Harvard Institute of Politics' political personality test

April 16, 2004 6:56 PM

Harvard's Institute of Politics has created a short test to measure where your political beliefs fit with college students across the country. You better sit down for this one: I am a Traditonal Liberal !   From Secular Centrist Matthew Yglesias. Take the test and see where you fall on the brightly colored chart.
posted by y2karl (66 comments total)

Secular Centrist. (Is that another word for libertarian?)
posted by MidasMulligan at 6:59 PM on April 16, 2004

The test says:

You are a Traditional Conservative. Traditional conservatives like you tend to be:

* Supportive of pre-emptive strikes.
* Of the belief that gay relationships are morally wrong.
* In support of religion playing a more important role in government.
* Opposed to affirmative action.
* Of the belief that tax cuts tend to stimulate the economy.

But my answers are the exact opposite of this on gay relationships and religion. Me thinks I warped it's fragile little mind.
posted by Mick at 7:02 PM on April 16, 2004

Traditional liberal here. I'm supposed to be:

Against pre-emptive strikes as a policy.
Strongly supportive of gay rights.
Of the belief that immigration has been good for this country.
Supportive of affirmative-action.
Oppose tax cuts as an economic policy.
Of the belief that basic health insurance is a right.

Pretty much right, except the affirmative action thing -- which seems to be an exclusively American piece of oddness anyway.

Tests like this are always basically "which stereotype are you?!", which makes them a bit pointless.
posted by reklaw at 7:07 PM on April 16, 2004

I don't even have to take it to know that it would classify me as a "Secular Centrist".
posted by dgaicun at 7:09 PM on April 16, 2004

I'm a Traditional Liberal too (big surprise!) : >
posted by amberglow at 7:12 PM on April 16, 2004

It said that I'm a traditional liberal, too.

Told ya.
posted by jonmc at 7:12 PM on April 16, 2004

Read this. It's a PDF that explains the categories and has more colored charts, pie and otherwise.
posted by y2karl at 7:14 PM on April 16, 2004

I'm a Traditional Liberal too

You amberglow? You've got to be kidding. :)
posted by MidasMulligan at 7:17 PM on April 16, 2004

Stereotyping is fun. I makes the world seem so simple.
posted by MidasMulligan at 7:18 PM on April 16, 2004

i know, Midas--i was flabbergasted myself. It just goes to show you... something or other

I makes the world seem so simple.
good one, Midas ; >
posted by amberglow at 7:23 PM on April 16, 2004

Sterotyping is also necessary. All 'learning' depends on it. The trick is knowing what workable stereotypes are. -- A secular centrist.
posted by Gyan at 7:24 PM on April 16, 2004

Strangely, I am, like MidasMulligan, a secular centrist. Never though I'd see the day I fit into the same category as Midas...
posted by Jimbob at 7:39 PM on April 16, 2004

Well, you're also both carbon-based life forms as well, jimbob.
posted by jonmc at 7:41 PM on April 16, 2004

Ha! We all know he's made of silicon.
posted by Jimbob at 7:44 PM on April 16, 2004

jon, i'd actually call you a Crusty Nihilist, but with a Creamy Traditional Liberal filling.

jimbob, maybe you should retake that test. ; >
posted by amberglow at 7:45 PM on April 16, 2004

Secular centrist here.
posted by emelenjr at 7:45 PM on April 16, 2004

I'm a traditional liberal too. I think this is bull. The questions are superficial, any conclusions drawn from them are bound to be general and not especially insightful.
posted by Grod at 7:59 PM on April 16, 2004

Wee I'm a secular centrist ! Yahoohey ? Yeah right..... what do i win ?
posted by elpapacito at 8:02 PM on April 16, 2004

I'm apparently a secular centrist, too. I agree about the secular part.
posted by callmejay at 8:10 PM on April 16, 2004

They are way too general, Grod. I think I was placed in secular centrist, for instance, mainly for my objection to "affirmative action" as that question was phrased. I don't believe places should necessarily be set aside in work places for minorities who have the same level of skills as others. However, I DO believe minorities should be offered specific training and education programs to ensure they have the same skills base. I was never asked that though.
posted by Jimbob at 8:10 PM on April 16, 2004

I'm a secular centrist but what I really wanted to be (*rips off Mountie uniform*) was a lumberjack traditional conservative. Damn.
posted by MiguelCardoso at 8:12 PM on April 16, 2004

I has to be fixed on one or two questions. I fear it is a crock and worse yet in the guise of a study, BAD FORM, Harvard's Institute of Politics! BAD BAD BAD... Sit stay,

(some one give me a rolled up news paper)
posted by Elim at 8:24 PM on April 16, 2004

Well, if you want to refine things, why not try What 20th Century Theorist are you?

I'm an undergraduate! Mmm... beer bong....
posted by y2karl at 8:47 PM on April 16, 2004

You can make informed guesses where MeFi people will land by their answers on the political compass. Mathowie will most probably be a "Secular Centrist". Most people here would be "Traditional Liberals".
posted by dgaicun at 8:49 PM on April 16, 2004

I am unsurprised to find that I am a secular centrist.

I am surprised to find whose company I am in.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 8:53 PM on April 16, 2004

Most people here would be "Traditional Liberals".

Well, you know, it's like that old joke--If Limbaugh wears boxers and Clinton wears briefs, what does Bob Dole wear? ...Depends.

That other chart has an authoritarian to libertarian axis. I can't tell how the IOP breaks it down yet, but I don't think it's quite the same.

PS. When's someone going to write a What Shia Cleric Are You ?

I'm Grand Ayatollah Sistani ! The Ghandi of Iraq !
posted by y2karl at 9:52 PM on April 16, 2004

No surprise here: religious centrist.

Hm.

Go figure.

: )

Wish there had been more questions to suss out the nuances...

"Basic health insurance is a right for all people, and if someone has no means of paying for it, the government should provide it."

A right? No. But pretty good policy...
posted by silusGROK at 10:02 PM on April 16, 2004

Want humor?

From the "What 20th Century Theorist are you?" I got:

"You are Louis Althusser! You tried to bring together structuralism, Marxism, and Lacanian psychoanalysis. Your brilliant analysis of ideology and the state is still widely influential. You murdered your wife, were put in a sanitarium, and lived the last decade of your life alone before dying in 1990."

Which is weird, since I wrote a post about him last year calling him a hack. Self hatred?
posted by Quartermass at 10:25 PM on April 16, 2004

Secular centrist. Strange bedfellows, indeed...
posted by Kwantsar at 10:28 PM on April 16, 2004

Quartermass, I got the same result. I don't actually know any more about the guy than what it told me.
posted by Grod at 10:59 PM on April 16, 2004

Check out my post on the subject. Interesting guy who 'accidentally' strangled his wife while massaging her neck.
posted by Quartermass at 11:14 PM on April 16, 2004

It said I was Bulbasoar... I think it's broken.
posted by Hildago at 12:46 AM on April 17, 2004

The Political Compass is much better, if not so short.
posted by pots at 2:32 AM on April 17, 2004

Thanks, pots, the Political Compass is a much more thorough (and fun) stereotyping mechanism, indeed. Move over Dalai Lama...
posted by AwkwardPause at 3:54 AM on April 17, 2004

You are a Traditional Liberal.


I don't think I am a traditional Liberal. More of a Neo liberal. But what do I know? Im a 20 year old. Im getting old.
posted by Keyser Soze at 4:04 AM on April 17, 2004

"You are a Secular Centrist"
posted by matteo at 4:06 AM on April 17, 2004

"You are Michel Foucault!"
posted by matteo at 4:09 AM on April 17, 2004

*cries*
posted by matteo at 4:09 AM on April 17, 2004

Im a 20 year old. Im getting old.

*sighs*
posted by y2karl at 4:17 AM on April 17, 2004

The Political compass puts me in the same realm as Ghandi, so thats good, I think.
posted by Keyser Soze at 4:17 AM on April 17, 2004

I do not consider Hitler to be as bad as he is depicted. He is showing an ability that is amazing and seems to be gaining his victories without much bloodshed. -Mahatma Ghandi
posted by Keyser Soze at 4:32 AM on April 17, 2004

If our country were defeated, I hope we should find a champion as admirable (as Hitler) to restore our courage and lead us back to our place among the nations. -Winston Churchill
posted by reklaw at 4:52 AM on April 17, 2004

I'm with Mick. I suspect that some questions override others. The program designates me a traditional conservative on the strength of a #1 on "moral direction of the country"--but I see the moral direction as down the toilet because our Feckless Leader has sold out to corporations, using public piety as cover--not because of the usual stereotypes. So my response on this one question seems to wipe out those on other questions.
posted by palancik at 5:59 AM on April 17, 2004

Secular Centrist
posted by CrazyJub at 6:00 AM on April 17, 2004

crash:
it's a new tagline!

MetaFilter -- I am surprised to find whose company I am in.
posted by matteo at 6:04 AM on April 17, 2004

I was a traditional liberal : "Traditional liberals like you tend to be:

* Against preemptive strikes as a policy.
* Strongly supportive of gay rights.
* Of the belief that immigration has been good for this country.
* Supportive of affirmative-action.
* Oppose tax cuts as an economic policy.
* Of the belief that basic health insurance is a right."

But then, I HAD A CHANGE OF HEART! - I decided to shift my position 180 degrees, to support unilateral invasions of "potentially hostile" foreign nations, and so LO! - I became a
"Secular Centrist".

"Secular centrists like you tend to be:

* Strongly supportive of gay rights.
* Believe strongly in the separation of church and state.
* Less supportive of affirmative action than most college students.
* Less likely to be concerned about the environment than most college students.
* Less likely to believe in basic health insurance as a right than most college students."

Note the differences in the two profiles. My view on unilateral , preemptive invasions was the ONLY position which changed.

I think the conclusions of this questionnaire are full of shit.

And the idea that support of unilateral preemptive invasions against "potentially" hostile nations is a "centrist" position - I smell the foul odor of a coded political agenda here.
posted by troutfishing at 6:15 AM on April 17, 2004

You are Franz Fanon!
posted by y2karl at 6:49 AM on April 17, 2004

> You are Franz Fanon!

...currently guffawing/weeping your way through your ms. of L'An Cinq de la Revolution Algerienne, given an additional 35 years of hindsight.

(Oh yeah, religious centrist, not traditional conservative, let alone beetle-browed reactionary. Really got to push them Neanderthal buttons harder.)
posted by jfuller at 7:13 AM on April 17, 2004

Secular Centrist. (Is that another word for libertarian?)

It's the new libertarian.

No matter what you answer, you're in.
posted by hama7 at 7:41 AM on April 17, 2004

Secular Centrist. All the stats match except "Less likely to believe in basic health insurance as a right than most college students," which I actually voted 5 for.
posted by abcde at 9:24 AM on April 17, 2004

I was a Secular Centrist too.

However, I think I fell short of being truly "liberal" because of a semantic nitpick of mine. See, I consider healthcare a basic right. I do not consider healthcare insurance -- or any kind of insurance whatsoever -- a right at all.

Insurance makes things cost more.
posted by ilsa at 9:30 AM on April 17, 2004

No matter what you answer, you're in.

According to your answers, your political philosophy is left-liberal.
Left-Liberal
Left-Liberals prefer self-government in personal matters and central decision-making on economics. They want government to serve the disadvantaged in the name of fairness. Leftists tolerate social diversity, but work for economic equality.

posted by matteo at 9:53 AM on April 17, 2004

I'm confused... why is Harvard jumping on the Which ____ Are You bandwagon?
posted by PrinceValium at 10:03 AM on April 17, 2004

troutfishing: Yes, since when were "traditional" conservatives in favor of pre-emptive strikes? I thought that whole idea was pretty radical, as both critics and supporters noted when Bush introduced it as a formal policy. Harvard put out this crap?
posted by raysmj at 10:06 AM on April 17, 2004

Im a 20 year old. Im getting old.

*giggles*

Keysor, you're still just a child.
posted by five fresh fish at 10:14 AM on April 17, 2004

Opps. Sorry for the typo, Keyser.
posted by five fresh fish at 10:15 AM on April 17, 2004

I was really pissed off because the test refused to acknowledge that one can be moral and secular at the same time.

I am firmly secular, and zealously moralistic, but still classified as a traditional liberal. ;-(
posted by gesamtkunstwerk at 10:24 AM on April 17, 2004

Um... I guess I'll be MeFi's second religious centrist. I'm not surprised at this label, however, I'm somewhat surprised at the things I beleive in. For example:

Strongly supportive of affirmative action.

What? I answered "somewhat disagree" to the affirmative action question. I see it as a somewhat necessary evil (and would much rather see initiatives for the qualified economically disadvantaged, rather than by race).

Likely to believe religion should play a more important role in government.

More important? Right now individual beliefs of people who are elected or appointed guide policy. Anything less would constrain officials from voting/acting their conscience, anything more would as well, wouldn't it? I think I generally feel the on a foundation level, we have the right balance in this country. I do wish the religious and the areligious (or people who differ in religious beliefs) showed more civil respect for one another, though.
posted by weston at 10:46 AM on April 17, 2004

Strongly supportive of affirmative action.

What? I answered "somewhat disagree" to the affirmative action question.

The problem is likely that the data are "column-centered" so that your response is a deviation from the mean response - you disagree less than average, so it's treated as (relative) agreement.

Obviously the auto-generated text is inaccurate, though, and who knows what else.
posted by lathrop at 10:57 AM on April 17, 2004

Right now individual beliefs of people who are elected or appointed guide policy. Anything less would constrain officials from voting/acting their conscience, anything more would as well, wouldn't it?

I would hope an elected official would leave conscience and personal biases out of decision making, opting instead to act upon empirical evidence of whats best and most practical for the good of the people.

which, as this test indicates, would make me a secular centrist.
posted by mcsweetie at 11:13 AM on April 17, 2004

I'm Lacan? Should I seize control of the phallus or something?

(Oh and traditional liberal. Adjust your score cards accordingly.)
posted by PinkStainlessTail at 1:44 PM on April 17, 2004

I am a traditional liberal, except when I drink too much. Then, next morning, I awake as a secular centrist.

Also, if I were a cat litter, I would be Scoop Away Kleen Multi Cat.
posted by troutfishing at 1:48 PM on April 17, 2004

If the Harvard Institute of Politics' IOP Personality Test was a toilet bowl cleanser, which brand of toilet bowl cleanser would it be?
posted by troutfishing at 1:53 PM on April 17, 2004

I'm a secular centrist! Yaaaaaaay!!!

Is there a quiz that tells me what my views *should* be?
posted by Krrrlson at 2:24 PM on April 17, 2004

If the Harvard Institute of Politics' IOP Personality Test was a toilet bowl cleanser, which brand of toilet bowl cleanser would it be?

1000 Flushes.
posted by abcde at 6:01 PM on April 17, 2004

Bomb-throwing Anarchist.

I don't need a fucking quiz to tell me that, though! ~wink~
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 6:53 PM on April 17, 2004