Government expansion is centralization. Government spending is centralized spending.

Anyway, I've said all I had to say, considered your points and rejected them - as you have rejected mine. Let us bow and go back to game development

I've only made claims regarding your logic. I've stated my opinion (take it or leave it), but you sound like you've already heard enough arguments for it.

I haven't seen you give an argument that my logic regarding the effect of reduced government spending is flawed. Please note that this is not about opinion, at least not in a political sense.

Yes, I have seen arguments that reduced government spending would invigorate an economy, but they have all had serious flaws. Many are based on an incorrect understanding of how the banking system operates, others make ridiculous assumptions concerning the behaviour of people, e.g. that people will start consuming more if the government reduces its spending. Such assumptions simply do not hold up empirically, and so the arguments based on them are nothing more than a waste of space. (Except that, unfortunately, they also mislead and misdirect people towards flawed economic thinking, so their net value to society is actually negative.)

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Central planning is a separate concept from government spending.

If you're talking strictly on the national level, this makes no sense to me. You must concede that government spending in any form (even on the local level, if you must bring that in) is wealth redistribution. How can it not be? And if it's wealth redistribution, how can it not be central planning? They go hand-in-hand. Please enlighten.
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Consider what Wikipedia has to say about a planned economy:

Planned economy is an economic system in which the state directs the economy. It is an economic system in which the central government controls industry such that it makes major decisions regarding the production and distribution of goods and services. Its most extensive form is referred to as a command economy, centrally planned economy, or command and control economy.

In such economies, central economic planning by the state or government controls all major sectors of the economy and formulates all decisions about the use of resources and the distribution of output. Planners decide what should be produced and direct lower-level enterprises to produce those goods in accordance with national and social objectives.
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Comparing this definition with how you use the term, it seems to me like you are implicitly redefining the term "central planning" in such a way that you can claim that any government activity amounts to central planning. This type of redefining only leads to tautologies, which is not very useful for discussions.

Anyway, this part of the thread isn't leading us anywhere useful. I believe economic policy should not be about splitting hairs about ideologically laden terms, but it should be about solving problems, period. The current major problem in most Western countries is rampant mass unemployment - at least that is my perception, and if you do not share that, please enlighten me. So one needs to analyse where this unemployment comes from, and how it can be fixed.

[quote name='Chris Reynolds' timestamp='1297939915' post='4775356']
[color="#cccccc"]Where's the socially liberal, fiscally conservative party?

damn right holmes. Libertarianism is as close as it gets right now I think.
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I thought Libertarians were socially conservative and fiscally conservative. Then again, I could be misunderstanding your use of socially liberal.

I thought Libertarians were socially conservative and fiscally conservative. Then again, I could be misunderstanding your use of socially liberal.

That's republicans/tea party in the media, not to be confused with the tea party as it originally started, which was closer to libertarian.

The social conservatives saw the tea party getting steam and hijacked it and made it really confusing as far as terminology is considered.

from the wiki:
"[font=sans-serif][size=2]Libertarianism is the advocacy of individual liberty, especially freedom of expression and action.[sup][1][/sup] Libertarianism includes diverse philosophies and organizations; all advocate either minimization or elimination of the state, and a goal of maximizing individual liberty and freedom."[/font]

Ahhh. Socially liberal = as long as I'm not harming you let me do whatever I want.

I think I get it now.