What's your Political Compass?

[Nikolay]

Here's mine:


Your political compass

Economic Left/Right: -6.75
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -5.38

So what does this make me?

[#FF0000]

The political compass is sort of an imperfect guide, since it only really corresponds with politics within the capitalist paradigm.

[Red Commissar]

Honestly the way the test is designed is that most of us will end up in that corner anyways, and it's not suffice to say where you "belong" tendency wise.

Best thing to do in this regard is to read up on the stances on different tendencies, here and on other websites, and see which appeals to you. And it doesn't matter if you don't find it, personally I haven't found one yet.

[anticap]

I've taken it several times over the years and my results have shifted ever-more left and libertarian. I don't care to take it again, but the last time I remember that my dot was fully within the extreme left-libertarian square, so -9.xx on both axes.

FYI, here's the breakdown of the quiz:


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

I'd always support my country, whether it was right or wrong. [Authoritarian]

No one chooses his or her country of birth, so it's foolish to be proud of it. [Libertarian]

Our race has many superior qualities, compared with other races. [Authoritarian]

The enemy of my enemy is my friend. [Authoritarian]

Military action that defies international law is sometimes justified. [Authoritarian]

There is now a worrying fusion of information and entertainment. [Libertarian]

People are ultimately divided more by class than by nationality. [Left]

Controlling inflation is more important than controlling unemployment. [Right]

Because corporations cannot be trusted to voluntarily protect the environment, they require regulation. [Left]

"from each according to his ability, to each according to his need" is a fundamentally good idea. [Left]

It's a sad reflection on our society that something as basic as drinking water is now a bottled, branded consumer product. [Left]

Land shouldn't be a commodity to be bought and sold. [Left]

It is regrettable that many personal fortunes are made by people who simply manipulate money and contribute nothing to their society. [Left]

Protectionism is sometimes necessary in trade. [Left]

The only social responsibility of a company should be to deliver a profit to its shareholders. [Right]

The rich are too highly taxed. [Right]

Those with the ability to pay should have the right to higher standards of medical care . [Right]

Governments should penalise businesses that mislead the public. [Left]

A genuine free market requires restrictions on the ability of predator multinationals to create monopolies. [No change. Error?]

The freer the market, the freer the people. [Right]

Abortion, when the woman's life is not threatened, should always be illegal. [Authoritarian]

All authority should be questioned. [Libertarian]

An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. [Authoritarian]

Taxpayers should not be expected to prop up any theatres or museums that cannot survive on a commercial basis. [Right]

Schools should not make classroom attendance compulsory. [Libertarian]

All people have their rights, but it is better for all of us that different sorts of people should keep to their own kind. [Authoritarian]

Good parents sometimes have to spank their children. [Authoritarian]

It's natural for children to keep some secrets from their parents. [Libertarian]

Possessing marijuana for personal use should not be a criminal offence. [Libertarian]

The prime function of schooling should be to equip the future generation to find jobs. [Authoritarian]

People with serious inheritable disabilities should not be allowed to reproduce. [Authoritarian]

The most important thing for children to learn is to accept discipline. [Authoritarian]

There are no savage and civilised peoples; there are only different cultures. [Libertarian]

Those who are able to work, and refuse the opportunity, should not expect society's support. [Authoritarian]

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

First-generation immigrants can never be fully integrated within their new country. [Authoritarian]

What's good for the most successful corporations is always, ultimately, good for all of us. [Right]

No broadcasting institution, however independent its content, should receive public funding. [Right]

Our civil liberties are being excessively curbed in the name of counter-terrorism. [Libertarian]

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

Although the electronic age makes official surveillance easier, only wrongdoers need to be worried. [Authoritarian]

The death penalty should be an option for the most serious crimes. [Authoritarian]

In a civilised society, one must always have people above to be obeyed and people below to be commanded. [Authoritarian]

Abstract art that doesn't represent anything shouldn't be considered art at all. [Authoritarian]

In criminal justice, punishment should be more important than rehabilitation. [Authoritarian]

It is a waste of time to try to rehabilitate some criminals. [Authoritarian]

The businessperson and the manufacturer are more important than the writer and the artist. [Authoritarian]

Mothers may have careers, but their first duty is to be homemakers. [Authoritarian]

Multinational companies are unethically exploiting the plant genetic resources of developing countries. [Libertarian]

Making peace with the establishment is an important aspect of maturity. [Authoritarian]

Astrology accurately explains many things. [Authoritarian]

You cannot be moral without being religious. [Authoritarian]

Charity is better than social security as a means of helping the genuinely disadvantaged. [Right]

Some people are naturally unlucky. [Authoritarian]

It is important that my child's school instills religious values. [Authoritarian]

Sex outside marriage is usually immoral. [Authoritarian]

A same sex couple in a stable, loving relationship, should not be excluded from the possibility of child adoption. [Libertarian]

Pornography, depicting consenting adults, should be legal for the adult population. [Libertarian]

What goes on in a private bedroom between consenting adults is no business of the state. [Libertarian]

No one can feel naturally homosexual. [Authoritarian]

These days openness about sex has gone too far. [Authoritarian]

So now you know how to get 10s in any direction. :tongue_smilie:

[Aesop]

I say anyone who does the quiz on this forum and gets higher than -7, should be made suspect.
It must mean you don't believe in the right for abortion or you think gays are digusting.

[Invincible Summer]

I say anyone who does the quiz on this forum and gets higher than -7, should be made suspect.
It must mean you don't believe in the right for abortion or you think gays are digusting.


:confused:

[GPDP]

The whole selling point of the Political Compass is that it adds a "second axis" because having a mere Left-Right paradigm is too simple for the complexities inherent in political discourse. However, even with that second axis, it's STILL too simplistic, and many of the nuances that differentiate people's political views are still left unrepresented.

Plus, as Best Mod said, in treating the whole thing as a matter of degrees, it effectively only functions as a map for politics within the capitalist paradigm, despite the site's statements to the contrary. This is because there are some positions that just cannot be conceived of in degrees, but as yes-or-no questions.

Take for instance the question of revolution. You're either for it or against it. And if such a question were to make it into the compass, how would that effectively translate as far as your position on the chart? If you answered for it, there's a good chance you'd STILL score relatively close to someone who didn't. Where is the line of demarcation for such a position, which divides the revolutionaries from the reformists? Because despite the similar positions, just by stating you're pro-revolution puts you on a whole different set of politics than that of a reformist. Yet you'd never know from the chart. As far as the chart is concerned, you'd both be Left-libertarians.

Oh, and don't get me started with the site's assertion that Marxists should typically score on the upper left quadrant. I've never seen anyone here score there.

If you absolutely must somehow chart your politics in a visual medium with any degree of accuracy, you'd have to have more than two axes. I'm thinking somewhere along the line of ten. Obviously, it'd be impossible to put that onto a neat little grid, but it would capture so many more of the nuances currently lost on PC. In fact, there once WAS such a quiz, but the site hosting it appears to have gone kaput. Shame, since it was one of the better ones.

[anticap]

IMO you can have as many or as few axes as you like; what's important is that they all measure the same thing: who makes the decisions.

[PoliticalNightmare]

Overall the test, I would say is a semi-acceptable way to categorise an extremely complex diversity of political tendencies. However an extremely libertarian communist, an anarchist and a Tolstoyan, for instance would (or should) all both probably fit into an extreme - 10, - 10 position but have some very different views regarding, for instance whether the state should be used during a proletariat revolution, whether there should even be violent revolution, etc. Conversely the words authoritarian and libertarian can also be very vague. I take them to mean, in a more black and white meaning, presence of state and anti-presence of state. However authoritarian can also be used to describe a violence (an anarchist would promote [necessary] violent revolution to create a stateless society. So is that authoritarian or not? Also someone who is socially conservative is anti-gay rights, possibly slightly racist etc. and this (In response to Anticap's useful post; "No one can feel naturally homosexual". [Authoritarian], "These days openness about sex has gone too far". [Authoritarian]) would be deemed authoritarian according to the test but it could be that they wish to employ a stateless society.

I also have problems with this;

"When you are troubled, it's better not to think about it, but to keep busy with more cheerful things." [Authoritarian]

"Some people are naturally unlucky." [Authoritarian]

(What the heck?)

I was also reading an article in favour of anarchism (again, economic left, libertarian) that was in favour of bias in schooling towards anarchism and took an opposite view towards a libertarian, AS Neill who believed in political neutrality. Would this (the article) be ever so slightly authoritarian? Although to be fair the rest of the article was in favour of a freer system of education. http://www.revleft.com/vb/anarchism-classroom-t140620/index.html

[PoliticalNightmare]

By the way, a few months ago I took the test and I was on something like -5, -5, but more recently was more like -8, -10 (or something like that).

[anticap]

Remember that "libertarian" in the quiz is not to be confused with the right-wing political ideology peculiar to the US and its sphere of influence. I generally think of it as bottom-up vs top-down.

Also, it seems that they sometimes conflate "authoritarian" with conservative; and, that scale being the 'social axis,' the conflation is not unwarranted.

So, e.g., "When you are troubled..." would make sense as authoritarian -- which is to say conservative -- if you think carefully about the implications of the statement. It is saying that you shouldn't analyze your problems in search of a source and ultimate resolution, but should simply brush it aside, or accept it as 'the way things are,' or leave it to Jesus to sort out, etc.; i.e., the conservative mindset. I haven't read Barbara Ehrenreich's Bright-sided: How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America, but I understand that it addresses this issue (I've watched a video of her giving a talk on the book). I suspect that the quiz authors were thinking along the same lines with that statement.

Basically, the social axis seems to take on slightly different connotations depending on the statement, but they take no unjustified liberties, I don't think. When you see "authoritarian," think if some other term could be used there -- such as conservative or top-down -- which ultimately means the same thing; and if so, then allow them that leeway.

As for "naturally unlucky," I think it takes a certain mindset to believe in such a thing as luck, which, if we define that mindset, will ultimately bring us back to "authoritarian." A "libertarian" -- which is to to say socially leftist, for the purposes of the quiz, in this instance -- would be of a mindset to determine why, e.g., so much of the Global South lives in poverty, rather than to chalk it up to bad luck.

[ContrarianLemming]

I like the test, it does the trick for me, I come out -10 left/rightr and -9 libertarian.

However, a 3D axis would be better, represented with a cube, something like this parody spectrum for nation states.com.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/85/NS_politicalmap.png

I don't agree with it's placements of ideologies, things are placed in positions an apolitical person would have them, but it's meant to be funny. However the makers are on to something here with a third axis.

[anticap]

A third axis would make the results more granular, as would a fourth, etc.; but you're always going to run into the problem of deciding what to include as your axes.

A 3D cube would be best done in manipulable Flash or Java, so that you could rotate it in space to compare your placement with others. It would be a cool project. But again, what are your axes going to be? and how will the extremes be defined (I remain adamant that ultimately what's important for any axis is who's making the decisions).

Edit: The extremes certainly shouldn't fall prey to what we see above, where economic freedom is conflated with the liberty (read: power) to become a capitalist and exploit workers. As I tried to argue here (http://www.revleft.org/vb/showpost.php?p=1702598&postcount=31), all forms of capitalism will fall on the same spot, on a proper graph where decision-making is the criteria for placement along an axis.

P.S. They've got anarchy in the right place. They just need to lump communism in there with it.

[ContrarianLemming]

RevLeft should make it's own compass! from individualist to collectivist left/ring, and from revolutionary to evolutionary (instead of authoritarian and libertarian)

[anticap]

Ah! But true individualism can manifest only through collectivism!

Communists are the ultimate individualists:


In communist society, where nobody has one exclusive sphere of activity but each can become accomplished in any branch he wishes, society regulates the general production and thus makes it possible for me to do one thing today and another tomorrow, to hunt in the morning, fish in the afternoon, rear cattle in the evening, criticise after dinner, just as I have a mind, without ever becoming hunter, fisherman, herdsman or critic.

http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1845/german-ideology/ch01a.htm#a4

Again I say: pick whatever spheres of social life you wish as your axes, then grade them according to influence over decision making, from "all those affected by a decision in this sphere will have a voice in making that decision," to "one asshole dictates everything."

[leftace53]

This again?
I'm probably around a -10, -10.

The test is quite flawed in the wording of its questions, as well as the lack of depth in some questions.

[Widerstand]

I like the test, it does the trick for me, I come out -10 left/rightr and -9 libertarian.

However, a 3D axis would be better, represented with a cube, something like this parody spectrum for nation states.com.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/85/NS_politicalmap.png

I don't agree with it's placements of ideologies, things are placed in positions an apolitical person would have them, but it's meant to be funny. However the makers are on to something here with a third axis.

The difference between Free Market Paradise and Anarchy is personal freedom?

?????????????????????

Lol @ Civil Rights Lovefest.


RevLeft should make it's own compass! from individualist to collectivist left/ring, and from revolutionary to evolutionary (instead of authoritarian and libertarian)

I support this. Well, not a compass, but a "tendency-o-mat" sorta thing, like Germany has prior to elections, where you give your views on certain issues and principles, and they are then compared with how various parties (or in our case Tendencies) view these issues, and when you're done it shows you what tendencies you have most in common with, in what points you agree/disagree with them, etc. If we have someone who can program this and a few knowledgable people, it should be doable!

Then we could all run around with funny "75% Left Communist 89% Anarchist 3% Maoist" shit instead of "-10/-10" "-9.8/-8" (LOOOOL -8!!!! REACTIONARY!!!!). You catch my drift?!!

[Aesop]

:confused:

Joke

[ContrarianLemming]

The difference between Free Market Paradise and Anarchy is personal freedom?

?????????????????????

Lol @ Civil Rights Lovefest.



I support this. Well, not a compass, but a "tendency-o-mat" sorta thing, like Germany has prior to elections, where you give your views on certain issues and principles, and they are then compared with how various parties (or in our case Tendencies) view these issues, and when you're done it shows you what tendencies you have most in common with, in what points you agree/disagree with them, etc. If we have someone who can program this and a few knowledgable people, it should be doable!

Then we could all run around with funny "75% Left Communist 89% Anarchist 3% Maoist" shit instead of "-10/-10" "-9.8/-8" (LOOOOL -8!!!! REACTIONARY!!!!). You catch my drift?!!

agree, but who has the time for this :(

[Widerstand]

Set up a work group or sth. Doesn't have to be done tomorrow obviously. Though I must say I'm neither knowledgeable enough nor good at programming ;D I also have a fear that it'll abolish itself in sectarianism and semantic discussion.

[Die Rote Fahne]

Peep the sig.

[anticap]

About the tendency test idea: PoliticsForum.org (http://politicsforum.org/) used to have something like that, where you took a test after you registered and it pegged you as this or that and suggested which of their sub-forums you might feel most at home in.

I happen to have saved my results page, from way back when, so I can tell you what the spectra were:


Individual vs Social: "The individualist believes that society works best through a focus on individual rights, freedoms, actions and responsibilities. The social thinker believes that the ideal state should focus more upon collective action and take a social approach to rights and responsibilities."
Theist vs Materialist: "The materialist believes that all objective criteria to influence politics can be reasonably derived without recourse to the divine or the spiritual. The theist believes that spiritual beliefs are important and should influence government policy."
Big Government vs Small Government: "The big government advocate believes that governments should be responsible for regulating a wide array of social practices, even what might be considered personal decisions such as abortion, euthanasia, children's education and births. A small government advocate thinks that, wherever possible, these issues should be up to individuals or companies to direct."
Nationalist vs Internationalist: "The nationalist believes in the sovereign rule of nation states, particularly his or her own. The internationalist believes that there should be more important international fora and perhaps, ultimately, international government."
Protectionist vs Free Trader: "The protectionist believes in barriers against free trade most probably due to a belief that this is in his or her country's interests. The free trader rejects such notions, believing that the system ultimately suffers when tariffs, subsidies and other obstacles to free trade persist."
Absolutist vs Non-Absolutist: "The absolutist believes that either a divine presence or scientific laws provide absolute truths about the world, which can and should be applied in practise. The non-absolutist may be either a relativist, or simply someone who is more pragmatic."
Controlled Market vs Liberal Market: "Both of these categories assume a capitalist system. Assuming this system, the controlled market believer holds that government should intervene in regulating a nation's economy: wage laws, environmental standards, privatised industries and workplace relations policy. A liberal market thinker believes that such regulation is unnecessary and often counter-productive."
Marxist vs Non-Marxist: "This scale purports to show to what extent you follow the thought and teachings of Marx. Marxists tend to be scientific, materialist and revolutionary, believe in class struggle and the laws of historical and dialectic materialism."


Each of those was a sliding scale. It then told you what percentage of test-takers were more one way or the other than you, somehow combined your results for each, and told you your tendency. (I was told that my best fit was Marxist and I should hang in the Communism forum.)

It appears to be gone now, at least I can't find it; and I can't remember my username (I rarely went there), so I just re-registered but the e-mail is taking ages. Anyway, you could ask the admins there how they did it. Or at least this may give you some ideas.

[vader]

I don't like political testes. All of tests which I made were inaccurate and contained questions whose all answers were not satisfying for me.

[ContrarianLemming]

About the tendency test idea: PoliticsForum.org (http://politicsforum.org/) used to have something like that, where you took a test after you registered and it pegged you as this or that and suggested which of their sub-forums you might feel most at home in.

I happen to have saved my results page, from way back when, so I can tell you what the spectra were:


Individual vs Social: "The individualist believes that society works best through a focus on individual rights, freedoms, actions and responsibilities. The social thinker believes that the ideal state should focus more upon collective action and take a social approach to rights and responsibilities."
Theist vs Materialist: "The materialist believes that all objective criteria to influence politics can be reasonably derived without recourse to the divine or the spiritual. The theist believes that spiritual beliefs are important and should influence government policy."
Big Government vs Small Government: "The big government advocate believes that governments should be responsible for regulating a wide array of social practices, even what might be considered personal decisions such as abortion, euthanasia, children's education and births. A small government advocate thinks that, wherever possible, these issues should be up to individuals or companies to direct."
Nationalist vs Internationalist: "The nationalist believes in the sovereign rule of nation states, particularly his or her own. The internationalist believes that there should be more important international fora and perhaps, ultimately, international government."
Protectionist vs Free Trader: "The protectionist believes in barriers against free trade most probably due to a belief that this is in his or her country's interests. The free trader rejects such notions, believing that the system ultimately suffers when tariffs, subsidies and other obstacles to free trade persist."
Absolutist vs Non-Absolutist: "The absolutist believes that either a divine presence or scientific laws provide absolute truths about the world, which can and should be applied in practise. The non-absolutist may be either a relativist, or simply someone who is more pragmatic."
Controlled Market vs Liberal Market: "Both of these categories assume a capitalist system. Assuming this system, the controlled market believer holds that government should intervene in regulating a nation's economy: wage laws, environmental standards, privatised industries and workplace relations policy. A liberal market thinker believes that such regulation is unnecessary and often counter-productive."
Marxist vs Non-Marxist: "This scale purports to show to what extent you follow the thought and teachings of Marx. Marxists tend to be scientific, materialist and revolutionary, believe in class struggle and the laws of historical and dialectic materialism."



utter bullcrap criteria up there :rolleyes:

[Jazzhands]

Economic left/right -9.75
social libertarian/authoritarian -8.51

I think a Revleft-based spectrum would be a good idea.

[durhamleft]

I say anyone who does the quiz on this forum and gets higher than -7, should be made suspect.
It must mean you don't believe in the right for abortion or you think gays are digusting.

So are my results not good enough for you?

[anticap]

Don't worry, Aesop's claim is nonsense anyway. It would be easy to deliberately place yourself in the authoritarian-right quadrant despite responding in support of those statements.

[durhamleft]

Don't worry, Aesop's claim is nonsense anyway. It would be easy to deliberately place yourself in the authoritarian-right quadrant despite responding in support of those statements.

Indeed, any test like that is likely to get extreme results depending on how one interprets the questions.

[Apoi_Viitor]

I support this. Well, not a compass, but a "tendency-o-mat" sorta thing, like Germany has prior to elections, where you give your views on certain issues and principles, and they are then compared with how various parties (or in our case Tendencies) view these issues, and when you're done it shows you what tendencies you have most in common with, in what points you agree/disagree with them, etc. If we have someone who can program this and a few knowledgable people, it should be doable!

Then we could all run around with funny "75% Left Communist 89% Anarchist 3% Maoist" shit instead of "-10/-10" "-9.8/-8" (LOOOOL -8!!!! REACTIONARY!!!!). You catch my drift?!!

This.

[Aloysius]

I don't like political testes.
No comment.

[NGNM85]

Last time I took it I got this;

Economic Left/Right:-7.25
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian:-7.13

I wasn't really surprised.