B. Mann Consulting

In this day and age, I can see how easy it would be for someone of my disposition to be summarily declared a left-wing pinko with some of the opinions I have. Truth is, I'm far from it, fiscally. It is society where my accepting, tolerant views on people come into play. But calling me a fiscal conservative or socially liberal is far from the mark - fiscally, there isn't a person except someone really far gone from reality who will say without a doubt that a business plan, or a budget, are not needed to run a government. And there isn't a freedom-loving person alive with any broad education that can deny the purpose of the US constitution, or the Canadian charter.

So with that in mind, I am far from any wing. I just call it a whole lotta common sense. People should be free to do what they want (hence, the opposition to DRM and the rant that people should be free to break the law if they choose) and yet people must recognize that an effective government is one that must use budgets, have no debt, and live by the principle that a smaller government is a more effective government. The economic studies are in - a dollar in the hands of any consumer, rich or poor, is more than twice as economically productive as a dollar spent by the government.

You are not necessarily right wing, or capitalist, if you declare the current globalization landscape completely bankrupt - either you are using someone else's opinion, or you actually have read even a small amount about the current problems with globalization.

I'm all for globalization, and it DOES show a positive economic impact, but there is only one way to do it right - as an equal economic exchange that does not compromise social or environmental capital. Right now, globalization is seen as a way of lowering costs, increasing margins, and growing shareholder value, the same way as all domestic business is done. However, since the "under-developed" world necessarily has far more vegitation and arable land, economic development creates industrial sprawl, alters social constructs, and flattens arable land for concrete, pavement and machines. Tolkien's view of Growing versus Machines is very much prominent in foreign countries subject to economic and industrial investment.

So yeah... on this questionaire, chalk me down as a left-wing liberal. That's because the questions that would automatically peg you as a brainwashed corporate mofo are based on a notion of globalization that is grounded in the business values taught to current business leaders some 30 to 40 years ago when they were in University.That's almost before some of the human rights movements, and far earlier than any more open-minded theories on how globalization should be done right.

They certainly don't live by the Caux principles or Ceres:

Caux Round Table Principles
Ceres Group