Where are you on The Political Compass?

[StellaBlue]

Me:
Economic Left/Right: -9.00
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -7.79

[MrSlayer]

1. I'm always just left of Ghandi.

Even with my pro-death penalty stance.

[Karenca]

3. Same here ............nt

[Massacure]

2. Economic Left/Right: -5.63, Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -4.41

[moodforaday]

4. Left of Gandhi is a good place to be!

Economic Left/Right: -6.00
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -6.41

For those who don't yet know: http://www.politicalcompass.org

Or similar, but more condensed: http://www.theadvocates.org/quiz.html

[zonmoy]

27. my score

Economic Left/Right: -9.50
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -8.92

[mdmc]

5. yup a little left of ghandi myself

:toast:

[StellaBlue]

6. I'm the liberallest!!!

hahaha

I win!!!

:D

[AnOhioan]

7. Left of Gandhi myself

Economic Left/Right: -8.00
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -6.21

[jwirr]

8. I'm Liberal and I like it that way.

[American Tragedy]

9. As usual: Economic: -3.63; Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -8.81

My philosophy is that I just want to be left alone. :)

Once again, I note with despair that virtually all world leaders appear above that authoritarian axis.

[davekriss]

10. Been a while but it was something near -9/-9

Not only left of Gandhi, but left of the Chomster too! Great company, if you ask me!!

[LeftNYC]

11. heyhey!

Economic Left/Right: -7.00
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -6.41

[Patsy Stone]

12. Me?

Economic L/R: -7.13
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -6.87

[tocqueville]

13. this test is BS for European values

Economic Left/Right: -6.88
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -6.62

it put me left of Mandela/Dalai Lama when in reality I am nearest Schroeder

why Chirac is practically in the same cluster than Harper and Berlusconi and the former Pope a bit more to the left than Saddam is for me a riddle.

I imagine that many of the standpoints that put me to the left in this test are no longer left in Europe but completely mainstream (for example taxes, environment and sex questions).

and why the Dalai lama is a liberal loonie is a riddle too...

[muriel_volestrangler]

18. It's actually British based

and I end up roughly where I'd expect - about -2.7 economic, -5.6 social (though both of those are a bit further from the notional centre than I was a couple of years ago).

Chirac is a right wing politician, after all (he's still to the left of Blair, on their diagram), and the old Pope was economically fairly left - but he's to the right of Saddam on their diagram (he's about -3/+3.5; Saddam -7/+7). Isn't the Dalai Lama liberal? I got the impression that most of the adivce he offers is (though, not actually having to run a country, it can be easier to appear liberal than to be it when you're in charge).

[tocqueville]

19. I still think there is a big bias

That the pope is authoritharian it's normal (the Church isn't a democracy) but to have him in the same quadrant than Saddam is a bit strange. I don't presume that the people on the comparison chart did the test. I wonder if the Dalai Lama is very "liberal" on sexual matters either.

The questions regarding education are very revealing (except the one regarding attending classes). The normal "European" answer is no to all of them. The person answering any "yes" to them would here be considered as a freeper (or its equivalent)

Chirac is a rightwinger by French standards. But Gaullism has a big leftist dimension of state intervention and protection of the masses. If Chirac presented in the US a similar program to the basic gaullist program, he would be considered as a commie or at least a Roosevelt democrat. Imagine somebody today pleading for free social and medical security for all, big government, big tax funded infrastructure projects etc... OK he'd advocate 1% tax cut for the rich to show that he is a "liberal" in the European sense.

I don't vote "socialist" (I'd might if there was a social-democracy in France) because the French socialist party is in reality a communist party. I vote centrist which is in France voting for somebody like Schroeder or Blair (not internationally) or even Merckel.

[muriel_volestrangler]

20. It shows the limitations of the 2 dimensional approach

Neither the pope nor Saddam were/are advocates of free-market economics; both had authoritarian views, though the way they expressed them were very different. So they end up in the same quadrant - though Saddam is the 'extremist', while the pope was moderate.

The Dali Lama seems to have become more sexually liberal over the years: Dalai Lama expresses support for LGBT human rights.

I'd disagree about the education questions - while I can't remember them all, I answered 'agree' to "the prime function of schooling should be to equip the future generation to find jobs", and I still came out as a bit left of their centre-line. I don't think you'd have to be a 'freeper' to say that - I know a lot here would disagree, but I think you'd get that answer from most modern politicians.

Yes, Chirac would be left wing by American standards, but that's the point - they are saying that almost all American politicians are right wing by international standards (when they did the Democratic presidential candidates in 2004, most, including Dean, demonised as an 'out-of-control liberal' by the right, were in the top right quadrant).

Where it puts you does seem a bit surprising, if you think of yourself as a French centralist. The figures I've seen reported by DUers very frequently come out well to the left, though plenty of DUers say they're moderates - perhaps not many American DU moderates take it. Yet I don't come out particularly further left than I'd expect.

[tocqueville]

21. ok some precisions

the way the questions are asked leads to bias, and you give a perfectly good example.

the school question is interesting : most French would disagree because they think that the PRIME function of school is to pass on KNOWLEDGE and shape good citizens (with tolerant and democratic values). That will surely help them find jobs (and that is a very important function for schools too). But if you emphasize JOBS, the conclusion drawn here is that schools will be primarily a recruitment tool for corporations and depend on their fluctuating needs. So for example computer wizzards will be premiered and historians dumped. So a good education combines general competence and practical abilities. That's why I disagreed on the question. But that doesn't mean that I don't think that school souldn't prepare kids for future jobs.

A French centralist or a Swedish social-democrat wants both a free market and finds that capitalism and free market is still the best system we have. BUT he/she will work for social structures through state intervention as necessary to take care of the poor and the weak (and this not through charity which can only be a complement) and ensure that even the middle-class is protected. A French "socialist" is formally AGAINST capitalism and wants state intervention at a much higher level than the "centrist". For example they don't accept privatization of public services, even if it's shown that those can work far much efficiently on a capitalist basis - supposing that the state controls the equity of the service and backs up the non profitable part, so that EVERYBODY can access it. The later solution is a typical social-democratic one or a social-liberal one (by European definitions). Even Chirac would subscribe to the later solution.

[muriel_volestrangler]

26. The thing to remember is that there are many questions

You may feel that for some questions the division will be between "far right", and "everyone else" - but they need some questions like that to distinguish the far right from the moderate right. That's not bias. On all questions there's a chance to say "strongly disagree". The scores I've seen on another board which has members of all kinds of politics on include people with economic left/right scores up at +7 or 8. I find the scores they give well known politicians believable.

I just tried an experiment - I tried to answer as the 'middle ground' of British politics, in particular what I think New Labour and Cameron's 'liberal conservatism' are trending to. It came out economics +2.7, social -0.4. Economically, that's pretty close to Chirac, which I'd say is roughly correct. If anything, I'd say it's more incorrect socially - I didn't think my answers were significantly more socially liberal than Chirac or Blair.

[Lib Grrrrl]

14. I'm Almost EXACTLY Where They Show Nelson Mandela Being At

Your political compass
Economic Left/Right: -9.13
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -4.21

I think I'm more economically left than Mandela, but close to him on the social scale.

Basically, I am a left-libertarian, according to the graph.

[kitp]

15. yes

Economic Left/Right: -7.25
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -8.67

[Greyhound]

16. What the hell it's been over six months...

Economic Left/Right: -6.63
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -5.95

[magellan]

17. Haven't budged

Economic Left/Right: -7.50
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -6.72

No one in their right mind wouldn't consider Gandhi, Mandela and the Dalai Lama good company!

[demobabe]

22. Here's mine

Economic Left/Right: -7.50
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -4.92

[Ava]

23. here's what i got

Economic Left/Right: -3.25
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -4.46

[Jed Dilligan]

24. Economic Left/Right: -9.75 Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -9.90

Sorry, but I just can't stand businessmen or cops!

[Phx_Dem]

25. Me: L/R, -4.88 SL/A: -6.26

[sweetheart]

28. I'm a number

I'm reduced to 2 numbers, that's what i am. I have no feelings,
i can't change my mind, i can't be really angry and tear up the
constitution, no, i am a number, really.

My cartesian soul sings in 2 dimensions, if you look at me
edgewise, i'm infinitely flat.