Direct Democracy,  Presidentialism,  Constitutionalism,  Republicanism, and the abolition of the electoral college.