The Political Compass: page 2

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

People are ultimately divided more by class than by nationality.

Controlling inflation is more important than controlling unemployment.

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

From each according to his ability, to each according to his need is a fundamentally good idea.

It's a sad reflection on our society that something as basic as drinking water is now a bottled, branded consumer product.

Land shouldn't be a commodity to be bought and sold.

It is regrettable that many personal fortunes are made by people who simply manipulate money and contribute nothing to their society.

Protectionism is sometimes necessary in trade.

The only social responsibility of a company should be to deliver a profit to its shareholders.

The rich are too highly taxed.

Those with the ability to pay should have the right to higher standards of medical care .

Governments should penalise businesses that mislead the public.

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

The freer the market, the freer the people.

[A18]

Does the guy who made that test know how many words his misspelled?

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

my answers:

People are ultimately divided more by class than by nationality.

Strongly Agree. The rich have no nations.

Controlling inflation is more important than controlling unemployment.

Strongly Disagree. Inflation is inevitable anyway.

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

Strongly Agree. Don't see how anyone could argue with this.

From each according to his ability, to each according to his need is a fundamentally good idea.

Agree. Don't see anything wrong with it.

It's a sad reflection on our society that something as basic as drinking water is now a bottled, branded consumer product.

Agree. This should make people wake up and think.

Land shouldn't be a commodity to be bought and sold.

Agree. How about we sell air?

It is regrettable that many personal fortunes are made by people who simply manipulate money and contribute nothing to their society.

Strongly Agree. Ken Lay is all the proof we need.

Protectionism is sometimes necessary in trade.

Agree. Without it India and China will steal all our jobs.

The only social responsibility of a company should be to deliver a profit to its shareholders.

Strongly Disagree. Think of all the illegal and immoral things companies can do to make profits.

The rich are too highly taxed.

Strongly Disagree. Aren't taxed enough.

Those with the ability to pay should have the right to higher standards of medical care.

Strongly disagree. Why do Paris Hilton and Britney Spears deserve more than people who actually work?

Governments should penalise businesses that mislead the public.

Strongly Agree. Another no brainer.

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

Strongly Agree, but I think free markets are evil inherently.

The freer the market, the freer the people.

Strongly Disagree. Who thinks Pinochet's Chile was more free than New Deal America?

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Does the guy who made that test know how many words his misspelled?

British spelling.

[A18]

People are ultimately divided more by class than by nationality.
No.

Controlling inflation is more important than controlling unemployment.
Sure.

Because corporations cannot be trusted to voluntarily protect the environment, they require regulation.
Yeah.

From each according to his ability, to each according to his need is a fundamentally good idea.
That line is used to argue against freedom itself.

It's a sad reflection on our society that something as basic as drinking water is now a bottled, branded consumer product.
So don't buy it.

Land shouldn't be a commodity to be bought and sold.
Except that it should.

It is regrettable that many personal fortunes are made by people who simply manipulate money and contribute nothing to their society.
So many fortunes are not made.

Protectionism is sometimes necessary in trade.
I guess.

The only social responsibility of a company should be to deliver a profit to its shareholders.
Basically.

The rich are too highly taxed.
Everyone is too highly taxed.

Those with the ability to pay should have the right to higher standards of medical care .
Yeah.

Governments should penalise businesses that mislead the public.
Yes.

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

The freer the market, the freer the people.
Of course. But a free market does not necessarily mean you have freedom.

[A18]

If the market is freer, the people are freer. What else do you think the market is?

[Alcon]

If the market is freer, the people are freer. What else do you think the market is?

The market is the market.

People are freer with an open free market, but freedom is not necessarily always a positive thing. Being able to murder someone and get away with it is a freedom, but not a good one.

This question obviously is in a context of the freedom being positive; in this case, I do not think that it is always. This test features a lot of questions you have to interpret in order to get at what they are actually asking. That is one of them.

[A18]

It doesn't matter whether freer is a good thing or not. You just agreed that the people are freer.

[Alcon]

It doesn't matter whether freer is a good thing or not. You just agreed that the people are freer.

Taking this test literally does not reveal anything about you. That is why it has to be personalized.

[nclib]

People are ultimately divided more by class than by nationality.

Strongly Agree. Once controlled for class, many nationality divisions shrink or disappear.

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Strongly Disagree. Controlling unemployment should be a higher priority since it more directly affects individuals.

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Strongly Agree.

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I definitely strongly agree with the principle. Note that this question is not asking about government implementation.

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Agree.

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Agree, at least in principle.

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Strongly Agree.

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Agree. Free trade can sometimes increase the gap between the rich and the poor.

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Strongly Disagree.

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Strongly Disagree. Compare the U.S. highest tax rates to those of Europe.

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Strongly Disagree.

Why do Paris Hilton and Britney Spears deserve more than people who actually work?

Well said.

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Strongly Agree.

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Agree, though I wouldn't support a "genuine free market" anyway.

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Strongly Disagree. Enterprises can be as oppressive as the state.

[A18]

No enterprise can oppress anyone. Any exchange in the free market is optional.

[nclib]

Enterprises could still be exploitative even if it's legal and optional.

[Cashcow]

People are ultimately divided more by class than by nationality.
Disagree

Controlling inflation is more important than controlling unemployment.
Disagree

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

From each according to his ability, to each according to his need is a fundamentally good idea.
Strongly disagree. It wasn't then and isn't now

It's a sad reflection on our society that something as basic as drinking water is now a bottled, branded consumer product.
Disagree. It's like that for a reason

Land shouldn't be a commodity to be bought and sold.
Strongly disagree

It is regrettable that many personal fortunes are made by people who simply manipulate money and contribute nothing to their society.
Agree

Protectionism is sometimes necessary in trade.
Agree

The only social responsibility of a company should be to deliver a profit to its shareholders.
Disagree

The rich are too highly taxed.
Agree

Those with the ability to pay should have the right to higher standards of medical care .
Agree

Governments should penalise businesses that mislead the public.
Disagree, but not strongly

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

The freer the market, the freer the people.
Agree. The economy is run by and for the people

[A18]

Enterprises could still be exploitative even if it's legal and optional.

You can't be optionally exploited.

[minionofmidas]

No enterprise can oppress anyone. Any exchange in the free market is optional.

Free markets require full information.
No company is interested in providing full information.

Any exchange in the free market is optional? Right. The rich and the poor are equally free to sleep under the bridge.

[minionofmidas]

People are ultimately divided more by class than by nationality.
Tough one...if "nationality" were to cover all regional cultural differences, I'd probably have to say disagree. As it is, I say agree.

Controlling inflation is more important than controlling unemployment.
Strongly disagree. Nobody dies on account of inflation.

Because corporations cannot be trusted to voluntarily protect the environment, they require regulation.
Strongly agree. Although that's not the only reason.

From each according to his ability, to each according to his need is a fundamentally good idea.
Strongly agree. That's the basis of civilizised society. Now on to the important questions:What's need? And what's just wishes?

It's a sad reflection on our society that something as basic as drinking water is now a bottled, branded consumer product.
Strongly agree. Which is why I avoid drinking bottled water.

Land shouldn't be a commodity to be bought and sold.
Strongly Disagree. That'd basically throw us back into the Dark Ages. The Soviets never went this far.

It is regrettable that many personal fortunes are made by people who simply manipulate money and contribute nothing to their society.
Strongly Agree. In fact they may well up destroying lots of people's livelihoods. Need I say Asia Crisis?

Protectionism is sometimes necessary in trade.
Agree. Not here in the North though.

The only social responsibility of a company should be to deliver a profit to its shareholders.
Strongly Disagree. A company's goal is to deliver a profit to itself. What it then does with that profit is its own choice, to be made by the shareholders.
A company's responsibility is to do so without destroying the environment, cheating its trading partners, exploiting its workers, destroying communities etc, in as far as this is possible. Obviously, as you would know if you'd knew the bases of your economic theories, the profit delivered can therefore not be very large, nor indeed should it be.

The rich are too highly taxed.
Disagree. Nominal tax rates are too high. Payment morale is too low.

Those with the ability to pay should have the right to higher standards of medical care .
Agree. The standards of medical care available in large parts of the world, say China or Latin America, are totally sufficient, as can be seen from the fact that life expectancy there isn't lagging far behind the West on much smaller budgets. If some people want more than that, they should pay the bill themselves. And yes, that includes no tax deductions to medical research etc.

Governments should penalise businesses that mislead the public.
Strongly Agree. In a Market Economy, that's one of government's prime functions.

A genuine free market requires restrictions on the ability of predator multinationals to create monopolies.
Strongly Agree. Duh. Not that the "multinational" bit is important. Such restrictions, btw, should be mostly about setting the right market conditions, not simply about banning stuff or creating lots of red tape.

The freer the market, the freer the people.
Strongly Disagree. As long as there is a soul in prison I am not free.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

People are ultimately divided more by class than by nationality.

Strongly Agree (tho' it depends what they mean by "Class" and "Nationality")

Controlling inflation is more important than controlling unemployment.

Strongly disagree

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.

Strongly agree

It's a sad reflection on our society that something as basic as drinking water is now a bottled, branded consumer product.

Agree (tho' it depends what's meant by "bottled water")

Land shouldn't be a commodity to be bought and sold.

What do they mean by land? If by "land" they mean "property" the answer is Strongly disagree. If by land they mean hills and stuff it depends on the structure of land ownership in a particular area (ie: in the U.S the answer to the question is Disagree, but in the U.K it's Agree).

It is regrettable that many personal fortunes are made by people who simply manipulate money and contribute nothing to their society.

Strongly agree

Protectionism is sometimes necessary in trade.

Strongly agree

The only social responsibility of a company should be to deliver a profit to its shareholders.

Strongly disagree

The rich are too highly taxed.

Strongly disagree

Those with the ability to pay should have the right to higher standards of medical care .

Strongly disagree

Governments should penalise businesses that mislead the public.

Strongly 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.

Strongly disagree

[Gustaf]

Does the guy who made that test know how many words his misspelled?

It's a British test...I hope you're being ironically ignorant.

[Nym90]

Does the guy who made that test know how many words his misspelled?

The creators are British, so that may account for some of them. Some words are spelled slightly differently in the Queen's English.

[Erc]

People are ultimately divided more by class than by nationality.

Strongly Disagree

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Agree

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Agree

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Strongly Disagree

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Disagree (hey, if there's a demand...)

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Strongly Disagree

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Strongly disagree -- investing and spending contributes to society

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Disagree

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Agree  -- most companies can't afford to do otherwise, and that's what government's for

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Strongly Agree

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Strongly Agree

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Disagree -- mislead?  No.  Lie?  Yes.  There's a fine line.

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Agree

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Agree

[Nym90]

People are ultimately divided more by class than by nationality--Agree

Controlling inflation is more important than controlling unemployment--Disagree

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

It's a sad reflection on our society that something as basic as drinking water is now a bottled, branded consumer product--Agree

Land shouldn't be a commodity to be bought and sold--Disagree

It is regrettable that many personal fortunes are made by people who simply manipulate money and contribute nothing to their society--Strongly agree

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

The rich are too highly taxed--Strongly disagree

Those with the ability to pay should have the right to higher standards of medical care--Agree

Governments should penalise businesses that mislead the public--Strongly 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

As always, I'll do full explanations when I get the time.

[Huckleberry Finn]

People are ultimately divided more by class than by nationality.

- Strongly Disagree. I'm MUCH more Finnish than I'm middle-class.

Controlling inflation is more important than controlling unemployment.

- Disagree, but both are important.

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

- Agree. This is a deplorable fact.

From each according to his ability, to each according to his need is a fundamentally good idea.

- Disagree in principle.

It's a sad reflection on our society that something as basic as drinking water is now a bottled, branded consumer product.

- Agree. In Finland all water from water pipes are drinkable. But of course it isn't free. Btw, is water-pipe water drinkable anywhere in America?

Land shouldn't be a commodity to be bought and sold.

- STRONGLY DISAGREE. Why hell it shouldn't?

It is regrettable that many personal fortunes are made by people who simply manipulate money and contribute nothing to their society.

- Disagree.

Protectionism is sometimes necessary in trade.

- Disagree in principle

The only social responsibility of a company should be to deliver a profit to its shareholders.

- Disagree. But this is a tough one. It isn't companies only responsibility, but it's companies main purpose and nothing wrong with that.

The rich are too highly taxed.

- Agree. But it depends. In Finland obviously, In America no.

Those with the ability to pay should have the right to higher standards of medical care.

- Strongly Agree. But all the people should have right to sufficient healthcare.

Governments should penalise businesses that mislead the public.

- Agree

A genuine free market requires restrictions on the ability of predator multinationals to create monopolies

- Agree

The freer the market, the freer the people.

- Agree

[Alcon]

People are ultimately divided more by class than by nationality.

- Strongly Disagree. I'm MUCH more Finnish than I'm middle-class.

I think this refers to social classes.

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Absolutely. In some rural areas, less so. Some areas have great water.

[Nym90]

- Agree. In Finland all water from water pipes are drinkable. But of course it isn't free. Btw, is water-pipe water drinkable anywhere in America?

Here, it most definitely is. Our water is great. Of course, this is the most Finnish part of the entire USA...

[A18]

No enterprise can oppress anyone. Any exchange in the free market is optional.

Free markets require full information.
No company is interested in providing full information.

Any exchange in the free market is optional? Right. The rich and the poor are equally free to sleep under the bridge.

You don't need full information about a product to buy it.

And yes, the rich and poor are equally free to sleep under the bridge.