Politics today is incredibly centered around ideological labels, that being labels given to a set of social, cultural, economic and ethical viewpoints that address certain issues in society such as the economy, education, morality, government size, military role and strength, foreign policy, immigration and so on. Since the end of WW2, there has been a few dominant political ideologies. In the west: Social Democracy, which promotes state intervention to promote social & economic equality, Liberalism, which has an emphasis on personal freedoms and equal opportunity, and Conservatism, which promotes small government and the preservation of traditional social norms. Of course, these aren't 100% accurate depending on where you go, these are just common traits shared by various mainstream adherents to these ideas. In other parts of the world, notably China and North Korea, the ideology of Communism is prevalent, which is a system where all property is owned by the community, with property, class and currency being abolished (to put it very simply), however when implimented, Communism tended to be totalitarian and statist, as evident in modern-day China and the DPRK, and in previous communist states such as those of Eastern Europe and the USSR.
The concept of political ideology allows for individuals to simply slap a label on themselves so people can get a general idea of what they stand for, who they'd vote for etc. On a forum where politics is so prevalent, it begs the question: What political ideology do you all identify as?
Personally, I would label myself as a moderate conservative or a Christian Democrat. I generally find myself to advocate a foreign policy that is internationalist, pro-globalisation and pro-EU, an economic policy that promotes a fair but free market, and a typical conservative social policy - traditional values and small government.
