The Political Compass.
June 28, 2002 6:43 AM   Subscribe

The Political Compass. A questionaire to assess your political leaning. Where do you stand?
posted by Pinwheel (40 comments total)
 
Here's an infinitely more interesting political quiz.
posted by pjdoland at 6:45 AM on June 28, 2002


Previously discussed here. It's a different URL, but the same site. Thanks for trying, Pinwheel; no harm no foul.
posted by Marquis at 6:46 AM on June 28, 2002


Holy crap! I landed right on Drew Carey! That can't be good.
posted by monju_bosatsu at 6:52 AM on June 28, 2002


I landed right next to Gandhi....which isn't bad....but most interestingly, nowhere near where I expect to be....
posted by mattr at 6:53 AM on June 28, 2002


Previously discussed here. It's a different URL, but the same site. Thanks for trying, Pinwheel; no harm no foul.

Considering that the previous link was posted more than a year ago, I really don't see the problem with posting it again. Nobody who's started reading MetaFilter in the past year would have seen the earlier link.

And now to take the test!
posted by Tin Man at 7:01 AM on June 28, 2002


Wow never made it past question 5:
Jews surely have to take some of the responsibility for their persecution over the past 2000 years.
Test of what: political values, religious preference or racism (questions, I have some)?
As a kid, I thought left & right wing, meant the political spectrum in reference to the American Bald Eagle. Then when I found out, didn't understand who would want to be represented by an elephant or donkey.

Well here is one bird brain that wants to be wingless.
posted by thomcatspike at 7:03 AM on June 28, 2002


pjdoland's link is excellent and more pertinent to the issues of American politics than Pinwheel's (which is UK-centric). I especially like the little map at the end that shows you your relative position.

I scored about the same on both quizzes, so at least I'm consistent.
posted by briank at 7:21 AM on June 28, 2002


I froze on the "Jews" question too. Thanks for upsetting an otherwise pleasant morning.

Unbelievable.
posted by joemaller at 7:30 AM on June 28, 2002


Problems with the Pinwheel Quiz:

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

I've taken this before, and extremely biased questions like this don't really leave many options.

Also, it assumes that ones opinions about cultural issues elucidate ones political views, but that is not necessarily the case, especially if one is a libertarian or an anarchist of some type.

Controlling inflation is more important than controlling unemployment.

For me, this question (like so many others) is moot because I think the government should not be in control the money supply. For me its not an either or, it's a "no" to both.

All theatres and museums that can't survive on a commercial basis deserve to perish.

Another silly, biased question. Most theatres and museums survive as non-profits, with support from the private sector.

The businessman and the manufacturer are more important than the writer and the artist.

What if I think they are not comparable, they are all important, but in very different ways.

I ended up farther from the libertarian/anarchist area than I am in reality, the quiz didn't work for me.

That politopia quiz is very cool, and I got a much more accurate result (just south of Ayn Rand)
posted by insomnyuk at 7:30 AM on June 28, 2002


I bailed on the quiz on the second page.

I consider myself to be a liberal, but this quiz has an agenda that makes me seem like a John Bircher...

Land shouldn't be a commodity to be bought and sold.
...and...
From each according to his ability, to each according to his need is a fundamentally good idea.

That last one comes from the trashbin of history...
posted by jpburns at 7:33 AM on June 28, 2002


I landed right on Clare Short. . .

Who the hell is she? And does she mind?
posted by Danf at 8:01 AM on June 28, 2002


Those who are offended by the "Jews" question, or think the quiz has an agenda, please read the FAQ.
posted by dansays at 8:38 AM on June 28, 2002


South by Southwest. I knew that.
posted by ColdChef at 8:40 AM on June 28, 2002


"NW-You would feel most at home in the Northwest region. You advocate a large degree of economic and personal freedom. Your neighbors include folks like Ayn Rand, Jesse Ventura, Milton Friedman, and Drew Carey, and may refer to themselves as "classical liberals," "libertarians," "market liberals," "old whigs," "objectivists," "propertarians," "agorists," or "anarcho-capitalist."

Fascinating. I think I'll like my new home in Politopia. Ayn and Drew don't live too far away, so I can have them over for burgers.

I always knew I was a 'real liberal'.
posted by evanizer at 9:26 AM on June 28, 2002


Economic Left/Right: -5.75, Authoritarian/Libertarian: -4.77, over there under Gandhi...color me surprised. I landed on top of Ms. Short too. I hope she doesn't mind the dogpile...it appears that many of us fell out of the sky onto her lap today. :)

I got Centerville in Politopia...guess my neighbors would be George the II and Al Gore. I gotta move farther West. And I would have been willing to swear that I'm not a moderate. Honestly. :)
posted by dejah420 at 9:38 AM on June 28, 2002


I guess I'm a dope; I live in Centerville -- in the Southwest corner.
posted by JKevinKing at 9:53 AM on June 28, 2002


Also also landed -3.75 Economic left/right and -4.15 authoritarian/libertarian: This seems somewhat inconsistant with the other quiz.
posted by JKevinKing at 9:55 AM on June 28, 2002


Economic Left/Right: 0.50 - Authoritarian/Libertarian: -3.54 and living in the NW, near Drew Carey (yikes) and Ayb Rand, though I'd like to think that Miltie was right around the corner.
posted by Dreama at 10:08 AM on June 28, 2002


Southwest, of course. Throughout the quiz I kept thinking, "but wait... this assumes that I think we should even HAVE a government!"
posted by Mars Saxman at 10:12 AM on June 28, 2002


I'm boringly middle-of-the-road economically but almost off the chart as a Libertarian:
Economic Left/Right: -0.25
Authoritarian/Libertarian: -6.62

Seems about right. I guess I'll take the other test now.
posted by timeistight at 10:45 AM on June 28, 2002


I discovered political compass just a week or so ago because revbrian had his scores posted on his MeFi homepage.

We all oughta do that -- it'd help the rest of us figure out when we're being sarcastic...

Both tests show me as wildly libertarian -- big surprise there -- but centrist economically, which I wasn't expecting. But... did anyone else have problems with some of the politopia questions? There were several times where what I wanted to answer wasn't one of the choices. (Taxes: I wanted to lower them overall, but make them more progressive. Not an option, for some reason.) Seemed like they often merged multiple issues, that I would've responded differently to, into a single question. Political compass didn't have that problem.
posted by ook at 11:09 AM on June 28, 2002


I'm disturbed by jesse jackson sharing the southwest with me.
posted by rabi at 11:10 AM on June 28, 2002


word up, mars!
posted by asok at 11:16 AM on June 28, 2002


Hmm...I thought that both tests were terrible. Then again, I think that all tests like these, including personality/Pure/etc. are a waste of time. The questions are always biased in some way and the ultimate answers we receive are generalized and vague. Plus, at the end when they give you a general compass, it's assumed that these world leaders have taken the test. What hooey...we have no idea how they'd react to such questions. The test-taker simply assumes that the administrator knows what they're doing and has no bias.

My ultimate concern is for the test-takers. How many of us take these results seriously? Perhaps some are more intelligent than to pick a direction because of some foolish quiz, but I truly wonder how many eventually vote/argue for a certain side based on manipulated results. For instance:

The government should:

A. Develop a universal public school curriculum that develops an appreciation for civic ideals, and ensures that all children have an equal opportunity to attend college.

B. Move towards a more standardized curriculum in the public school system.

C. Continue to fund and maintain current level of involvement in establishing curriculum in public schools

D. Adopt voucher system for grade schools and high schools and reduce federal regulations.

E. Privatize the public school system and allow competition to improve education.


These questions, like more questionnaires, are designed to lead the audience. Based on such, how can the results be taken seriously, at all?
posted by BlueTrain at 11:38 AM on June 28, 2002


Wild, wild West.
posted by rushmc at 11:45 AM on June 28, 2002


Damn, having both Stalin and Hitler on your block must make for a pretty unpleasant neighborhood.
posted by ljromanoff at 12:28 PM on June 28, 2002


thom, joe, that you can’t even state that you disagree with an acutely racist statement on anonymous political quiz says a lot about your willingness to honestly discuss the topic.

The Politopia quiz ranges between stock Democrat and Republican opinions. It doesn’t leave any leeway for an accurate reflection of my anti-authortarian opinions. The Compass is better because it asks for how much you agree or disagree with a statement.

Another reason Politopia sucks is that it compares one issue with one philosophy. It's personal freedom on the x, free trade on the y. The horizontal axis has a much broader scope than the vertical. Limbaugh is much closer to Bush along the y, as I'm sure he doesn’t want unfettered labor markets. It would go against his desire for constricting immigration to a trickle. Totally, totally flawed.

Hitler was certainly more fascist than socialist; Stalin was more totalitarian than communist. They don't belong in the same neighborhood. Somewhere along the same axis, as they were both excessively authortarian, but definitly not in the same neighborhood. Hitler’s Germany and Stalin’s Russia were two very different countries with few similiarities.
posted by raaka at 1:44 PM on June 28, 2002


halfway between jesse jackson and FDR. I think i can live with that.
posted by boltman at 1:47 PM on June 28, 2002


from the Compass faq

Your proposition about Jews is anti-Semitic

Our proposition is specifically there to identify anti-Semitic and anti-anti-Semitic feelings.

We took our lead from a number of researchers - some of them Jewish - who measured European public opinion after WWII. They used an almost identical proposition with great success.

We included it because our Compass will appear in a number of European countries where, alarmingly , the anti-Semitic far right is resurfacing significantly.

A 'strongly agree' response to our proposition brings the individual significantly towards Hitler's position. If that doesn't provoke self-reflection, then perhaps nothing will.

The rich, the poor, the anti-capital punishment lobby, homosexuals, abstract artists and so many others might all find particular propositions offensive - but to do so would be to miss the point.
posted by raaka at 2:15 PM on June 28, 2002


Hitler was certainly more fascist than socialist;
Certainly, but it is not like fascism and socialism are polar opposites, more like cousins. I also got a chuckle over the FDR, Hitler, Stallin coffee clatch. That is a neighborhood I never want to visit.
posted by thirteen at 2:17 PM on June 28, 2002


Political Compass:
Economic Left/Right: -7.00
Authoritarian/Libertarian: -7.44


So I'm pretty deeply but evenly (on the diagonal) into the lower left-hand quadrant here. I love the "You can't be libertarian and left-wing!" FAQ question, to which they reply "This is almost exclusively an American response...." Hah! Yes!

Politopia:
West-You are a Westerner-a civil libertarian-which means that you advocate a diminished role for the government in the personal realm. You are more or less pleased the government's role in the economic realm.

Uh, not really. =P

I didn't like the second quiz offered as much as the original link. There were more than a few times on the Politopia quiz that the option I wanted to answer wasn't available. Therefore, the results are much less accurate.

The biggest problem I have with quizzes of this type is the wording on questions/statements. I took a lot of time with the first quiz because the statements were sometimes too vague/too absolute - of course I s'pose it's intended that way, but I do like to be as precise as possible.

I *love* the reading list offered with the first quiz. Great idea.
posted by Melinika at 2:22 PM on June 28, 2002


My political compass
Economic Left/Right: -3.75
Authoritarian/Libertarian: -3.74

very near ghandi - i guess i should go read a book about him and learn more about myself.
posted by ggggarret at 2:58 PM on June 28, 2002


I aparently share a political outlook with Ken Livingstone. I'm not so unhappy with that. It seems to be a pretty accurate reflection of me.
posted by salmacis at 3:45 PM on June 28, 2002


On Political Compass:

Economic Left/Right: -2.75
Authoritarian/Libertarian: -7.64

And somewhere West by Northwest on Politopia (Region 1-- "Neo the software developer"). Pretty similar results, except that economically i'm actually on opposite sides, but still close to center. I suppose that's about right. I didn't get as far West on Politopia as I would've thought, but it happens.
posted by nath at 3:59 PM on June 28, 2002


I came out about -6 left, -5 libertarian. Judging both from discussion here and with friends elsewhere, this quiz tends to skew left economically. Still, I think it's rather a nice counterbalance to the World's Smallest Political Quiz (of which the Politopia quiz is a variant) in that it actually recognizes that there are anarchists on both the left and the right.

I had about the same reaction Mars did to the Politopia quiz: it phrased every question in terms of government intervention, and I just don't think about things that way.
posted by moss at 5:12 PM on June 28, 2002


It would appear that I'm down with Gandhi. Also, in the suggested reading list for "leftist libertarians" were a bunch of writers that I totally love. Klein, Chomsky, etc., so I'm thinking the test does a pretty good job of figuring out your position, at least, in so far as it's possible for a premade test to do so.
posted by jaded at 6:02 PM on June 28, 2002


Just looking at the scores posted here, I believe one or more of the following are true:
  1. MeFi really does have a left-wing bias. (Or, more to the point, a minor left-wing bias and a very strong anti-authoritarian bias.)
  2. It's a self-selection problem: left-wingers and/or libertarians are more likely to take tests, and/or are more likely to post their results in public.
  3. It's a different self-selection problem: right-wingers and/or authoritarians are more likely to become offended by a particular question and abandon the test halfway through.
  4. The tests are designed to encourage people to identify themselves as left-wing or anti-authoritarians.
  5. The name "Gandhi" is really hard to spell.
posted by ook at 8:18 AM on June 29, 2002


Economic Left/Right: -6.00
Authoritarian/Libertarian: -7.90

Close to a couple of LibDems (whom I've voted for), and to two old Labourites I admire massively. So the Compass worked for me, as opposed to a nearly meaningless position between Gore and Jackson in the mid-South at Politopia.

What does it mean when GWB is a moderate centrist conservative?
:: shudders::
On preview....and salmacis, too???
posted by dash_slot- at 4:47 PM on June 29, 2002


ummmm, I've been a radical for as long as I can remember, but there I sit, in between Gore and Bush in centersville. I'd like a re-count, but I'm not sure it would work anyway. Hmmm.
posted by goneill at 11:52 PM on June 29, 2002


raaka, thanks, you sure you understood me though, some say I speak, engrish. Jokes aside a lol thank you.

ook,It's a different self-selection problem: right-wingers and/or authoritarians are more likely to become offended by a particular question and abandon the test halfway through.

I understand you, I just thought I was a rebel by nature, now to find out what a right winger truly is as I have been told my ideas reflect left too. Now this is my opinion, woops.
posted by thomcatspike at 9:09 AM on July 1, 2002


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