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Post by inuvik on Aug 15, 2006 15:06:40 GMT -5
Not really In the News, but it's of a socio-political nature: www.politicalcompass.org/This is a very comprehensive tool. I placed over near the Dalai Lama and Nelson Mandela. Maybe we can all take it? Or discuss some of the points raised in it? I really enjoyed taking this. |
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Post by mlm828 on Aug 15, 2006 15:16:49 GMT -5
I placed over near the Dalai Lama and Nelson Mandela. So did I. I was surprised to see how few contemporary leaders there are in that "quadrant." Then again, maybe that's not a surprise, considering the current state of the world. |
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Post by Dreamfire on Aug 15, 2006 18:36:05 GMT -5
Hi Inuvik, I did it, I came up as a couple of inches to the right of Mandella. Bit suprised as I always thought I was fairly authoritarian!
MInd you, I found many ofthe questions to be very leading - words such as should which altered my response. Also quite assumptive.
Ashatan
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Post by housemouse on Aug 15, 2006 20:55:59 GMT -5
Not too surprisingly to me, I was almost directly in line with Gandhi. What an interesting exercise inuvik, thanks for the link.
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Post by maggiethecat on Aug 15, 2006 22:35:41 GMT -5
Not too surprisingly to me, I was almost directly in line with Gandhi. What an interested exercise inuvik, thanks for the link. Really interesting and my thanks, too, inuvik. I wound up where you did, Mouse, which I guess means you and Gandhi and I are just a big old bunch of pinko liberals! (And proud of it.  ) |
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Post by shmeep on Aug 16, 2006 7:48:24 GMT -5
I was in the Dalai Lama/Ghandi quadrant. Hmm...a little more of a Libertarian Communist than I thought I'd be. Very interesting. Thanks for the food for thought, inuvik! Karma!
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Post by kenina on Aug 16, 2006 18:48:53 GMT -5
I was also very close to Ghandi, which makes me wonder whether 1) the test is somehow skewed to make everyone end up there (I'm curious: Did anyone end up on the right/authoritarian sides and find that in line with your beliefs?), or 2) we are all that like-minded. I was pretty surprised that I showed up that liberal. I grew up in a very conservative household and considered myself fully Republican until the last few years (thank you, GW Bush, for making me see the light). I knew I was slowly becoming more liberal, but just how liberal I didn't realize. Although I tend to agree with ashatan that in some cases, I thought the questions directed one answer more than another. In many other instances, I wanted a "neutral" or "maybe" or a qualifying answer, and though I had to pick an agree or disagree instead, I really didn't feel that the question warranted either answer.
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Post by Dreamfire on Aug 16, 2006 21:46:06 GMT -5
I was also very close to Ghandi, which makes me wonder whether 1) the test is somehow skewed to make everyone end up there (I'm curious: Did anyone end up on the right/authoritarian sides and find that in line with your beliefs?), or 2) we are all that like-minded. I was pretty surprised that I showed up that liberal. I grew up in a very conservative household and considered myself fully Republican until the last few years (thank you, GW Bush, for making me see the light). I knew I was slowly becoming more liberal, but just how liberal I didn't realize. Although I tend to agree with ashatan that in some cases, I thought the questions directed one answer more than another. In many other instances, I wanted a "neutral" or "maybe" or a qualifying answer, and though I had to pick an agree or disagree instead, I really didn't feel that the question warranted either answer. I found the same thing Kenina, I think your suggestion that the testing is skewed is accurate,. The people who put this together could not keep their own views from showing. N |
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Post by inuvik on Aug 17, 2006 11:11:20 GMT -5
All my friends who responded were also in that quadrant. But then, most of them are liberal too!
I guess the test is to try it with "conservative" answers and see if we get a different spot on the grid.
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Post by shmeep on Aug 17, 2006 11:30:16 GMT -5
I just tried it. I went the extreme opposite of all my beliefs and ended up right smack between Hitler and Thatcher (which cracks me up for some reason).
But the questions are obviously biased. Is that a Libertarian site? I think they are trying to skew things so people taking the test will somehow realize they're really Libertarians. I guess that's how political parties recruit.
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Post by housemouse on Aug 17, 2006 11:31:44 GMT -5
I took the test giving all strongly agree or strongly disagree answers in an attempt to skew it to the right. It worked, I wound up right between Margaret Thatcher and Milton Friedman.
All of the questions are written in a very black and white format. They are either things that liberals hold dear or conservatives hold dear, there is no middle ground with any of the questions. Most of them, if stated as facts, would be considered inflammatory to one side or the other.
A test with more shades of gray might give a more realistic picture.
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Post by inuvik on Aug 17, 2006 11:34:28 GMT -5
I just tried it. I went the extreme opposite of all my beliefs and ended up right smack between Hitler and Thatcher (which cracks me up for some reason). But the questions are obviously biased. Is that a Libertarian site? I think they are trying to skew things so people taking the test will somehow realize they're really Libertarians. I guess that's how political parties recruit. This is from the FAQ's on the site: Some of the questions are slantedMost of them are slanted ! Some right-wingers accuse us of a leftward slant. Some left-wingers accuse us of a rightward slant. But it's important to realise that this isn't a survey, and these aren't questions. They're propositions - an altogether different proposition. To question the logic of individual ones that irritate you is to miss the point. Some propositions are extreme, and some are more moderate. That's how we can show you whether you lean towards extremism or moderation on the Compass. Some of the propositions are intentionally vague. Their purpose is to trigger buzzwords in the mind of the user, measuring feelings and prejudices rather than detailed opinions on policy. Incidentally, our test is not another internet personality classification tool. The essence of our site is the model for political analysis. The test is simply a demonstration of it. There are lots of good FAQ's, here's the link: www.politicalcompass.org/faq#none |
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Post by housemouse on Aug 17, 2006 12:06:18 GMT -5
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Post by inuvik on Aug 17, 2006 17:31:53 GMT -5
I tried Mouse's. Good but very American in its questions! (not a problem for most on here, of course). For example, what is a voucher system for public schools?
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Post by kenina on Aug 17, 2006 20:25:08 GMT -5
Vouchers are quite a controversial issue in certain states and cities, and the opinions tend to cross political party lines. It's an idea where some people (maybe through a lottery or some other selection system) are given vouchers so they can afford to send their children to private schools if they live in an area with failing schools. Democrats tend to dislike vouchers because the people who don't get them have to send their kids to schools that are funded with even fewer tax dollars than before, because some of the money went to the vouchers. Republicans tend to like them because they think it makes them look benevolent toward poor people, in giving them a chance to send their kids to private schools instead of leaving them in failing schools. But like I said, some Republicans are against them and some Democrats are for them. It's an interesting issue. I'm not sure where I fall--maybe because I don't have kids yet.
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