Political Compass = Joke

[Keystone Phil]

I was bored and decided to take the Political Compass quiz. You know the questions are just too weird when I get this type of result...

Economic Left/Right: 1.12
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -0.21


Well, then I realized that everyone here takes the Political Matrix quiz and my results there, unlike the Compass results, actually made sense for once!


Economic score: +4.39
Social score: +4.87


Honestly, the social score is probably just a bit too high but whatever.

[Mint]

What did you expect from a test that seriously asks things like "If economic globalisation is inevitable, it should primarily serve humanity rather than the interests of trans-national corporations"? The PC is just a recruitment tool for the far left pretty much.

[Earth]

The PC is just a recruitment tool for the far left pretty much.

Hhahaha.

Haha.

Hahahaha.

You've got to be kidding me.

[Mint]

The PC is just a recruitment tool for the far left pretty much.

Hhahaha.

Haha.

Hahahaha.

You've got to be kidding me.

Even ignoring the slanted questions.. I don't think it's a coincidence that seemingly everyone scores in the bottom left quadrant. Also have you seen their charts? I think it's fairly obvious the makers are probably Liberal Democrats (UK variety) or something along those lines.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

I think it's fairly obvious the makers are probably Liberal Democrats (UK variety) or something along those lines.

If that's the case it's fairly obvious that the PC isn't a recruitment tool for the far left, lol.

[Alcon]

Even ignoring the slanted questions.. I don't think it's a coincidence that seemingly everyone scores in the bottom left quadrant. Also have you seen their charts? I think it's fairly obvious the makers are probably Liberal Democrats (UK variety) or something along those lines.

I've looked at the structure pretty carefully.  It tends to have a bias about economic attitudes.  For instance, a free-marketer who concedes that the free market is flawed will find their score crater.  The portions from the F-5 test for fascism (do you believe in horoscopes, whatever) are just terrible and useless.

[Eraserhead]

Phil, do you consider yourself more of a social or economic conservative? Just curious.

[Keystone Phil]

Phil, do you consider yourself more of a social or economic conservative? Just curious.

I can't answer that. I think I'm honestly a perfect balance between the two. Everytime I want to say that I might lean ever so slightly one way, I always catch myself.

It's just that a lot of people here tend to think of me as more of a social conservative because the social issue debates here seem to be a lot more passionate. The funny thing is, though, that I can be even more passionate about economic and foreign policy/national security stuff.

[Associate Justice PiT]

     I think the PC is very poorly written, but I've always gotten nearly the same results whenever I've taken both of them. Actually, I'll try it again & see if it holds up.

[Smid]

There's a fairly reasonable Australian one (although Australian issues may mean that it's not a good test for foreigners - I think you'd be challenged to find a right winger over here opposed to public health care). The reason it's so good, though, is because it breaks your positions down into not just social and economic, but social, economic and "traditional values" - where issues such as abortion fall under traditional values, rather than social.

[Mint]

I think it's fairly obvious the makers are probably Liberal Democrats (UK variety) or something along those lines.

If that's the case it's fairly obvious that the PC isn't a recruitment tool for the far left, lol.

...Keep in mind what country I'm posting this from.

[Earth]

The PC is just a recruitment tool for the far left pretty much.

Hhahaha.

Haha.

Hahahaha.

You've got to be kidding me.

Even ignoring the slanted questions.. I don't think it's a coincidence that seemingly everyone scores in the bottom left quadrant. Also have you seen their charts? I think it's fairly obvious the makers are probably Liberal Democrats (UK variety) or something along those lines.

I don't see how that makes the compass a "recruitment tool".

[Mint]

Seems like propaganda to me, sort of like the 'World's Smallest Political Quiz' or similar nonsense. Again when everyone is winding up in the same general area something is up.

[jamestroll]

lol phil is a typical capitalist.. yuck

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

I like the Compass more than the Matrix. Please note the Matrix gives Stark a very centrist score.

Some of the questions on the Compass are badly worded, but they usually cancel each other out, and a handful are just plain stupid yes, but only a handful.

Also people misunderstand the astrology question, yes, it is kind of silly even being there, but believing in astrology is considered an authoritarian position as it's the belief one has some sort of fate that they can not alter. Also believers historically were authoritarians, Hitler believed in astrology as did many Latin American military dictators. You need to think outside of a modern day American context and assume it's only New Age-y types who do.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

I think it's fairly obvious the makers are probably Liberal Democrats (UK variety) or something along those lines.

If that's the case it's fairly obvious that the PC isn't a recruitment tool for the far left, lol.

...Keep in mind what country I'm posting this from.

lol

No differences between political discourses in different countries are large enough to make a claim that a relatively inoffensive centrist party are in fact a party of dangerous hard-left loons sane.

[Bacon King]

For it to be a recruitment tool I think it would need links afterwards saying "this is the party you match best, join it!" or something, kinda like all those libertarian tests do.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Also the idea that the Liberal Democrats are "far left" by any standard whatsoever is absolutely hysterical. Have the Liberal Democrats ever called for nationalization of all industry or any other actual far left positions?

[ilikeverin]

I like the Compass more than the Matrix. Please note the Matrix gives Stark a very centrist score.

Some of the questions on the Compass are badly worded, but they usually cancel each other out, and a handful are just plain stupid yes, but only a handful.

Also people misunderstand the astrology question, yes, it is kind of silly even being there, but believing in astrology is considered an authoritarian position as it's the belief one has some sort of fate that they can not alter. Also believers historically were authoritarians, Hitler believed in astrology as did many Latin American military dictators. You need to think outside of a modern day American context and assume it's only New Age-y types who do.

Except that the test-takers are not out of a modern-day American context, so the only people who will say "yes" to astrology are only New Age-y types, or at least believers in the esoteric.

[k-onmmunist]

Also the idea that the Liberal Democrats are "far left" by any standard whatsoever is absolutely hysterical. Have the Liberal Democrats ever called for nationalization of all industry or any other actual far left positions?

The Lib Dems are just plain awful left-of-centre.

[Mint]

I think it's fairly obvious the makers are probably Liberal Democrats (UK variety) or something along those lines.

If that's the case it's fairly obvious that the PC isn't a recruitment tool for the far left, lol.

...Keep in mind what country I'm posting this from.

lol

No differences between political discourses in different countries are large enough to make a claim that a relatively inoffensive centrist party are in fact a party of dangerous hard-left loons sane.

Fine, left wing although I didn't mean flat out marxist anyway. But my basic point about obvious bias remains.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Name some far left planks in the Lib Dem platform.

[Mint]

Name some far left planks in the Lib Dem platform.

I'm not sure If I'd call them far left really but I'd say that even on economics they have a lot of pretty left wing positions like massive expansion of public housing, even more progressive taxation, inheritance tax, protectionism (or 'trade justice' anyway), euro-centralism, income caps (IIRC), etc.  Mostly I was thinking of their social agenda, which seems to be anything goes, extremely pro-EU liberalism.

I will admit I was partially just running my mouth off out of frustration when I typed that though.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

More public housing? Inheritance tax? That's hardly "far left". Hell we got all that stuff in the US despite your previous post saying that sort of thing would be far left here.

And the actual far left is generally against the EU and whatnot, just read the statements from the European Communist parties. Most consider it an organization to impose neo-liberalism across the world. Really, support of the EU is the centrist position in Europe, the parties opposed tend to be the actual far left or xenophobic far right.