Here's how I came out:
Economic Left/Right: 2.00
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -3.79
Then I did a search to find my previous results, from January 2007:
Economic Left/Right: -0.63
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -4.21
So I am a bit more right wing and a bit less libertarian. Not much. You can see I'm awfully close to the center.
I see there are some other political tests I could retake, but I'm tired of answering questions now.
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127 comments:
I see there are some other political tests I could retake, but I'm tired of answering questions now.
That is sort of a tell, isn't it?
It needs a Z-axis for grumpiness. My experience is that people become more grumpy and less libertarian with age. When the government dangles the Social Security carrot in front of you, it's hard not to like them. And how dare those young people try to take that away from you?
Here are my results:
Economic Left/Right: 4.25
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -1.44
About the same as you. At least the same quadrant.
This test lacks a third dimension. There should be a z-axis for Meadeness.
I've never taken it before, my scores were:
Economic Left/Right: 3.88
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -1.54
I need a z axis for test skeptism. I did like the astrology question, if only to see Crack check "Hell No!"
I couldn't help but notice that at the end of the test results a there was a special message about the dangers of right wing thought but not left wing thought. Apparently, there isn't any.
In the words of the President, this test offered too many false choices. There were several either/or questions when I thought, "What's the difference?" But my results were 8.62/0.72. I think the .72 results from my idea that there's a lot of stuff people shouldn't do but should be allowed to do.
My results:
Economic Left/Right: 0.88
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -3.03
Interesting.
How about we plug in some Stanley Kubrick on the z axis?
0.75, -1.23
There were a bunch of questions I really wished I could answer "Don't give a crap" or "This is a horribly misworded question."
Whatever.
wv: insiat - This test doesn't provide a whole lot of insiat.
From the quiz: A significant advantage of a one-party state is that it avoids all the arguments that delay progress in a democratic political system.
Agreeing or disagreeing with this statement says nothing about whether one considers this to be a good thing or a bad thing.
Almost right on the axis
Economic Left/Right: 1.00
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: 0.36
I've taken this test before too and usually turn out the same
Economic Left/Right: 6.25
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -1.54
At this time I'm a bit more authoritarian than usual. Probably the grumpy factor the Coketown referenced.
Many of the questions could have gone either way. For instance who is more important artist/writers or business/producers. My answer would have to have been BOTH. But that wasn't a choice.
My results are:
Economic Left/Right: 4.38
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -1.69
I'm a little more right and a little less libertarian than Althouse.
Real close to Fred4Pres though.
wv: lessedou
+3.12 / -1.28
And I agree that many questions don't have vailid responses, for me.
OK, so I'm hating the first 2 questions:
1. If economic globalisation is inevitable, it should primarily serve humanity rather than the interests of trans-national corporations.
This is an either/or question, when the answer could easily be both.
2. I'd always support my country, whether it was right or wrong.
Wouldn't it be supporting the country to argue for changes that could be made to make it right?
So, whatever my results wind up being, they'll be skewed because I don't know what my answers would be.
- Lyssa
They used to provide placements for historical figures until they got too many complaints. I was right next to Jesus and Gandhi.
I lost my score but, but it was smack dab in the middle of green.
Where would YOU put Jesus?
Don't see Obama in there. Hard to pin him down to any quadrant. Man with no principles or convictions.
I am in with the Gandhis, Dalai Lamas of the world and that is just fine.
Economic Left/Right: -2.62
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -4.56
DBQ the statement was business/manufacturers are more important than artists/writers - so I disagreed strongly. All are equally important in their own way, and many artist/writers are quite successful businesswise... That gets your "both"
wv:abballh
I always like this test. They ask enough questions to make up for inaccruate responses, but there are a couple of possible flaws.
Example: Should the gov't have regulations to protect the enviroment because businesses cannot be trusted on their own to do that?
Both me and the terrorist group EarthFirst would answer yes to that. It's just to what degree we have govt' regulations.
Economic Left/Right: 3.25
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: 1.69
I'm comfortable with this.
We know the evils of Economic Right/Authoritarianism, but what about the evils of Economic Left/Libertarianism? What about the debt problems in Greece, Spain, Portugal and Italy? Doesn't economic implosion count for something?
I came across much more moderately than I probably really am as I do believe in reasonable regulation.
Same with the question: "Are the rich (I think they mean high income earners) taxed to high"? I said no, as I think they are taxed just about right. But a hard core socialist would also say yes, because she would think we need to confiscate wealth.
Economic L/R: 3.50
SL/ Authorit: -3.74
Can I get a cookie and juice like after giving blood?
My numnbers were:
Economic Left/Right: 3.38
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -1.59
So, um, yay for me, I guess.
@Peter Hoh -- I used the word progress as the pivot to come up with an answer.
I'm with Crunchy on the questions.
With that said:
Left/Right 2.88
Auth/Lib -2.67
My WV is "Scalist" Does it describe my views or does it have astrological significance?
I think Coketown's Z axis is where Authoritarian goes.
I'm on the other side of the Y axis as Ann and a bit more to the right.
PS See, Ann, you are turning into a Libertarian.
Rachel Maddow called. You're an extremist Professor.
Haven't retaken it in awhile but I was one notch south from smack dab in the middle.
Economic Left/Right: 0.62
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -0.72
It looks like I'm almost identical to Angela Merkel.
Economic Left/Right: 4.50
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: 1.33
People's beliefs are too nuanced to be determined by yes/no answers. Also, there is a huge difference between morality and politics. There are many things I consider immoral that I believe should be legal for adults.
Hey, look what I got.
I'm right on the line between authoritarian and libertarian and three to the right. I took it some time ago and think I may have been more libertarian so maybe the grouch factor has increased.
I thought the test was a little weird, though.
my results
Apparently I need to work on my extreme right wing nut-jobbiness/
you son's a bitch! We're taking you out! Go straight to hell!
Rotten questions, false choices etc. But I went ahead and played their game. My coordinates are 2,2. As everyone knows, we Catholics are authoritarian.
Like it's a bad thing.
3.12/-3.18
It seems like the last time I took the test, scores which put me into the economic right and into libertarian territory, put me near Milton Friedman. I was quite happy to be in that neighborhood.
I always liked Zombie's political spectrum, with the axes being Govt. Control (less or more) and Human Nature (constructed or innate).
Check it out (scroll down):
http://www.zombietime.com/zomblog/?p=1644
Click on their graph for the 2008 primary contestants: they're putting every Democrat but Kucinich on the *Right*.
So what do you have to do to be on their idea of the "Left"?
"Where would YOU put Jesus?"
I took the test and answered how I think Jesus would answer.
Economic Left/Right: -0.75
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -0.26
He tended to be a social conservative but a believer in free will, mildly resistant against Roman authority but not actively, as he promoted personal responsibility above everything else. He was a faithful Jewish male of his era in most respects, though he made some leaps in distinctive directions, so was anti-authoritarian partly but also very authoritarian when it came to God's ultimate judgment.
Which means he comes out mostly as a moderate in both issues, which is probably why everyone got mad at him.
WV: (not kidding) Palin. She has been the anointed one now!
Once a lefty, always a lefty? I took this test about four years ago and joked I was hanging out with Gandhi...I still am.
-2.00
-4.10
I feel so lonely :(
Economic Left/Right: 3.88
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -4.56
No big surprise there.
Hey, I'm a Neo-Liberal Anarchist! That sounds cool!
I'm a right-wing authoritarian. Who'd 'a guessed?
I'm a lefty libertarian. Not sure why I'm so left since I'm pretty much pro business. I figure I'm somewhere in the Brink Lindsey neighborhood.
"Economic Left/Right: 3.00
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -2.82"
Will this be on the final exam?
L/R -5.75
L/A - 3.33
Hi deborah! Ann needs us. We add balance.
"Click on their graph for the 2008 primary contestants: they're putting every Democrat but Kucinich on the *Right*."
And...is there a problem?
"So what do you have to do to be on their idea of the 'Left'"?
Perhaps it requires actually having some actual left of center ideas or policy positions. I'm not holding my breath.
nina said...
"L/R -5.75
L/A - 3.33
Hi deborah! Ann needs us. We add balance."
Nina, you add a depth of economic cluelessness that is unfathomable. You might even say your views are unbalanced. You may think that it would be nice to live in the world that you imagine, but actually you are very fortunate to be living in America in the 21st century, where we have the accumulated benefits of over 200 years of free market economic success.
I've never seen this before, but took it.
Results:
Your political compass
Economic Left/Right: 2.12
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian:
-3.08
In good company, too.
Although I think the test is too brief and simplistic to offer anything more than a crude estimation of one's actual position along this dual continuum, and I think I am not actually so extreme as these results would indicate, here is how I scored:
Economic Left/Right: -8.38
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -7.49
Kirby O wasn't saying that when he was ...hobnobbing with WS Burroughs--at least in person. He waited until he was among his sunday school cronies. beatniks are his aeroplane
One wonders what KO's students say about a Lit.teacher blessing Rush, Foxnews, PatRobertson, Perry, Romney, etc.Lets ask 'em!.
A better metric would be like A wannabe-mafia scale. Ie, do you lie, cheat, deceive, commit crimes to succeed? Miss A, KO, and most of the A-tards would score well on that
"Click on their graph for the 2008 primary contestants: they're putting every Democrat but Kucinich on the *Right*."
You have to remember that this was based on what they said, not on what they actually believe and do. My guess is that a large percentage of politicians, left and right, would measure pretty high on the authoritarian scale if they gave honest and accurate answers. Certainly this is true with a good percentage of lefties these days.
Economic Left/Right: 6.76
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -0.32
About the same Milton Friedman, yes! I wonder if there is a US politician that falls in this area? I think most GOP pols are lower in the Economic score and more authoritarian. And the Dems will be to the left of the center line.
Econ L/R 3
Social L/A 0
Robert Cook said...
". . . . I think I am not actually so extreme as these results would indicate . . . "
Robert, you are kidding, right? Based on your posts here, you should take a self delusion test promptly.
Economic Left/Right: -8.38
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -7.49
Mine:
Economic Left/Right: -5.38
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -6.36
I'm sort of disappointed in myself.
Or should that be "along these dual continua"?
Only 2 hours to the big speech. I'm on pins and needles.
So Pogo you are not the wild radical guy you seem. It just shows that middle of the packers can have a sense of humor too.
Speaking of Packers . . . .
Tonight's the night.
what happened to the link to your blog Cookie the collectivist?
Anything on the Econ line less than zero is delusional.
Instead of "Communism/collectivism", it should say "Unicorns shitting Marshmallows".
It's like not believing in gravity.
Wow. I had to quit after the first question. How did you resolve that one?
(I know - no right or wrong answer in the traditional sense. I just can't see the distinction.)
garage mahal said...
I'm sort of disappointed in myself."
Let me show some solidarity. I'm disappointed in you too Garage.
Thanks David.
@David "Speaking of Packers . . .
Tonight's the night"
The Obama pregame seems lame.
2.50, -1.44
Economic Left/Right: 5.88
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -4.82
But yeah, very poorly worded questions.
wv: immenest -- not just immen, baby, immenest!
I'm beyond disappointed. Approaching disgusted.
I don't see any questions that account for the leftist preferred methods of controlling behavior:
No smoking.
Seat belts.
Can't build due to endangered species.
Mandatory purchase of health insurance.
Zoning regs.
Business regs.
The test is bullshit as a result, because it makes all lefties look less authoritarian than they prove to be in practice.
Good observation, Pogo.
The test is bullshit as a result, because it makes all lefties look less authoritarian than they prove to be in practice.
I'm guessing Hitler is in your quadrant.
7.75/-1.51
I'm a solid wingnut. Very close to where they have Milton Friedman on the graph.
I can live with that.
Gee, what were the chances that Garage would go Godwin?
No, you're confusing me with Obama, the lefty national socialist.
Not to worry. I'm sure Obama's pregame speech will boost your spirits.
Assuming the spirits are liquid.
I meant that as, you didn't like where you came out on the results, more than I think you're Hitler. Thatcher isn't that far from Hitler according to this test.
We disagree what is authoritarian. I think threatening a state with the National Guard and harassing intellectuals to silence those who disagree with you authoritarian, but the right loves that kind of stuff. Or cheering the death penalty.
I got a perfect score.
Economic Left/Right: 7.38
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -2.10
Almost Friedmann.
we Catholics are authoritarian...
I was educated as catholic. Economic liberalism was born inside the Catholic Church, the jesuists from the school of Salamanca created it. Adam Smith work was based in the books by Turgot, professor of La Sorbonne and the Abbe Condillac.
The majority rule was a proposal of Marsilio Di Padua, a conciliarist and reformer of the monastic rule that opposed the Pope and supported the Emperor.
The fuero de los españoles preceded in 20 years the Charta Magna.
Montaigne , a catholic victim of both catholics and protestans convinced Henry the Fourth to pass the toleration decrre that gave born to the freedom of concience
2.12
-0.41
I was pretty close to dead center which surprised me because at work I am the wingnut.
I said no, as I think they are taxed just about right.
so you think a marginal rate of 95% like in the USA is right?
Althouse - prepare a chart that shows the results for your commenters. Then compare and contrast- try to be interesting.
"Where would YOU put Jesus?"
he was a keynesian : Read the three servants parable: To invest is very good. To save is good but not so much(was he a true keynesian?) and to keep it below the bed is a mortal sin.
Pay your taxes
Mine:
Economic Left/Right: -3.56
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -3.74
This why I don't speak up much, here.
L/R 4.62
L/A -3.03
Which is, coincidentally, exactly the right place to be.
Hi, nina, mightypuck, garage, cookie! But as mightypuck said, I was surprised:
"I'm a lefty libertarian. Not sure why I'm so left since I'm pretty much pro business. I figure I'm somewhere in the Brink Lindsey neighborhood."
I did vote for McCain, y'know.
Who knew that David was a self-righteous crank?
Only 1 hour to the beginning of the end of our long national nightmare!!!
I came out very near Althouse but a little more centrist on both axis.
BUT, I had no idea how to answer many of the questions, so I don't think my answers could possibly indicate anything. I'm pretty sure I'm much more libertarian and right than Althouse.
If you are radical about your beliefs, then I think it might indicate correctly, but then you wouldn't need the test would you.
The charts showing "experts" estimates for various leaders had nobody in the lower right quadrant where most of us probably are.
They show G.W. Bush as the farthest right leader shown. The guy who spent taxes like a European is far right. This would put Ron Paul somewhere east of the Azores.
I got 2.12 right and -0.21 Libertarian, close to the center. So why do my Democrat friends say I'm a "right=wing nut?" THey must be in the upper left with Old Joe Stalin.
Kit: "This why I don't speak up much, here."
Please do. We desperately need more people like you commenting more. We used to have more, I miss it. I suspect it is related to the run of bad luck the left has been having lately, but ideas you still believe in are worth putting out there and debating. It's just strangers who you will never have to face, no matter how ugly they are, which is some good luck.
Seriously, your point of view is not well represented in either numbers or quality. I know you would improve that.
@Kit:
Ditto what bago said.
Speak up!!
I came in:
Economic Left/Right: 4.62
Libertarian/Authoritarian: -1.33
And in the minds of some of my friends, I am an off-the-charts, extreme Teabagger. That no doubt says something about those friends.
@Garage:
I see. But that is my complaint. All the authoritarian questions neglect known leftist statism methods for controlling citizens.
Thus, the American left deceptively appears anti-authoritarian.
Questions about gun control, self-defense, freedom of the press, or the idea that business regs might become excessive would have shown how controlling the left usually is.
Ann, I took that test many years ago and retook it again today, and find myself essentially where you are. (A little more to the left on economic issues, but still right of center -- economic left/right 0.62; social libertarian/authoritarian -3.08) What I find interesting is that the results page identifies no well-known politicians within the vicinity of what the test identifies as our "political compass." What do you think that means?
@ Kit.
Also ditto what bagho said. There is no purpose in talking into an echo chamber. Spirited and friendly disagreement, discourse and debate are welcome.
Who knows, you might be able to change a few minds or sway a few opinions.
It is telling that the majority of us who claim conservatism are fiscally on the right but are mild to strong libertarians on social issues. Trying to pigeonhole all conservatives as being in the Falwell style (right authoritarian social repressives) is just false.
note ,garag that many of the commenters have..no blog, no info, no posts.
why? because there's one or two right-wing trolls spamming away--too cowardly to link to a real site.
Time to end the fun at Baroness Von Althouse TP rally, really
I'm libertarian left, but I hate the books in my group...nothing but whining about the rich and W, which is completely opposite of my beliefs. I could read the books of the libt right and authoritarian right
Here's me:
I'm a Lefty?! Well, I suppose in ideals, but I am pretty Right when it comes to what I think government should compel.
Economic Left/Right: -2.12
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -0.41 l
I'm probably one of the few people here who is more socially conservative than economically conservative, but I'm also quite a Western conservative, which is a lot less authoritarian, imposing sort of social conservatism.
Good God Woman,
After living with a bleeding heart liberal Republican woman for over 25 years (we are now divorced), I think I have found my soulmate.
What do you see in this Meade fellow anyway?
Economic Left/Right 5.88
Social Libertarian/ Authoritarian- -0.97
I got: 0.00 and -3.41, almost identical to Chris Althouse Cohen.
I've always had trouble with other people's interpretation of "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth", because I always interpreted it in its most reasonable way as "Let the punishment fit the crime".
Others it seems say it's all so Old Testamenty.
Meade, 'fess up. You know you want to.
For the republicans to win the democraps have to do something really, really stupid!
Libya didn't come close ...
And, of course, "borders" can break out in Europe. As people re-learn to define themselves as countries over there. Rather than being led by the gnomes in Belgium.
As to "where people really are" in the spectrum ... they're not on the left. Or the right. But somewhere in the middle. And, unfortunately, the republicans remain plain vanilla.
Obama hasn't really seen competition!
The only way obama can lose is that if he decides to announce he's a muslim.
Even Jerry Falwell was not a social repressive. Liberty University did not and does not foster intolerance. There is no racism there. There is a special dorm for unmarried pregnant students. They are not ostracized. Their education is not interrupted. I have a relative that had a multiracial child out of wedlock while at Liberty University. She stayed in that dorm and gave the child up for adoption and also completed her degree. She loved and respected Jerry Falwell--BTW she is Catholic. I was surprised at the long line of students who lined up to shake his hand and speak to him after the graduation. No matter his harsh language, he practiced Christian love.
"What do you see in this Meade fellow anyway?"
I can only say I love everything about that man. But thanks for the counteroffer!
I guess most of us are going to be in the same bracket.
Economic Left/Right: 1.88
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -1.59
Questions about gun control, self-defense, freedom of the press, or the idea that business regs might become excessive would have shown how controlling the left usually is.
Well, the frickin' abortion question had me voting pro-choice. I have to be opposed to every abortion? Can I just be appalled by the homicidal ones?
Here's a better question: "Should unelected officials have the power to define human beings as legal non-persons?" Let's see who the real autocrats are.
"When the government dangles the Social Security carrot in front of you, it's hard not to like them. And how dare those young people try to take that away from you?"
Old, grumpy and thinking, "That's MY money, dammit."
One of my professors (a PhD, yes she is) went off on Ayn Rand (we got to the part of Greek Mythology about Atlas) and she was outraged that Rand had filed for SS when she got old. (She also said that there probably weren't any Tea Party Libertarian people in her class (of 825) because they didn't go to school, that Libertarians were Republicans who smoked pot, and that they had all the money (despite not going to school) and then we got to look at another picture of a Greek urn. It was amazing. The young man sitting next to me with the jar-head hair cut wasn't cracking so much as a smile.) She felt that Rand was a hypocrite (I believe she also used the term "skanky old bitch") but I figure... she's only a hypocrite if she never paid into social security in the US... and that I don't know.
Mike K/
My results are identical to yours, LOL.
Hey Althouse -- I'm in your same spot! And yet Meade found you first . . .
I think that the questions are off. I came out as 4.5 on economics, which doesn't surprise me, but only -0.82 on social whatever-it-was. But asking social issue questions of a libertarian doesn't mean anything. Yes, I think that we've gone overboard on public sexual expression or whatever it said, but that says nothing at all about how authoritarian I'm inclined to be about it. The whole point is how much you feel the need to enforce your preferences on others, not about what your preferences *are*.
I suspect that the quiz makes the same fatal mistake of many liberals and interprets sexual liberty as the measure of all social issue liberty while ignoring (as someone mentioned) the various social things that liberals tend to be authoritarian about.
The problem with the test and graph is that the lower left quadrant is basically self-contradictory. I.e., if you favor a controlled economy (the left) then you favor authoritarianism, whether you admit it or not, and whether you disagree with some forms of authoritarianism or not. The fact that there are different forms of authoritarianism is what allows at least a self-consistent spread on the right side of the graph. I.e., you might favor free economic activity but want to control other kinds of activity.
Fwiw:
L-R: 6.00
A-L: -3.49
Dnag..
I'm to the Right of Genghis Khan I guess!
Actually I scored 4th blue dot on the right just at the border between left and right.
So that's:
Economic Left/Right: 4.00
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: 1
I'm just an easy going guy who packs heat.
I'm in almost the exact same place as Milton Friedman.
Cool.
"I can only say I love everything about that man. But thanks for the counteroffer!"
Being relatively new to the later-in-life dating scene, I have to say that there is much to become disillusioned about. But you guys give me hope.
I wonder how my opinion about abstract art is an indicator of whether I am "economic left or right" or authoritarian/libertarian? I think it has more to do with the survey makers stereotypes about "liberals and conservatives.' There are many such questions in this survey. I think it's rubbish.
I'm just about the same as the Professor.
(BUT I DIDN'T VOTE FOR OBAMA!)
Never finished. Too many BS questions. Here's another version with only 10 questions:
http://www.nolanchart.com/survey.php
Economic 3.12, Social -2.72
My economic number is not that close to yours (0.88 vs. 2.00), which probably comes from my degree in finance. But, my Social Libertarian/Authoritarian number is almost exactly the same (-3.64 vs. -3.79). Fascinating.
And puts into question my self-perception of "fiscally conservative/socially liberal". Guess I'll have to start calling myself "fiscally moderate/socially slightly less moderate than liberal". Doesn't roll off the tongue quite the same.
The test is way off. I'm very close to Edwards and Obama and I've voted for Republicans all my life. The questions are overly simplistic or insultingly distorted and this one was entirely nonsensical/apolitical:
"When you are troubled, it's better not to think about it, but to keep busy with more cheerful things."
How is that left/right?
Just for the record.
Economic Left/Right: 4.38
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -0.36
Thought I was righter.
Economic Left/Right: 6.88
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -2.15
I think I'm more libertarian and less right-wing than this indicates, overall. As noted, many questions present false dilemmas. Others contain premises with which I cannot agree. "Should rich people have the right to better health care", for example. I don't believe in involuntary servitude, so I don't think anyone has a "right" to compel someone else to provide them with health care. I had to assume they were actually asking if people should be allowed to purchase services of their choosing with their own money, with which I Strongly Agree. But that's not what they asked, and maybe it's not what they scored.
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