Political compass

[ContrarianLemming]

i know a thread like this has probably been posted but i figure its one of those things you can post a good few times and get something different out of it each time

right now I'm very curious to see the averages in schools of thought, for example, I'm willing to bet Leninists are going to come out on the more authoritarian side of things then anarchists, but lets find out shall we? post results and school of thought



Anarcho-syndicalist
Economic Left/Right: -10.00
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -9.54
http://www.politicalcompass.org/printablegraph?ec=-10.00&soc=-9.54

[GPDP]

I don't think I've seen anyone here, even the "Stalinists," get a score on the upper left quadrant, where they supposedly should score according to the PC website. Almost everyone here scores somewhere from -8 to -10 on the economic scale, and between -3 and -10 on the social scale.

[fatpanda]

Economic Left/Right: -6.50
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -8.26

http://www.politicalcompass.org/printablegraph?ec=-6.50&soc=-8.26

[Kwisatz Haderach]

I don't think I've seen anyone here, even the "Stalinists," get a score on the upper left quadrant, where they supposedly should score according to the PC website. Almost everyone here scores somewhere from -8 to -10 on the economic scale, and between -3 and -10 on the social scale.
That's because of an inherent flaw in the test. In order to get an authoritarian score above +2 or +3, you must agree with nationalist statements and conservative morality. A person who is authoritarian without being nationalist or conservative will find it almost impossible to get an authoritarian score.

[Agnapostate]

Don't think we've had any recent PC test results posted, actually, mainly because every thread about it is closed on the grounds that we have. :lol:

http://i357.photobucket.com/albums/oo18/Dolgoff/a7899002.png

[GPDP]

Don't think we've had any recent PC test results posted, actually, mainly because every thread about it is closed on the grounds that we have. :lol:

Eh, it's just pointless on a site such as this one, where almost everyone scores around the same area. It's a test better suited for general politics forums, where opinions are far more diverse, but again, this test is incredibly flawed. Still better than the blatant propaganda that is the Nolan Chart, though.

[Floyce White]

The "political compass" is based on false premises that I destroyed in my third post at Revleft:

http://www.revleft.com/vb/showpost.php?p=579803&postcount=5

[human strike]

-10
-8.97

I'm something of a Libertarian Marxist, Luxemburgist type.

[jesper]

I got
-9,62/-3.59

I think that many of the questions are more personal and doesnt have anything to do with your political opinion. For example what does astrology have to do with anything?

[Uncle Hank]

The "political compass" is based on false premises that I destroyed in my third post at Revleft:

http://www.revleft.com/vb/showpost.php?p=579803&postcount=5
Anyone who takes the political compass as a written in stone method of telling where ideologically they are/should be needs a lesson or two in not being a nitwit.

[zimmerwald1915]

Eh, it's just pointless on a site such as this one, where almost everyone scores around the same area. It's a test better suited for general politics forums, where opinions are far more diverse, but again, this test is incredibly flawed. Still better than the blatant propaganda that is the Nolan Chart, though.
It's quite similar to the Nolan Chart, really.

[RedAnarchist]

I'm going to move this to Chit Chat so that it can remain open, because we've had so many of these threads and it just isn't really going to have any other result other than everyone being in the bottom left hand corner.

[Wanted Man]

right now I'm very curious to see the averages in schools of thought, for example, I'm willing to bet Leninists are going to come out on the more authoritarian side of things then anarchists, but lets find out shall we? post results and school of thought

Hardly. With Political Compass, it seems that the only way to get "Authoritarian" is if you want to execute all homosexuals and adulterers and have a theocracy. In fact, I would invite anyone who got more than -8 on both axes (say, -6 economic and 4 authoritarian or something) to post their answers to these and other questions. They would probably have to be restricted here. It's really a ridiculous quiz.

It's a stupid test, just like the distinction of Authoritarian/Libertarian is idiotic, because those terms can mean whatever you want them to. Neither communists nor anarchists would have a problem with the "authoritarian" act of workers taking over their workplace. But to libertarians, this would be "initiating coercion", and it would be perfectly justified for the boss to respond by calling up Pinkerton types to break it up as brutally as necessary to get his private property back. Yet libertarians consider themselves to be in the most freedom-loving section of their dumb chart, along with anarchists, but just on a different place economically speaking.

[Kléber]

-10.00/-7.59

shit im over -8... must.... conceal.... reactionary tendencies!

http://sydfish.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/dr-strangelove.jpg

[Panda Tse Tung]

I get less then -8 socially, at least last time. So just for ou i'll post them :). I was too lazy to elaborate:


If economic globalisation is inevitable, it should primarily serve humanity rather than the interests of trans-national corporations. - strongly agree

I'd always support my country, whether it was right or wrong. - strongly disagree

No one chooses his or her country of birth, so it's foolish to be proud of it. - Agree

Our race has many superior qualities, compared with other races. - strongly disagree



The enemy of my enemy is my friend. - disagree

Military action that defies international law is sometimes justified. - disagree

There is now a worrying fusion of information and entertainment. - agree

page 2:

People are ultimately divided more by class than by nationality. - strongly agree

Controlling inflation is more important than controlling unemployment. - strongly disagree

Because corporations cannot be trusted to voluntarily protect the environment, they require regulation. - strongly agree

"from each according to his ability, to each according to his need" is a fundamentally good idea. - strongly agree[

It's a sad reflection on our society that something as basic as drinking water is now a bottled, branded consumer product. - strongly agree

Land shouldn't be a commodity to be bought and sold. - strongly agree

It is regrettable that many personal fortunes are made by people who simply manipulate money and contribute nothing to their society. - strongly agree

Protectionism is sometimes necessary in trade. - Agree

The only social responsibility of a company should be to deliver a profit to its shareholders. - strongly disagree

The rich are too highly taxed. - strongly disagree

Those with the ability to pay should have the right to higher standards of medical care . - strongly disagree

Governments should penalise businesses that mislead the public. - strongly agree

A genuine free market requires restrictions on the ability of predator multinationals to create monopolies. - strongly agree

The freer the market, the freer the people. - strongly disagree

page 3:

Abortion, when the woman's life is not threatened, should always be illegal. - strongly disagree

All authority should be questioned. - Agree

An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. - agree

Taxpayers should not be expected to prop up any theatres or museums that cannot survive on a commercial basis. - strongly disagree

Schools should not make classroom attendance compulsory. - strongly disagree

All people have their rights, but it is better for all of us that different sorts of people should keep to their own kind. - strongly disagree

Good parents sometimes have to spank their children. - strongly disagree

It's natural for children to keep some secrets from their parents. - Disagree

Possessing marijuana for personal use should not be a criminal offence. - strongly agree

The prime function of schooling should be to equip the future generation to find jobs. - disagree

People with serious inheritable disabilities should not be allowed to reproduce - disagree

The most important thing for children to learn is to accept discipline. - disagree

There are no savage and civilised peoples; there are only different cultures. - strongly agree

Those who are able to work, and refuse the opportunity, should not expect society's support. - strongly agree

When you are troubled, it's better not to think about it, but to keep busy with more cheerful things. - disagree

First-generation immigrants can never be fully integrated within their new country. - agree

What's good for the most successful corporations is always, ultimately, good for all of us. - strongly disagree

No broadcasting institution, however independent its content, should receive public funding. - strongly disagree


Page 4



Our civil liberties are being excessively curbed in the name of counter-terrorism. - strongly agree

A significant advantage of a one-party state is that it avoids all the arguments that delay progress in a democratic political system. - disagree

Although the electronic age makes official surveillance easier, only wrongdoers need to be worried. - strongly disagree

The death penalty should be an option for the most serious crimes. - disagree

In a civilised society, one must always have people above to be obeyed and people below to be commanded. - disagree

Abstract art that doesn't represent anything shouldn't be considered art at all. - agree

In criminal justice, punishment should be more important than rehabilitation. - strongly disagree

It is a waste of time to try to rehabilitate some criminals. - disagree

The businessperson and the manufacturer are more important than the writer and the artist. - disagree

Mothers may have careers, but their first duty is to be homemakers. - strongly disagree

Multinational companies are unethically exploiting the plant genetic resources of developing countries. - strongly agree

Making peace with the establishment is an important aspect of maturity. - strongly disagree


page 5


Astrology accurately explains many things. - strongly disagree

You cannot be moral without being religious. - strongly disagree

Charity is better than social security as a means of helping the genuinely disadvantaged. - strongly disagree

Some people are naturally unlucky. - disagree

It is important that my child's school instills religious values. - strongly disagree

paaaaaaaaaaaageeeeeeeeeeeee 6


Sex outside marriage is usually immoral. - strongly disagree

A same sex couple in a stable, loving relationship, should not be excluded from the possibility of child adoption. - strongly agree

Pornography, depicting consenting adults, should be legal for the adult population. - agree

What goes on in a private bedroom between consenting adults is no business of the state. - agree

No one can feel naturally homosexual. - strongly disagree

These days openness about sex has gone too far. - strongly disagree

Outcome:

Your political compass

Economic Left/Right: -9.88
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -5.85

http://www.politicalcompass.org/facebook/pcgraphpng.php?ec=-9.88&soc=-5.85

[Comrade Gwydion]

I fail at the Nolan Chart immedeatly.
I want free speech but no private property.
Sorry, this answer does not excist.

[GPDP]

I fail at the Nolan Chart immedeatly.
I want free speech but no private property.
Sorry, this answer does not excist.

Which is why I said the Political Compass is better. At least it acknowledges positions outside the extremely narrow spectrum of U.S. politics.

Also, the Nolan Chart was made specifically as a Libertarian recruitment tool. You can tell just by looking at its structure. One axis represents "political freedom" and the other "economic freedom." Being primarily for political freedom makes you a liberal, and being primarily for economic freedom makes you a conservative. Thus, the chart suggests the following to test-takers: both ideologies are not completely devoted to freedom, and you're not anti-freedom, are you? Well, if that's the case, then why not be the best of both worlds? What's that? You DO believe in both freedoms? Well, then, that makes you a Libertarian! Who'd have thunk it? Bet you never knew! Welcome to the wonderful, freedom-loving world of Libertarianism!

Never mind that the chart's concepts of political and economic freedom are generally U.S.-centric and specifically Libertarian-centric. Never mind that it takes advantage of the fact that most people are conditioned to see freedom as a positive aspect, and preys upon such attitudes to put Libertarianism as the "best of both worlds," and anyone who disagrees with their concept of freedom is essentially penalized and seen as not sufficiently freedom-loving. Never mind that it completely denies the existence of ideologies such as socialism that have ideas of freedom that exclude markets, and absurdly lumps them in with Liberalism (if you try to take Nolan Chart-inspired tests, chances are you'll score as a Liberal).

The Political Compass may be flawed, but the Nolan Chart is a propagandist joke.

[Pirate Utopian]

Economic Left/Right: -9.88
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -7.08

[Comrade Gwydion]

I also hate this question:

A significant advantage of a one-party state is that it avoids all the arguments that delay progress in a democratic political system

Yes, I agree, that is an advantage.
But, is it enough of an advantage? DUnno, really.

[RHIZOMES]

The political compass is way too bourgeois in its political definitions for it to be of any use in defining a far leftists politics.

[RedAnarchist]

Also, if you've done it quite a few times like many people on this forum have, you know exactly what answers are needed to get right into that bottom left hand corner.

[Floyce White]

Anyone who takes the political compass as a written in stone method of telling where ideologically they are/should be needs a lesson or two in not being a nitwit.

I was going to respond with "grow up," but I looked at your profile and saw that you're real young and are just immature by a couple of years compared to your age. So I'll just remind you that to avoid being treated like a child you should avoid personal insults.

[RHIZOMES]

Also, if you've done it quite a few times like many people on this forum have, you know exactly what answers are needed to get right into that bottom left hand corner.

I keep getting bottom left even though I am in no way a libertarian socialist. None of the questions mention proletarian dictatorship. It's just the dumb bourgeois false dichotomy of "repressive government" vs. "libertarian government".

[Valeofruin]

Economic Left/Right: -9.38
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -2.26

http://politicalcompass.org/facebook/pcgraphpng.php?ec=-9.38&soc=-2.26