NationStates Jolt Archive

You got a good test to check what my political standing is? I saw one before but there were 160 questions so i just wouldn't bother.

I see alot of people have political standing sigs with -8.5 unitarian and stuff,.

here: http://www.politicalcompass.org/

here: http://www.politicalcompass.org/

Thanks.

Economic Left/Right: 3.13
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -3.13

Economic Left/Right: -6.38
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -5.44

I think I might have moved slightly left again. I'm still in the company of Nelson Mandela, the Dalai Lama, and Ghandi, though, so I figure I'm doing well. =)

Economic Left/Right: -6.38
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -5.44

I think I might have moved slightly left again. I'm still in the company of Nelson Mandela, the Dalai Lama, and Ghandi, though, so I figure I'm doing well. =)I have faith in you Demp. You'll turn into an anarchist yet ;)

Economic Left/Right: 1.88
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -1.69

Meh.

http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=494088

in case you wanted to know where you are at around here. ;)

here: http://www.politicalcompass.org/

though it appears to have a leftward and anti-authoritarian bias

I have faith in you Demp. You'll turn into an anarchist yet ;)

I don't know about that. I have faith in humanity, but not really *that* much faith. =)

I tend to shy away from ideologies that require people to be "better than they've ever been."

Economic Left/Right: -3.25
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -4.77

Hmm...slightly different then the results from a while ago in my signature.

though it appears to have a leftward and anti-authoritarian bias

it does? post a neutral one I demand it!

Thanks.

Economic Left/Right: 3.13
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -3.13
üb3r-communism!

Not really, you're a liberal.

it does? post a neutral one I demand it!

There was one on here a while back that had like 6 different labels it could give you. I ended up with only one label, which basically amounted to "The government should stay the hell out of my personal business." On every other spectrum, I ended up moderate.

That poll was a bit skewed too, though. Some of the questions were quite obviously biased.

I took the quiz three different times and got a different score each time.

I took the quiz three different times and got a different score each time.

It really needs a "neither agree nor disagree" option.

It really needs a "neither agree nor disagree" option.

I am often on the fence on whether I want to choose that I simply agree/disagree or if I am strongly in agreement/disagreement. I decided that if you agree/disagree then you might as well feel it strongly.

though it appears to have a leftward and anti-authoritarian bias
No kidding. I mean "Predator multinational corporations", "Social responsibility to shareholder"? What the heck is this except an advertisement for the Communist party? Even the length reeks of the old Soviet traditions.

Do the world's smallest quiz. It may have it's faults, but excessive leftward bias isn't one of them.

http://www.self-gov.org/quiz.html

It really needs a "neither agree nor disagree" option.
I really have trouble with it to, because it keeps saying "blah blah blah" and agree or disagree, but I think a lot of things that shouldn't be government policy, I mean do I believe in God? yes. If I put yes are they going to assume that I want a theocracy?

it does? post a neutral one I demand it!

i don't know of one, really.

btw, what i mean by bias is that in my experience the pc puts people i would consider rather obviously authoritarian into the anti-authoritarian half of the chart. i'm not sure how much of this is self-delusion (as i know a lot of 'libertarians' in real life that have been more than willing to jump right in line with the other authoritarian followers when given the slightest chance) and how much just falls out of the nature of the phrasing of statements in the test and it's weighting of responses.

also it tends to put, for example, mainstream democrats well to the left of the party they support, and lumps them down in the corner with the anarchists and commies. but we all know that there are significant economic differences between them. on this score i suspect that it is largely to do with the phrasing of statements, as it doesn't seem to have too much of an effect on committed randroid-style rightwingers.

I really have trouble with it to, because it keeps saying "blah blah blah" and agree or disagree, but I think a lot of things that shouldn't be government policy, I mean do I believe in God? yes. If I put yes are they going to assume that I want a theocracy?

My main objection to the popular political compass quiz isn't the bias. They admit that. The problem is that questions are worded very badly. Clearly no one will want a "predatory" corporation to succeed at the expense of humanity. Other questions suggest alternatives that aren't given. For instance, a mother should consider her first job to care for the child -- that implies she should be a homemaker. But a father should also consider his first job to care for his child. Does that mean he stays home too?

It's a pretty poor quiz, but what can you expect from academia?

No kidding. I mean "Predator multinational corporations", "Social responsibility to shareholder"? What the heck is this except an advertisement for the Communist party?

its not an advertisement for anything - rightwingers have no problem picking out the appropriate response to such statements. but the test has a hell of a time distinguishing between the reactions of a revolutionary socialist and a supporter of the capitalist welfare state.

its not an advertisement for anything - rightwingers have no problem picking out the appropriate response to such statements. but the test has a hell of a time distinguishing between the reactions of a revolutionary socialist and a supporter of the capitalist welfare state.

Economic assessment is perfectly accurate, I think. I cannot stand the left or the right, which was reflected by a perfect 0.00 economic score last I took the test. :D

The test is fine. I think that most socialists have a hell of a time distinguishing between the cooperative/collective and the welfare state, if anything.

The Political Compass (http://www.politicalcompass.org) is pretty good. There is also the PoliticsForum Quiz (http://www.orgburo.com/pofoquiz/pofo.php). Mainly because I really like the idea of being a small government, free trade socialist. :D


Overall, the PoliticsForum quiz considers you a socially-orientated, materialist, small-government, internationalist, free-trade, absolutist, kind of person, who doesn't sound like a Marxist.

These characteristics would put you in the overall category of socialist.

Individual vs. Social: 62 out of 100
Theist vs. Materialist: 69 out of 100
Big Government vs. Small Government: 78 out of 100
Nationalist vs. Internationalist: 78 out of 100
Protectionist vs. Free Trader: 92 out of 100
Absolutist vs. Non-Absolutist: 22 out of 100
Controlled Market vs. Liberal Market: 58 out of 100
Marxist vs. Non-Marxist: 62 out of 100


Although I think there's still a reflection of the very common mistake to assume that the issue of "Controlled Market vs. Liberal Market" means "Government vs. Corporation." Corporations like to spread disinformation to the effect that they stand for freedom, thus the slight 8 point lean in that direction in my case I suppose. But otherwise, my near dead center score on "Controlled Market vs. Liberal Market" reflects my Political Compass economic score (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=11718122&postcount=22). Government and Corporations are simply two sides of the same coin.

On the PoliticsForum one I got the following results:

Overall, the PoliticsForum quiz considers you a internationalist, free-trade, kind of person.

These characteristics would put you in the overall category of borderline internationalist.

You scored 50 out of 100 on a scale of Individual vs Social.

You scored 50 out of 100 on a scale of Theist vs Materialist.

You scored 59 out of 100 on a scale of Big Government vs Small Government.

You scored 67 out of 100 on a scale of Nationalist vs Internationalist.

You scored 70 out of 100 on a scale of Protectionist vs Free Trader.

You scored 59 out of 100 on a scale of Absolutist vs Non Absolutist.

You scored 41 out of 100 on a scale of Controlled Market vs Liberal Market.

You scored 57 out of 100 on a scale of Marxist vs Non-Marxist.

My results of the PoliForum thingy:

Individual vs Social: You scored 37 out of 100
Theist vs Materialist: You scored 78 out of 100
Big Government vs Small Government: You scored 90 out of 100
Nationalist vs Internationalist: You scored 75 out of 100
Protectionist vs Free Trader: You scored 100 out of 100
Absolutist vs Non Absolutist: You scored 69 out of 100
Controlled Market vs Liberal Market: You scored 65 out of 100
Marxist vs Non-Marxist: You scored 34 out of 100

As usualy though, some of the results are misleading in the extreme, due to poorly worded questions/creatively imterpreted answers. I don't think, for example, that a wellfare state is a good thing. I just think that as far as government policies go, the alternative is even worse. If the question had been whether or not a wellfare sate is a good idea in my opinion, the answer would've been no.

My sig says it all.

Overall, the PoliticsForum quiz considers you an individually-orientated, materialist, small-government, internationalist, free-trade, non-absolutist, kind of person, who doesn't sound like a Marxist.

Economic Left/Right: -9.63
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -7.79

Ho hum.

I like this quiz: http://www.selectsmart.com/FREE/select.php?client=polphil\

#1 You are a social liberal. Like all liberals, you believe in individual freedom as a central objective - but you believe that lack of economic opportunity, education, healthcare etc. can be just as damaging to liberty as can an oppressive state. As a result, social liberals are generally the most outspoken defenders of human rights and civil liberties, and combine this with support for a mixed economy, with an enabling state providing public services to ensure that people's social rights as well as their civil liberties are upheld.
More information about this result.

Get your selector results graphic and text links here.

The most frequent top results for this selector.

#2 You are a social democrat. Like other socialists, you believe in a more economically equal society - but you have jettisoned any belief in the idea of the planned economy. You believe in a mixed economy, where the state provides certain key services and where the productivity of the market is harnessed for the good of society as a whole. Many social democrats are hard to distinguish from social liberals, and they share a tolerant social outlook.
More information about this result.

Get your selector results graphic and text links here.

The most frequent top results for this selector.

#3 You are a market liberal. You adhere to the traditional liberal belief in freedom, and take this to mean negative rather than positive freedom - i.e. a slimmed-down state is the best guarantor of freedom. You will therefore support a laissez-faire economic policy, and you will be reasonably tolerant on the social front - though less emphatically so than social liberals.
More information about this result.

Get your selector results graphic and text links here.

The most frequent top results for this selector.

#4 You adhere to the Third Way. The Third Way is a fairly nebulous concept, but it rests on the idea of combining economic efficiency - i.e. a market economy with some intervention - with social responsibility. The focus is emphatically on the community as a whole, and not necessarily equality per se. Adherents of the Third Way range from moderate to conservative in their social views, and have recently been willing to take a "tough" line on a range of social issues.
More information about this result.

Get your selector results graphic and text links here.

The most frequent top results for this selector.

#5 You are an anarcho-capitalist. Anarcho-capitalists take the Jeffersonian belief that "that government is best which governs least", and extend it - "that government is best which governs not at all". The theory of anarcho-capitalism is that the market can replace the state as a regulator of individual behaviour (resulting in private courts, private policing etc.).
More information about this result.

Get your selector results graphic and text links here.

The most frequent top results for this selector.

#6 You are an ecologist or green. You believe that the single greatest challenge of our time is the threat to our natural environment, and you feel that radical action must be taken to protect it - whether in the enlightened self-interest of humanity (in the tradition of 'shallow ecologism') or, more radically, from the perspective of the ecosystem as a whole, without treating humans as the central species (deep ecologism).
More information about this result.

Get your selector results graphic and text links here.

The most frequent top results for this selector.

#7 You are a classical socialist, believing in equality of outcome as a principle. This might mean greater equality (e.g. Old Labour), or as close to absolute equality as possible. However, you will believe in an extensive public sector, covering not just public services (transport, healthcare etc.) but probably also the 'commanding heights' of industry (e.g. iron and steel). Your views on personal morality will be reasonably tolerant, in general, but there is considerable variation within this political group.
More information about this result.

Get your selector results graphic and text links here.

The most frequent top results for this selector.

#8 You are a Christian democrat - or, in the UK, a "One Nation conservative"; in other words, although you share the usual conservative belief in stability and duty, you believe that such duties include a responsibility on the part of the better-off to help those who are less fortunate. You will be socially conservative, but in favour of a mixed economy where the state does have a role in providing public services. Christian democracy arose after World War II, succeeding more doctrinaire Catholic parties dating from the 1870s.
More information about this result.

Get your selector results graphic and text links here.

The most frequent top results for this selector.

#9 You are a libertarian conservative. You hold that the free market is the best way of organising economic activity, but you combine this with adherence to more traditional social values of authority and duty.
More information about this result.

Get your selector results graphic and text links here.

The most frequent top results for this selector.

#10 You are a communist. You believe, at least in theory, in absolute equality of income - and you oppose the whole capitalist system per se. You want to abolish the market economy and replace it with one in which the workers (usually meaning the state) control the building blocks of the economy. Your views on personal morality will vary; traditional communists tended to be more authoritarian, while modern "eurocommunists" tend to take a liberal line.
More information about this result.

Get your selector results graphic and text links here.

The most frequent top results for this selector.

#11 You are a fascist. You combine a strong belief in the nation with authoritarian social values, and a willingness to impose your views upon others. You strongly oppose immigration, and are willing to take radical action to combat it.
More information about this result.

Get your selector results graphic and text links here.

The most frequent top results for this selector.

#12 You are an anarcho-communist, aiming for a society without the state, based on small, decentralised groups living communally.

#1 You are a libertarian conservative. You hold that the free market is the best way of organising economic activity, but you combine this with adherence to more traditional social values of authority and duty.

#2 You are a Christian democrat - or, in the UK, a "One Nation conservative"; in other words, although you share the usual conservative belief in stability and duty, you believe that such duties include a responsibility on the part of the better-off to help those who are less fortunate. You will be socially conservative, but in favour of a mixed economy where the state does have a role in providing public services. Christian democracy arose after World War II, succeeding more doctrinaire Catholic parties dating from the 1870s.

#3 You are a market liberal. You adhere to the traditional liberal belief in freedom, and take this to mean negative rather than positive freedom - i.e. a slimmed-down state is the best guarantor of freedom. You will therefore support a laissez-faire economic policy, and you will be reasonably tolerant on the social front - though less emphatically so than social liberals.

#4 You are an anarcho-capitalist. Anarcho-capitalists take the Jeffersonian belief that "that government is best which governs least", and extend it - "that government is best which governs not at all". The theory of anarcho-capitalism is that the market can replace the state as a regulator of individual behaviour (resulting in private courts, private policing etc.).

#5 You are a social democrat. Like other socialists, you believe in a more economically equal society - but you have jettisoned any belief in the idea of the planned economy. You believe in a mixed economy, where the state provides certain key services and where the productivity of the market is harnessed for the good of society as a whole. Many social democrats are hard to distinguish from social liberals, and they share a tolerant social outlook.

#6 You are a social liberal. Like all liberals, you believe in individual freedom as a central objective - but you believe that lack of economic opportunity, education, healthcare etc. can be just as damaging to liberty as can an oppressive state. As a result, social liberals are generally the most outspoken defenders of human rights and civil liberties, and combine this with support for a mixed economy, with an enabling state providing public services to ensure that people's social rights as well as their civil liberties are upheld.

#7 You adhere to the Third Way. The Third Way is a fairly nebulous concept, but it rests on the idea of combining economic efficiency - i.e. a market economy with some intervention - with social responsibility. The focus is emphatically on the community as a whole, and not necessarily equality per se. Adherents of the Third Way range from moderate to conservative in their social views, and have recently been willing to take a "tough" line on a range of social issues.

#8 You are a fascist. You combine a strong belief in the nation with authoritarian social values, and a willingness to impose your views upon others. You strongly oppose immigration, and are willing to take radical action to combat it.

#9 You are an ecologist or green. You believe that the single greatest challenge of our time is the threat to our natural environment, and you feel that radical action must be taken to protect it - whether in the enlightened self-interest of humanity (in the tradition of 'shallow ecologism') or, more radically, from the perspective of the ecosystem as a whole, without treating humans as the central species (deep ecologism).

#10 You are an anarcho-communist, aiming for a society without the state, based on small, decentralised groups living communally.
More information about this result.

#11 You are a classical socialist, believing in equality of outcome as a principle. This might mean greater equality (e.g. Old Labour), or as close to absolute equality as possible. However, you will believe in an extensive public sector, covering not just public services (transport, healthcare etc.) but probably also the 'commanding heights' of industry (e.g. iron and steel). Your views on personal morality will be reasonably tolerant, in general, but there is considerable variation within this political group.

#12 You are a communist. You believe, at least in theory, in absolute equality of income - and you oppose the whole capitalist system per se. You want to abolish the market economy and replace it with one in which the workers (usually meaning the state) control the building blocks of the economy. Your views on personal morality will vary; traditional communists tended to be more authoritarian, while modern "eurocommunists" tend to take a liberal line.

I like this quiz: http://www.selectsmart.com/FREE/select.php?client=polphil\


#1 Anarcho-Capitalist
#2 Market Liberal
#3 Anarcho-Communist
#4 Social Liberal
#5 Ecologist/Green

Considering how totally opposite economic approaches score first and third, I conclude that this quiz requires additional categories/results not originally considered by the author, like:

Left/Anti-Corporate Libertarianism (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Left-Libertarianism#Anti-corporate_left-libertarianism) ( <---- **points to self** :D )
Individualist Anarchism (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Individualist_anarchism)
Mutualism (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mutualism_%28economic_theory%29)
Anarcho-Syndicalism (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anarcho-syndicalism)

http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=494088

in case you wanted to know where you are at around here. ;)
Why the shortened name?

The test is fine. I think that most socialists have a hell of a time distinguishing between the cooperative/collective and the welfare state, if anything.

well we tend to wind up where we think we should. we get confused when people who are vocal supporters of clinton (either one) wind up over in -9 land

That test is fairly accurate:

#1 You are an anarcho-communist, aiming for a society without the state, based on small, decentralised groups living communally.
More information about this result.

Get your selector results graphic and text links here.

The most frequent top results for this selector.

#2 You are a communist. You believe, at least in theory, in absolute equality of income - and you oppose the whole capitalist system per se. You want to abolish the market economy and replace it with one in which the workers (usually meaning the state) control the building blocks of the economy. Your views on personal morality will vary; traditional communists tended to be more authoritarian, while modern "eurocommunists" tend to take a liberal line.
More information about this result.

Get your selector results graphic and text links here.

The most frequent top results for this selector.

#3 You are an ecologist or green. You believe that the single greatest challenge of our time is the threat to our natural environment, and you feel that radical action must be taken to protect it - whether in the enlightened self-interest of humanity (in the tradition of 'shallow ecologism') or, more radically, from the perspective of the ecosystem as a whole, without treating humans as the central species (deep ecologism).
More information about this result.

Get your selector results graphic and text links here.

The most frequent top results for this selector.

#4 You are a classical socialist, believing in equality of outcome as a principle. This might mean greater equality (e.g. Old Labour), or as close to absolute equality as possible. However, you will believe in an extensive public sector, covering not just public services (transport, healthcare etc.) but probably also the 'commanding heights' of industry (e.g. iron and steel). Your views on personal morality will be reasonably tolerant, in general, but there is considerable variation within this political group.
More information about this result.

Get your selector results graphic and text links here.

The most frequent top results for this selector.

#5 You are a social democrat. Like other socialists, you believe in a more economically equal society - but you have jettisoned any belief in the idea of the planned economy. You believe in a mixed economy, where the state provides certain key services and where the productivity of the market is harnessed for the good of society as a whole. Many social democrats are hard to distinguish from social liberals, and they share a tolerant social outlook.
More information about this result.

Get your selector results graphic and text links here.

The most frequent top results for this selector.

#6 You are a social liberal. Like all liberals, you believe in individual freedom as a central objective - but you believe that lack of economic opportunity, education, healthcare etc. can be just as damaging to liberty as can an oppressive state. As a result, social liberals are generally the most outspoken defenders of human rights and civil liberties, and combine this with support for a mixed economy, with an enabling state providing public services to ensure that people's social rights as well as their civil liberties are upheld.
More information about this result.

Get your selector results graphic and text links here.

The most frequent top results for this selector.

#7 You are an anarcho-capitalist. Anarcho-capitalists take the Jeffersonian belief that "that government is best which governs least", and extend it - "that government is best which governs not at all". The theory of anarcho-capitalism is that the market can replace the state as a regulator of individual behaviour (resulting in private courts, private policing etc.).
More information about this result.

Get your selector results graphic and text links here.

The most frequent top results for this selector.

#8 You adhere to the Third Way. The Third Way is a fairly nebulous concept, but it rests on the idea of combining economic efficiency - i.e. a market economy with some intervention - with social responsibility. The focus is emphatically on the community as a whole, and not necessarily equality per se. Adherents of the Third Way range from moderate to conservative in their social views, and have recently been willing to take a "tough" line on a range of social issues.
More information about this result.

Get your selector results graphic and text links here.

The most frequent top results for this selector.

#9 You are a market liberal. You adhere to the traditional liberal belief in freedom, and take this to mean negative rather than positive freedom - i.e. a slimmed-down state is the best guarantor of freedom. You will therefore support a laissez-faire economic policy, and you will be reasonably tolerant on the social front - though less emphatically so than social liberals.
More information about this result.

Get your selector results graphic and text links here.

The most frequent top results for this selector.

#10 You are a fascist. You combine a strong belief in the nation with authoritarian social values, and a willingness to impose your views upon others. You strongly oppose immigration, and are willing to take radical action to combat it.
More information about this result.

Get your selector results graphic and text links here.

The most frequent top results for this selector.

#11 You are a Christian democrat - or, in the UK, a "One Nation conservative"; in other words, although you share the usual conservative belief in stability and duty, you believe that such duties include a responsibility on the part of the better-off to help those who are less fortunate. You will be socially conservative, but in favour of a mixed economy where the state does have a role in providing public services. Christian democracy arose after World War II, succeeding more doctrinaire Catholic parties dating from the 1870s.
More information about this result.

Get your selector results graphic and text links here.

The most frequent top results for this selector.

#12 You are a libertarian conservative. You hold that the free market is the best way of organising economic activity, but you combine this with adherence to more traditional social values of authority and duty.

Its spectrum is still far too narrow, though.

Considering how totally opposite economic approaches score first and third, I conclude that this quiz requires additional categories/results not originally considered by the author, like:

Left/Anti-Corporate Libertarianism (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Left-Libertarianism#Anti-corporate_left-libertarianism) ( <---- **points to self** :D )
Individualist Anarchism (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Individualist_anarchism)
Mutualism (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mutualism_%28economic_theory%29)
Anarcho-Syndicalism (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anarcho-syndicalism)

Anarcho capitalism and anarcho communism are total opposites. Neither one believes in a state.

Most of your propose categories, along with anarcho-communism, can be merged into Libertarian Socialismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libertarian_Socialism

Neither one believes in a state.


Except for the one's made of corporations or, in the second case, communes, anyway.

But since I generally tend to agree to a great extent with general anti-state ideas, that isn't really relevant. What is relevant is that the test in question says I'm some kind of weird capitalist communist. Or communist capitalist. An economic platypus of some kind. Without specification, I have no idea what that means.


Most of your propose categories, along with anarcho-communism, can be merged into Libertarian Socialismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libertarian_Socialism


But "Libertarian Socialist" could mean so many different things, and as such the term is almost useless. In fact, "socialist" alone is already horribly overloaded; the specific danger being that one possible meaning gets popular and is automatically used to represent all others. Thus, all socialists are Stalin in disguise.

Yes, I suppose I could fall into that category (edit: actually that's probably not true; Left/Anti-Corporate Libertarianism, or at least a large part of the spectrum it represents, is still explicitly capitalist. According to what I read, they oppose what they do exactly because those things, they claim, are not capitalist). But I argue against all sorts of other people in this very forum who also fall into that category, whose positions I think are completely wrong. So, the idea should be to quantify and qualify as specifically as possible in order to draw all real and necessary distinctions. Otherwise, the results become meaningless.

Economic Left/Right: -5.13
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -5.23

Right in the middle of CIII... :)

Left/Anti-Corporate Libertarianism (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Left-Libertarianism#Anti-corporate_left-libertarianism) ( <---- **points to self** :D )


Oh, so THAT is what they call it...

here: http://www.politicalcompass.org/

Economic Left/Right: -1.50
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -6.05

And yet that other test (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=11718697&postcount=31) insists that my best match is Anarcho-Capitalism.

Perhaps the only correct way to describe my politics is with a picture (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Escher%27s_Relativity.jpg).

Economic Left/Right: -4.25
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -7.23


I would probably have been more to the center on economic issues, but on statements that I neither agreed nor disagreed with, I tended to select "disagree". Since almost all of the afore-mentioned statements dealt with economic issues, and almost all of those would shift me to the left if I answered "disagree", I naturally shifted unusually far to the left.

Economic Left/Right: 5.25
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -2.26

I have no idea what that means...

Taking it again, while spending more time reading the questions, and attempting to randomly choose when confronted with the dilemma I mentioned before, results in...

Economic Left/Right: -3.50
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -7.74

Economic Left/Right: -3.50
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -5.54

Oh yeah...

Except for the one's made of corporations or, in the second case, communes, anyway.

Neither commune nor corporations are states are states per se in those anarchies even if they are states de facto.

But since I generally tend to agree to a great extent with general anti-state ideas, that isn't really relevant. What is relevant is that the test in question says I'm some kind of weird capitalist communist. Or communist capitalist. An economic platypus of some kind. Without specification, I have no idea what that means.

The test in question isn't a spectrum test. It has a list of answers that each ideology will choose, that may not be exclusive where a single answer only fits into one category. Then you are ranked on how many answers you fitted each ideology. You aren't a platypus of economic ideologies, your answers just fitted those by rank.

But "Libertarian Socialist" could mean so many different things, and as such the term is almost useless. In fact, "socialist" alone is already horribly overloaded; the specific danger being that one possible meaning gets popular and is automatically used to represent all others. Thus, all socialists are Stalin in disguise.

But any ideology could mean many things. You use libertarianism in your ideologies title but "libertarianism" is a heavily loaded word. Its in danger of one possible meaning gets popular and represents all other meanings. Thus all libertarians are corporation loving Randroids.

Yes, I suppose I could fall into that category (edit: actually that's probably not true; Left/Anti-Corporate Libertarianism, or at least a large part of the spectrum it represents, is still explicitly capitalist. According to what I read, they oppose what they do exactly because those things, they claim, are not capitalist). But I argue against all sorts of other people in this very forum who also fall into that category, whose positions I think are completely wrong. So, the idea should be to quantify and qualify as specifically as possible in order to draw all real and necessary distinctions. Otherwise, the results become meaningless.

The specificness you desire renders useless most ideological identifiers. A left-libertarian could join a voluntary commune/corporation that to its members acts like a socialist utopia and acts like the most cut-throat coporate bully externally. What would that guy's ideology be specifically?

Neither commune nor corporations are states are states per se in those anarchies even if they are states de facto.


Equivocation. "de facto" and "de jure" are meaningless when it comes to the necessary use of force for making a society run.

**makes "gun" out of index finger and thumb and aims at own forehead**


You aren't a platypus of economic ideologies, your answers just fitted those by rank.


But still, their high rank and close proximity suggests that there is an ideology out there somewhere that shares a great degree of similarity with capitalism and communism. I simply wonder what such an ideology is.


But any ideology could mean many things. You use libertarianism in your ideologies title but "libertarianism" is a heavily loaded word. Its in danger of one possible meaning gets popular and represents all other meanings. Thus all libertarians are corporation loving Randroids.


I suppose I use the word "libertarian" only because the only other label I currently have for my ideology is "<fill in the blank>."


The specificness you desire renders useless most ideological identifiers. A left-libertarian could join a voluntary commune/corporation that to its members acts like a socialist utopia and acts like the most cut-throat coporate bully externally. What would that guy's ideology be specifically?

Dunno. And I suppose that is what I am trying to figure out. :)

Equivocation. "de facto" and "de jure" are meaningless when it comes to the necessary use of force for making a society run.

Agreed. Thats why I find both anarchies inconsistant. They both have states in practice if not in name.

But still, their high rank and close proximity suggests that there is an ideology out there somewhere that shares a great degree of similarity with capitalism and communism. I simply wonder what such an ideology is.

Agreed, but the quiz is a limited tool. It only fits you into ideologies by rank.



I suppose I use the word "libertarian" only because the only other label I currently have for my ideology is "<fill in the blank>."

All labels either are or will be warped/perverted/changed. One need only look at the ideology labels "liberal" and "socialist" to see all the different ideologies called liberal or socialist. Words are funny things. :p

Dunno. And I suppose that is what I am trying to figure out. :)

My point is words are imperfect and all labels can fall apar.t

Agreed. Thats why I find both anarchies inconsistant. They both have states in practice if not in name.


Ah, but then perhaps "anarchy" doesn't really mean what you think it does:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anarchism#Pierre-Joseph_Proudhon

Ah, but then perhaps "anarchy" doesn't really mean what you think it does:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anarchism#Pierre-Joseph_Proudhon

From the same wiki:
Anarchism is the name of a political philosophy or a group of doctrines and attitudes that are centered on rejection of government, or the state, as harmful and unnecessary and support its elimination.

From the same wiki:
Anarchism is the name of a political philosophy or a group of doctrines and attitudes that are centered on rejection of government, or the state, as harmful and unnecessary and support its elimination.


[Anarchy is] a form of government or constitution in which public and private consciousness, formed through the development of science and law, is alone sufficient to maintain order and guarantee all liberties. In it, as a consequence, the institutions of the police, preventive and repressive methods, officialdom, taxation, etc., are reduced to a minimum. In it, more especially, the forms of monarchy and intensive centralization disappear, to be replaced by federal institutions and a pattern of life based on the commune."
( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anarchism#Pierre-Joseph_Proudhon )

When the anarchist uses the word "government" or "state," he means "forms of monarchy and intensive centralization." He doesn't necessarily mean "law," "order," "police," "officialdom," "taxation," etc. Many will argue that those who do wish to abolish such things are misusing the word.

Its more of that "label" stuff. :)

I have done this test for a while, I wonder what I'll get this time around.

Today it's:

Your political compass
Economic Left/Right: -6.88
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -5.08

31/01/2005:

Your political compass
Economic Left/Right: -5.63
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -6.15

11/02/2006:

Your political compass
Economic Left/Right: -7.00
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -6.77

Changes every time.

Economic Left/Right: 1.88
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -1.69

Meh.

Thats basically where I am.

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."


Individual Social

You scored 48 out of 100 on a scale of Individual vs Social. This means that politically you are neither more nor less likely to value the need for group actions and group benefit over individual enterprise and benefit.

31% of test takers were more individual than you.
67% of test takers were more social than you.



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."


Theist Materialist

You scored 83 out of 100 on a scale of Theist vs Materialist. This means that politically you are more likely to believe that religion and spirituality are superstitions that should not inform political debate.

84% of test takers were more theist than you.
14% of test takers were more materialist than you.




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."


Big Gov Small Gov

You scored 70 out of 100 on a scale of Big Government vs Small Government. This means that politically you are more likely to believe that government should keep out of legislating social policies, leaving such decisions to individuals.

75% of test takers were more big government than you.
23% of test takers were more small government than you.



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."


National International

You scored 65 out of 100 on a scale of Nationalist vs Internationalist. This means that politically you are more likely to favour international bodies over national ones.

59% of test takers were more nationalist than you.
38% of test takers were more internationalist than you.



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."


Protection Free-Trade

You scored 58 out of 100 on a scale of Protectionist vs Free Trader. This means that politically you are neither more nor less likely to favour free trade over protectionist policies.

57% of test takers were more protectionist than you.
42% of test takers were more pro free trade than you.



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."


Absolute Non-Absolute

You scored 52 out of 100 on a scale of Absolutist vs Non Absolutist. This means that politically you are neither more nor less likely to believe that there is an absolute truth that may guide your ideological beliefs.

31% of test takers were more absolutist than you.
66% of test takers were more non-absolutist than you.



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."


Controlled Liberal

You scored 18 out of 100 on a scale of Controlled Market vs Liberal Market. This means that politically you are more likely to believe that there is need for government regulation of industry.

15% of test takers were more controlled market thinkers than you.
83% of test takers were more liberal market thinkers than you.



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."


Marxist Non-Marxist

You scored 49 out of 100 on a scale of Marxist vs Non-Marxist. This means that politically you are neither more nor less likely to follow the philosophies of Marx.

53% of test takers were more Marxist than you.
44% of test takers were more non-Marxist than you.


Interesting test

#1 You are an anarcho-capitalist. Anarcho-capitalists take the Jeffersonian belief that "that government is best which governs least", and extend it - "that government is best which governs not at all". The theory of anarcho-capitalism is that the market can replace the state as a regulator of individual behaviour (resulting in private courts, private policing etc.).

I am minarchist really for the time being, but I might make the shift to market anarchism - I like it and its ideals. It is the logical conclusion of liberalism proper.

#2 You are a market liberal. You adhere to the traditional liberal belief in freedom, and take this to mean negative rather than positive freedom - i.e. a slimmed-down state is the best guarantor of freedom. You will therefore support a laissez-faire economic policy, and you will be reasonably tolerant on the social front - though less emphatically so than social liberals.
My current position.

#3 You are a fascist. You combine a strong belief in the nation with authoritarian social values, and a willingness to impose your views upon others. You strongly oppose immigration, and are willing to take radical action to combat it.
Flirted with it in the past, was a guilty indulgence, through with it now.

#4 You are a libertarian conservative. You hold that the free market is the best way of organising economic activity, but you combine this with adherence to more traditional social values of authority and duty.
True of me whichever ideology I adhere to. I simply believe such social values are not for the State to impose. Essentially I am a paleolibertarian anarchocapitalist at heart.

http://www.selectsmart.com/FREE/select.php?client=polphil

#1 You are a market liberal.
#2 You are a social liberal.
#3 You are an anarcho-capitalist.
#4 You are a social democrat.
#5 You adhere to the Third Way.
#6 You are an ecologist or green.
#7 You are a libertarian conservative.
#8 You are a Christian democrat
#9 You are a classical socialist
#10 You are an anarcho-communist
#11 You are a communist.
#12 You are a fascist.