I've been thinking lately about how and why our political beliefs might change. From everything I've heard and seen, they're supposed to be remarkably stable over time, and yet I don't hold the same political beliefs I used to. At least, I wouldn't say that I do, if asked.

And that's kind of the question. Have my political beliefs really changed, in essence? Or have they only changed on the surface of things?

One of my friends, like me, has shifted away from our initial, shared conservative politics. She's become, and is becoming, more and more libertarian, while I am now, if I had to choose a label, a democratic socialist. To me, my friend has always had libertarian leanings. If she thought government regulation of anything was acceptable, it was something that had personally—and negatively—impacted her. Without getting specific: if something had hurt her, she thought it was acceptable to regulate it; otherwise, generally, she didn't think that governmental regulation was appropriate.

So have her politics changed at all, really? Or has she simply recognized that her true political home has always been libertarianism and begun consciously taking on more of that ideology? And if that's the case...is it also the case with me?

None of the things I believe politically now feel impossible for the me of 20 years ago to also believe. Am I just remembering that person incorrectly, or would 20-Years-Ago!Me also believe what I do now, if she'd had access to the information I've had access to? Does the democratic socialist position contain practical and effective applications of values I've always held? Or have those values truly changed for me?

I know my ability to feel those values strongly has changed over time. Since my dad's death, I have been learning how not to run away or hide from others' pain, which means I can look painful situations in the face with resilience and resolve and clear-sightedness—something I could not do before his death. And perhaps that ability has allowed me to be more flexible about my own perspective on the world, to be less rigid in adhering to it, less frightened to relinquish it. And maybe being able to see the world from a number of different perspectives has allowed me to see ways to apply my values that I couldn't see before.

But those values. I don't know that they've changed very much at all.

I suppose politics is not really the values you hold so much as it's the way you try to enact them in the systems around you. And given that definition, my politics have absolutely changed over the last 20 years. But I can't help feeling as if this person I am now has always been nested somewhere deep within me. She's always valued the quality of life of those around her. She's always cherished their individuality and sacred inner space. She's wanted honesty more than fear, hoped for moral results rather than ineffectual moral means, and she's always questioned the ramifications of an action before committing to its cause.

Gretchen Rubin separates people into four tendencies: Upholders, who do the work because it must be done; Obligers, who do the work because it makes others happy; Questioners, who do the work if they see the sense in it; and Rebels, who do the work when and only when they want to...and often won't do it if asked. To no one's surprise, I'm a Questioner. I've always been a Questioner. And I see that tendency in the trajectory of my political beliefs over time. If something doesn't work, we change it so it does. If we don't get to the goal with the structures we have, then we think about how to get there and we change them accordingly. Why waste time on band-aid solutions when we can put our energy to much greater use fixing them for the long-term?

My friend? She's a Rebel. She's always been a Rebel. And I see the psychological reactance that underlies that Rebel tendency in her increasing libertarianism. I understand it, but I'll never agree with it. Not least because, to me, being so reactant makes you easy to manipulate, and part of the reason I'm a Questioner is because I find being easy to manipulate distasteful. (I know: I have blind spots. I can be manipulated too. But if I'm questioning, if my ego isn't involved, if I can borrow perspectives with which to see a new situation, maybe I'll be less susceptible to manipulation.)

Given all this, it's entirely possible my political beliefs could change yet again. But underneath them, I'll still be a Questioner. And I'll still be trying to work toward enacting those long-held values as faithfully and effectively as I can.