Conservatives have to stop pretending, that I'm ashamed to be a socialist. They have to stop assuming that socialists know their system doesn't work, they just feel guilty. That we haven't given into our conservative urges yet.

Being visceral is, imo, a problem for conservatives, rather than for socialists.

I used to support grammer schools, and was against inheritance tax, not for pragmatic reasons. Not because I had any evidence to back it up. But because, I relied on flimsy evidence and propaganda.

I believed that grammer schools encouraged social mobility. But there wasn't really any evidence for it. It relies on anecdotal evidence. And for every one clever working-class person who succeeded through selective education, there were ten other working-class kids who didn't reach their potential because of it. And grammer schools cream the already better off.

I believed that IHT hit ordinary people. Oh contraire. Only 6%. President Bartlet in The West Wing said that it symbolised the problem with the American Dream, that people were worried about how much they would have to pay when they became rich.

No, I believe strongly funded public services work. I believe redistribution of wealth works. I believe when you and others do better, I do better, and society does better.

I don't have to feel guilty. I have supported conservative positions previously, but they appealed to the adrenal gland, and not to my prefrontal lobe. They appealed to me on a visceral level.

I believe socialism works, and THAT is why I'm a socialist.

A discussion about liberal conservatism