Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Is My Political Compass Skewed?

Check it out: www.politicalcompass.org

I've taken their test a few times now.

Latest results:

Economic Left/Right: -4.88
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -2.97

(Libertarian-Left)

I score in that area pretty consistently.

I noticed that when I went through the test I felt like I wasn't choosing the most politically correct answer, even for a libertarian leftie. I've decided to review each question and provide my answer and (if deemed necessary) my reasoning for choosing that answer. This might explain why I scored closer to the center than I actually may be.


Page 1 of 6

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

I'd always support my country, whether it was right or wrong.
-Disagree

No one chooses his or her country of birth, so it's foolish to be proud of it.
-Disagree (We have this "need" to worship foolish things. Our nationality is one of those things. We shouldn't be ready to abandon that so quickly. But in principal I agree. Should we be proud? Yes. Willing to kill just for it? No.)

Our race has many superior qualities, compared with other races.
-Disagree (I guess it depends on what races we're talking about. And what qualities. If I was black and talking about schlongs I might agree. Same goes with jews and brains. But what genetic advantages do whites have? lol. The sexiest women? I don't know about that, white women with a bit of persian blood are pretty hot. Ah, that's why we have to invade Iran!)

The enemy of my enemy is my friend.
-Strongly Disagree (Many an atrocity has been caused by that line of thinking. Including the root cause of the Iraq debacle: our support of Saddam against Iran. Let me entertain you with this thought. What if, oh, in about the year 1990 or so, Saddam realized that the US was a bigger threat to the middle east than Iran?)

Military action that defies international law is sometimes justified.
-Agree (No, that is not a blank check that Israel can use to bomb UN bunkers and blow up a bunch of kids and Red Cross ambulances.)

There is now a worrying fusion of information and entertainment.
-Strongly Agree (It's more that just worrying. Like a cancer is "worrying". "I heard you have cancer, how do you feel about that?" "I'm a bit worried about it..." ! Shame on them for framing the question the way they did.)


Page 2 of 6

People are ultimately divided more by class than by nationality.
-Agree (This is a difficult question because when you look at Africa and Latin America it's hard to agree, but then you have to look deeper. After all, if the elite ruling class didn't sponsor the raping and pillaging of the entire southern hemisphere of its natural resources, who knows what those unfortunate countries and continents would be like today.)

Controlling inflation is more important than controlling unemployment.
-Agree (But I believe there is a fallacy inherent in this question, since it implies that you must choose one or the other. Jobs or inflation.)

Because corporations cannot be trusted to voluntarily protect the environment, they require regulation.
-Strongly Agree

"From each according to his ability, to each according to his need" is a fundamentally good idea.
-Agree (The statement, when interpreted correctly, is fundamentally true and the logic cannot be disputed. Like in the tribal days, the men would come home with a kill, and they'd eat first. And they'd eat more. Sometimes they'd eat so much that the women had to share what scraps they got with the children. When you think about this, communism doesn't seem so cut and dry does it? The tribal roots of communism and capitalism is a fascinating topic, much worthy of study. Especially with all the right wing hackjobs out there -- they aren't very good when working with the roots of anything. Because the shallow decayed roots of their idealogy would reveal that they are a fraud.)

It's a sad reflection on our society that something as basic as drinking water is now a bottled, branded consumer product.
-Agree (Although I don't agree very strongly. After all, water is free and will always be. However, the work required to bring us that water is never free. And if the company that does the work wants to place their name on the bottle, I don't have a problem with that. But I agree anyway, simply because it is a sad reflection... The answer to this question has absolutely nothing to do with politics, it is strictly a matter of personal opinion.)

Land shouldn't be a commodity to be bought and sold.
-Disagree (I do however agree that someone who owns a piece of land should not be forced to sell it so that some rich bastard can make a boatload of cash. I am deeply disappointed there are no real questions concerning eminent domain. How can you guage ...lol... it's like having a compass with no needle.)

It is regrettable that many personal fortunes are made by people who simply manipulate money and contribute nothing to their society.
-Disagree (People should be free to be parasites with their investing. But they should also be taxed heavily.)

Protectionism is sometimes necessary in trade.
-Agree

The only social responsibility of a company should be to deliver a profit to its shareholders.
-Strongly Disagree (I was tempted to answer "Strongly Agree" just to see what effect it would have on my score.)

The rich are too highly taxed.
-Strongly Disagree (People who think it's true are just plain idiots and their arguments are almost always bogus. Has the tax on lotto jackpots really stopped people from playing the lottery? Or the fact that lotto winners are double and triple taxed?! Oh noes! You can use one lotto drawing to dispel half of the garbage propaganda used to attack high tax rates. And for the other half, you need only mention Mexico... lol)

Those with the ability to pay should have the right to higher standards of medical care.
-Agree (Sometimes treatments just cost a hell of a lot of money, and would bankrupt all but the wealthiest people -- and governments even. But if Tom Cruise wants an ultrasound machine.... well actually that's a bad example because those machines have just recently been shown to be dangerous and should not be used often enough to warrant the purchase of a personal unit.)

Governments should penalise businesses that mislead the public.
-Agree

A genuine free market requires restrictions on the ability of predator multinationals to create monopolies.
-Strongly Agree

The freer the market, the freer the people.
-Disagree (The US is ostensibly free but is also a stone's throw away from being used as an engine for global destruction. We're talking Iraq on a global scale here... sheesh as if Iraq isn't bad enough by itself!)


Page 3 of 6

Abortion, when the woman's life is not threatened, should always be illegal.
-Strongly Disagree

All authority should be questioned.
-Agree

An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.
-Disagree

Taxpayers should not be expected to prop up any theatres or museums that cannot survive on a commercial basis.
-Disagree

Schools should not make classroom attendance compulsory.
-Agree (Although they should promote it, obviously. I was tempted to disagree, but it all depends on how you define "compulsory". I'm against chipping them and zapping them if they don't show up for class.)

All people have their rights, but it is better for all of us that different sorts of people should keep to their own kind.
-Disagree (One might say it's easier to disagree on this and I'd probably agree with them too. But seriously, diversity has made us stronger. You have to believe that or else you don't believe in much...)

Good parents sometimes have to spank their children.
-Strongly Agree

It's natural for children to keep some secrets from their parents.
-Agree

Marijuana should be legalised.
-Agree (Gambling, alcohol, and lobbying are all legal, and they're all more dangerous too.)

The prime function of schooling should be to equip the future generation to find jobs.
-Disagree (It's nice to teach skills and I'm not saying they shouldn't. But #1, first things first, people need to be taught how to think, and how to learn, and how to see through bull...)

People with serious inheritable disabilities should not be allowed to reproduce.
-Disagree (The old argument about how people with glasses shouldn't have been born. blah. It's nonsense.)

The most important thing for children to learn is to accept discipline.
-Disagree (Discipline is important but come on, sometimes kids know right from wrong better than some brainwashed adults, and sometimes the adult IS the one who is wrong! And to force a child to accept that injustice is akin to destroying that child's soul. What good is a disciplined soulless child when he/she grows up? This isn't just rhetoric by the way. This is real and it cannot be shrugged off.)

There are no savage and civilised peoples; there are only different cultures.
-Strongly Disagree (There are plenty of savage peoples. Do I really need to go down the list? The fact is that all humanity is savage. In so many ways you'd have to be blind, deaf, and dead not to see it. Note that I'd agree with the following: "There are no savage and civilised CULTURES; there are only different cultures. ")

Those who are able to work, and refuse the opportunity, should not expect society's support.
-Agree (By agreeing, I am not saying that everyone who can work 40 hours a week should. I just mean you should do something. You could be a painter... you could be anything, but you've still got to work at it. You could even be a professional bum. You'll just call yourself a "spiritual advisor". And you'll work at it.)

When you are troubled, it's better not to think about it, but to keep busy with more cheerful things.
-Disagree (So if you agree, you're delusional. I assume that makes you more of a right winger. But doesn't it invalidate this test to ask questions like that?)

First-generation immigrants can never be fully integrated within their new country.
-Disagree (Never say Never)

What's good for the most successful corporations is always, ultimately, good for all of us.
-Strongly Disagree (Depending on interpretation. One could argue that a corporation ideally prospers and so should we all. But that type of thinking doesn't scale up into the real world. Corporations most easily prosper by crapping on others so obviously we can't all do well by adopting the corporate strategy!)

No broadcasting institution, however independent its content, should receive public
funding.
-Disagree (It is soooo wrong to agree with that. People can't pool their money together to get their voice heard?? Total nonsense.)


Page 4 of 6

Our civil liberties are being excessively curbed in the name of counter-terrorism.
-Strongly Agree (Curbed? They're [censored] gone. We just haven't fully realized it yet. Like in the movies where someone gets decapitated, but their head sort of stays on just because they haven't moved yet.)

A significant advantage of a one-party state is that it avoids all the arguments that delay progress in a democratic political system.
-Disagree (Such a bogus statement. Delay progress? How can you even have progress without the discourse that defines what progress is? One party controlling things is not progress, no matter how much they get done. Unless everyone really does agree with that one party. But that is not the case in the one-party-ruled US, and I had to assume that's what this question was really about.)

Although the electronic age makes official surveillance easier, only wrongdoers need to be worried.
-Strongly Disagree (This is huge. There are any number of situations where you might NEED to have some privacy, and still be a good person, not a "wrongdoer". Try watching the movie End Game, or Enemy of the State. That's what the security and surveillance state is really for. So that if something goes wrong with some elite criminal plan, they can usurp that security grid and use it to lock down and crush any witnesses. People really should be worried about this, because it could happen to anyone. But I guess as long as it doesn't happen to you... it's ok? That mentality needs to die.)

The death penalty should be an option for the most serious crimes.
-Strongly Agree (Yes. We need more public executions of high ranking govt officials who are caught commiting war crimes. Imagine what it would do for our image if we got rid of a few of those rats... there's already enough evidence to convict, it's just a matter of people having the balls to demand justice. Yeah too bad justice doesn't work like that. Justice is saved for the guy with a 60 hour a week job, 2 kids, and a dimebag...)

In a civilised society, one must always have people above to be obeyed and people below to be commanded.
-Disagree (That's not civilized. In an emergency that's how things should be. But when those in charge try to make every damn thing into an emergency so that they can stay in power... well that is not what I call civilized behavior. Why does this happen? Because when the emergency ends, that is when people reflect on their leadership. And they make changes based on performance. This is how it works in every human culture. Even in a dictatorship. If a dictator totally goes mad, his people will overthrow him. Unless there are exploding collars around everyone's necks, or Fox News, or something equally powerful and dangerous.)

Abstract art that doesn't represent anything shouldn't be considered art at all.
-Disagree (Who am I and who are you to say what represents what. g0 b4(k t0 $(h00£ n3wb13 )

In criminal justice, punishment should be more important than rehabilitation.
-Agree (Punishment is more important. Even if we're just talking about the correct form of punishment, or whether what occured was even a crime at all.)

It is a waste of time to try to rehabilitate some criminals.
-Agree

The businessperson and the manufacturer are more important than the writer and the artist.
-Strongly Disagree (If we had more writers we probably wouldn't have businesspersons with so much power...)

Mothers may have careers, but their first duty is to be homemakers.
-Agree (::ducks:: What I am saying is that it is everyone's first duty to be a good "homemaker". Not just mothers. And good "homemaking" is more than just sweeping the floor and doing laundry. A good homemaker makes his/her community into a good home, not just the house itself. We've lost too much of that.)

Multinational companies are unethically exploiting the plant genetic resources of developing countries.
-Agree

Making peace with the establishment is an important aspect of maturity.
-Disagree (Making the establishment Rest In Peace is an important aspect of maturity!)


Page 5 of 6

Astrology accurately explains many things.
-Disagree (People can stare at clouds all day long and snap photos of that one cloud that looks like a cute littly kitty cat. And they can draw conclusions based on that. And sometimes those conclusions are very compelling -- if you don't focus on any of the millions of totally random "blah" cloud formations that don't represent anything except pure chaos... Astrology is inherently deceptive and fraudulent. But since everything is connected in some way, it does serve a useful purpose. I just can't agree with question at hand.)

You cannot be moral without being religious.
-Strongly Disagree

Charity is better than social security as a means of helping the genuinely disadvantaged.
-Strongly Disagree

Some people are naturally unlucky.
-Agree

It is important that my child's school instills religious values.
-Strongly Disagree (moral values yes, but not inherently religious values. "Though shalt not covet thy neighbors stuff" is a religious value, yes, but it's also a moral value. But what is even more important is helping children understand WHY a certain moral value is correct. "Because god said so" doesn't cut it.)

Page 6 of 6

Sex outside marriage is usually immoral.
-Disagree


A same sex couple in a stable, loving relationship, should not be excluded from the possibility of child adoption.
-Agree


Pornography, depicting consenting adults, should be legal for the adult population.
-Agree


What goes on in a private bedroom between consenting adults is no business of the state.
-Agree

No one can feel naturally homosexual.
-Agree (Homosexual men aren't "natural". They have a genetic defect in their brains that negates the physical effects a female's body has on them. Some of these men are hetero and just decide to live with this defect, usually out of pragmatism. But some become homosexual ... probably because men are generally more powerful and therefore make better "mates", when you remove the appeal of the female body from the equation. I'm not saying the defect is "bad", it is what it is. It's complicated. For women it is much simpler. Women are naturally bisexual--not ever truly homosexual even in their own minds. This is because the "defect" that makes a woman more attracted to female curves ADDS to their attractions. It doesn't kill their attraction to men, like the male "defect" kills a man's automatic attraction to female curves. So women are still just as capable of being attracted to a man, they are just overwhelmed by signals telling them that other women are a turn on. Much like the way normal males receive signals from from their brains that tell them to... act like idiots and drool etc when they see a beautiful woman. It's like if you were raised on Pizza Hut and then you suddenly had to eat a totinos 89 cent frozen pizza. You'd hate it. That's the equivalent of male homosexuality. For females, it's like you were raised on totinos, and then suddenly you got to eat Pizza Hut. You'd love it, but you'd still be able to go back to totinos. You'd still love your totinos, but you'd love Pizza Hut more. It's a crude analogy but I could write pages and pages of different anologies before I got to one that was perfect. If anyone could do a better job explaining it, there wouldn't be so much confusion and emotion over the topic.)

It's fine for society to be open about sex, but these days it's going too far.
-Disagree (Sex is a big part of society. There's still too much taboo.)

13 Comments:

Blogger Matthew Hartzell said...

it's interesting that you're generally very socially libertarian, yet you support the death penalty. i think that one must be very heavily weighted towards the authoritarian end of the axis because i expected you to be much more libertarian but in fact you were pretty close to the center

1:42 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I find your point of views extremly interesting. I'm a far left wing liberal. So i do disagree with a few of your opinions that lean just a bit more right wing. Such as your statment where you said you were for the death penalty. I personally find the idea that our goverment is supplying more revenge than justice, and killing a murderer to show that killing is wrong, completly ludacris. It baffles me how people cant see it that way but im also very open minded and can see others p.o.v. In your survey you make the comment about how you cant feel naturaly homosexual and that it is a deformity. I strongly disagree, however, i find your thinking on the subject really interesting and will take your ideas into thought. But i still do believe that it is just as natural for a man and man than a woman and man. Religiously it may be considered wrong and sinful but who is to say that straight people dont have the thought process all wrong. And im saying this as a fully straight female. But im glad i came across your survey, for i took it myself and your answers gave me a little bit of a different point of view.

4:20 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

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4:29 PM  
Blogger Iconoclast421 said...

I dont support the death penalty as it exists now because it is just a big circus and it is not being reserved for the kind of crimes it should be reserved for. But you have to pay attention to how the question was worded: "The death penalty should be an option for the most serious crimes." I'm simply looking at the logistics. The bottom line is if it becomes an extreme burden for the State to keep a criminal alive, then the criminal should be disposed of. Take a Hitler or a Dahmer for example. How much would you be willing to pay to provide security for such a villain? But I do think the death penalty should be used extremely rarely. If I took the survey today my answer would probably be different. But then again perhaps not. I would consider it just to see the heads of a few Madoffs on random lamp-posts.

8:38 AM  
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Anonymous Grace said...

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9:49 AM  
Anonymous M. Xerxes said...

Your analysis is both thoughtless and arrogant.
You criticizes about this simple political analysis as if you have accomplished enough to the world that their intentions have become threatening.
This test is far from perfect, but it is based on tremendous research from publishings of many elite thinkers from all time period; what are your criticism towards this based on? Your limited brain cells? Logic?
You liberal hippie fucks place human compassion above all else, and yet you reflect your viewpoints to further polluting the minds of the public. Be thankful we don't live in a time where people like you are hanged, because if so I will be the first candidate to determine your "glorious" execution!

4:32 PM  
Blogger Iconoclast421 said...

You couldn't hang a hat, you Moron (M.) Xerxes. You can't even string a sentence together for christ sakes. What makes you think anyone should consider your tripe to be anything more than spam? In fact I actually thought it was spam, and almost deleted it along with the other 10 spam posts.

12:26 PM  
Anonymous Natasha said...

In response answer to the question about natural sexuality...have you never spoken to a lesbian? A woman who (honestly) is not attracted to or interested in men whatsoever?

6:26 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I found your view of punishment vs rehabilitation interesting. I might suggest a little studying for you on that because rehabilitation is found to be FAR more effective than punitive attention. With my children, I never used the term punish, as it communicated behavior=random consequence. I always used discipline, which was more of a form of rehabilitation to teach tools not to repeat behavior over just getting even with them for doing the behavior. I worked 15 years on alternative conflict resolution. Rehab over incarceration is shown to significantly curb recidivism. In juveniles, it can cut it as much as 80%. Unfortunately, our prison system has become big business and we now have more ppl, per capita, incarcerated than any other country in the world. Many for victimless and non-violent crimes.

1:11 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

About your homosexuality answer - every single thing that exists within our universe is natural. If it's not natural then what the hell is it? Supernatural? Even if homosexuality was a disorder, it's still natural, just like paedophilia.

6:07 PM  
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