With the U.S. presidential election coming up, I thought I would revisit the website political compass.org and take their little test again like I did back in 2008 to see how my views match up with those of the presidential candidates. First of all, a little background: though the test is not perfect (for example, I wish one of the standard answer options was "neither agree nor disagree"), it is interesting because it purports to give you an idea where your politics lie not only on the traditional "liberal-conservative" scale but also an "authoritarian-libertarian" cross scale.
As you can see by the chart above plotting the positions of those running for president this year, there is very little distance between President Hopey-Changey and Governor 47%-er--just as I've been writing on this blog ad naseum for about a year-and-a-half now. And what should surprise exactly no one is that both of them are at the extreme conservative and authoritarian ends of the two scales. Not a shocker for the two men who aspire to lead a global empire which enforces it hegemony through the use of brute force and globalized neoliberal economic exploitation.
So where do I stack up against the two main assholes running for president? Well, see for yourself:
Holy crap. I'm so far from the political mainstream that Green Party candidate Jill Stein looks like a jackbooted thug in comparison. Interestingly, from what I remember about my results from taking this test during the 2008 campaign I have moved both leftward and downward several notches since then. From what I gather by how the questions are asked, my position on the scale is reflective of someone who believes that government should smash the power of corporations while leaving individuals to live their lives in peace--probably not the most practical of positions. Now I know why it feels like my head is going to explode whenever anyone--Republican or Democrat, liberal or conservative--starts talking politics around me.
Bonus: Fucking aye, sing it, Eric
Hey "Bill" you commie. I scored about the same as you. slightly more "right" must have been a few answers on parenting. You are more left wing than a fucking Canadian!
ReplyDeleteIt would be interesting to run St. Ronnie and Tricky Dick through this gizmo, betcha they come out somewhere in the middle.
keep posting, I need the daily sanity check.
Posthack
here's my score
Economic Left/Right: -5.50
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -5.23
When I was younger, I would have been more in the Barack ORomney area, but now -- I just took the test for the first time -- I am right about where Jill Stein is.
DeleteCareful Bill, you're in enemy of the state territory. Before you know it you'll be kidnapped by stormtroopers and brought before a secretly convened grand jury and coerced into naming others.
ReplyDeleteOr worse, the Hotel California down there at the ass-end of Cuba.
DeleteGoodness, I scored a little more libertarian than you. Weird. I wonder if it was the "owning property" question.
ReplyDeleteOK, Bill
ReplyDeleteI took that test. I am
You can find my result here --
http://peakwatch.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83452403c69e2017d3cc6424e970c-pi
You are at (3,7) in the lower left quandrant, going from left to right and top-down. I am at (5,6) in the same quadrant.
-- Dave
Dave, there is about as much difference between you and me as there is between Obama and Romney. :)
DeleteEconomic Left/Right: -7.50
DeleteSocial Libertarian/Authoritarian: -6.41
More left, not quite as libertarian as you, Bill ... but off the scale compared to the two presidential candidates ;)
ReplyDeleteThanks for reminding me about this link -- very interesting food for thought
What's really scary is looking at Virgil Goode's position on the chart. Holy crap, could that dude get any closer to pure fascism?
DeleteI'm even with Bill on the Libertarian scale, and a couple of clicks to the right on the economic scale. It looks like a lot of us are in similar territory. I wonder what the chart would look like if you gave this test to say, 10,000 random Americans. It would be interesting to see the results compared to those of previous and potential elected officials. I'm guessing (hoping) that the politicians would fall decidedly out of the "mainstream".
ReplyDeleteI'm going to forward this link to the Social Studies teachers at the school where I work.
My guess is that the average American would probably be right about dead center, which is still way to the left and libertarian of our so-called "mainstream" politicians. The problem is that the questions are based on logic and reason, whereas political campaigns in this stupid country are based on anything but.
DeleteOccupy the Debates:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.earthoccupied.com/Occupy_Earth/News_&_social_comment/Entries/2012/10/17_NEWS__leaked_memo_proves_US_presidential_debates_are_rigged,_as_1_per_cent_has_Green_Party_leader_arrested.html
Watch the flag, haha!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=nKwwPVO8bNk
I must be in the right place, I'm just a bit northwest of you. ;-)
ReplyDeleteI'm just about dead middle in the left-libertarian quadrant. Economic Left/Right: -5.38, Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -4.92. There are a few social questions that might have made me a raving fascist compared to you - ha ha. I wasn't always on 'strongly agree/strongly disagree', too.
ReplyDeleteYou say the average would be the connecting point of all four quadrants - I actually think the middle in today's society are the middle of the upper right quadrant. Face it - we're the anarchist freaks.
Suggested reading for libertarian lefties: Chris Hedges, Naomi Klein, Howard Zinn, George Orwell, Thomas Paine, and Noam Chomsky. I can so live with that.
In other news, there will be a third party debate:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/17/larry-king-third-party-debate_n_1974514.html
That's a debate I might actually watch.
Yet another halfwit Market Fundamentalist proselytizing quiz. With so many loaded questions, I couldn't make it past page 2; the stupid is so strong in LoLbertarian land, it burns.
ReplyDeleteI'd rather take a test to see if I'm "more" Mormon or Jehovah's Witness on one axis, and "more" Rap or Metal on the other axis. As if.
Don't forget, there's no significant difference between LoLbertarian and Authoritarian.
ReplyDelete"We libertarians do not oppose hierarchy or command or authority..." ~Stephan Kinsella
Straight from one of the jackass' mouth.
The older I get, the more anarchic I get, according to this test. I was -6, -6 in 2008, and now I'm -8,-7.
ReplyDelete