Debunkers, Skeptics and Conspiracists: Where are you on the political compass?

Filthy Lefty checking in:

Economic Left/Right: -5.75
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -5.90





I'm going further to the Left as I get older; last time I did this I recall being much closer to the centre.
 
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The results so far collated:


The more suspicious/conspiracy oriented members are in red text.

There's really no clear division here along political lines. Just about everyone is somewhat left wing economically (favoring non-trivial regulation of the markets for the common good), and libertarian socially (favoring freedom of the individual from state imposed morals and expectations).
 
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This was a good exercise, Mick, nice one. I'm surprised at the results to be honest; if asked I would have put the more conspiracy orientated much further to the right - Joe particularly (no offence meant, just judging by the overall impression I get from your posts here).

I should be a little less quick to pigeon-hole people.
 
This was a good exercise, Mick, nice one. I'm surprised at the results to be honest; if asked I would have put the more conspiracy orientated much further to the right - Joe particularly (no offence meant, just judging by the overall impression I get from your posts here).

I should be a little less quick to pigeon-hole people.

Joe is certainly more right wing and authoritarian that most people here, but we would do well to remember that the spectrum goes a very long way.
 
Joe is certainly more right wing and authoritarian that most people here, but we would do well to remember that the spectrum goes a very long way.
At least for the purposes of this thread the test would be a lot better if it had questions like. "You will see the rise of the NWO within your life time." or "The governments use of technology to catch/kill terrorist is a sign of a police state."
 
These things seem notoriously hamfisted when it comes to nuance because of the poorly worded questions and limited options. This is why I don't like boxes to begin with--too neat and too sloppy at the same time..
Agree, the questions were very confusing, especially for someone like myself that didn't pay attention to politics until recently. I like my box, it keeps all my stuff dry when it rains! :)
 
At least for the purposes of this thread the test would be a lot better if it had questions like. "You will see the rise of the NWO within your life time." or "The governments use of technology to catch/kill terrorist is a sign of a police state."

Hmm, sounds like an interesting exercise. What would the two axes be?

I'd suggest X = Distrust of Power, Y = Divergence from accepted science/reality.
Sounds like a topic for a dedicated thread:
https://www.metabunk.org/threads/developing-a-conspiracy-compass.2046/
 
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I'm retaking my test, Joe's is too close to mine and it makes me skeptical. o_O
no your actually further right than I am economiclly ?
Joe is certainly more right wing and authoritarian that most people here, but we would do well to remember that the spectrum goes a very long way.
Not sure how I can be for limited small government and freedom yet be authoritarian at the same time ? sounds like a Oxymoron :)
 
Not sure how I can be for limited small government and freedom yet be authoritarian at the same time ? sounds like a Oxymoron :)

You are more authoritarian than most, but you are still on the libertarian side of the line. The "authoritarian" slant probably comes from your views on American exceptionalism, immigration, crime, drugs, abortion, education, etc. Also your views might not be actually different in many questions, just differing on if it's "agree" or "strongly agree"
 
You are more authoritarian than most, but you are still on the libertarian side of the line. The "authoritarian" slant probably comes from your views on American exceptionalism, immigration, crime, drugs, abortion, education, etc. Also your views might not be actually different in many questions, just differing on if it's "agree" or "strongly agree"
Drugs Id say decriminalize them . Abortion I am strongly against but as long as Im not paying for it The libs can exterminate their young all they want if thats what they want . Let them live with it . Education should be on a local level . Immigration Im all for Legal Immigration and making it easier to become a American , Law breakers however need to go to the back of the line . Its Illegal Immigration Im against , There is a difference. Im proud o be a American I think im Lucky I was born here But America especially it foreign policy sucks. I think the original Idea of America is Exceptional . But we are far from perfect .
 
Drugs Id say decriminalize them . Abortion I am strongly against but as long as Im not paying for it The libs can exterminate their young all they want if thats what they want . Let them live with it . Education should be on a local level . Immigration Im all for Legal Immigration and making it easier to become a American , Law breakers however need to go to the back of the line . Its Illegal Immigration Im against , There is a difference. Im proud o be a American I think im Lucky I was born here But America especially it foreign policy sucks. I think the original Idea of America is Exceptional . But we are far from perfect .

Thats the great quandary right wingers face.. You guys don't want the government to tell you what to do, but you want to tell people they can't have an abortion, that this will be illegal, that that is banned.. e.t.c. Its always easy when it isn't you being told what to do.
 
Thats the great quandary right wingers face.. You guys don't want the government to tell you what to do, but you want to tell people they can't have an abortion, that this will be illegal, that that is banned.. e.t.c. Its always easy when it isn't you being told what to do.
Did I say I wanted abortion banned ? I said I dont like abortion but its not up to me to tell someone what to do with their own body . I dont want to be taxed for someone elses birth control as well since that is what most abortions are just birth control . People need to be responsible for themselves . Is my English that hard to understand ?
 
Did I say I wanted abortion banned ? I said I dont like abortion but its not up to me to tell someone what to do with their own body . I dont want to be taxed for someone elses birth control as well since that is what most abortions are just birth control . People need to be responsible for themselves . Is my English that hard to understand ?

It's very clear. But your position there is still more towards the conservative end of the spectrum.
 
Joe, you don't want to be taxed for the child's education or to help feed it or to save it's life, either, but I bet you have little problem paying for prisons. Unless you feel that they should be self supporting also.

I would MUCH rather see a little of my tax money spent on birth control (which is NOT abortion), than to spend tens of thousands on helping a poor mother raise her child. I would rather spend that money than the even higher cost of sticking that child in a prison cell for years.
 
I have always found it humorous that people want their tax dollars to go to a specified project. Unfortunately I am pretty sure much of our tax dollars go to government salaries. I would like to think my money went to someone deserving, but I am equally sure some of it went to Ted Cruz or Michelle Bachman. Oh well in my opninion. Although it would be cool if my money bought the bullet that killed Bin Laden vs covering up the immenent invasion of our alien overlords.
 
Economic Left/Right: -6.50
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -8.05



I too end up in the lower-left quadrant, although I'm not sure the chart position is as accurate as the more detailed surveys available. (Thought I'd end up a bit further left on the X-axis and a notch or two higher on the Y. )

Though I've never identified with any particular political party, I'd say my views are mostly democratic socialist with a few authoritarian deviations.
 
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Joe, you don't want to be taxed for the child's education or to help feed it or to save it's life, either, but I bet you have little problem paying for prisons. Unless you feel that they should be self supporting also.

I would MUCH rather see a little of my tax money spent on birth control (which is NOT abortion), than to spend tens of thousands on helping a poor mother raise her child. I would rather spend that money than the even higher cost of sticking that child in a prison cell for years.
Dont make up things about me you dont know . taxes for schools even government schools I never said I dont like paying for them and the same for welfare to feed the poor. Its the fraud that Im against and dislike because it steals from the people that really need it . I much rather pay for birth control than a abortion but still dont like the fact The moochers are just milking the system . I know many who are and some are related to me . I have to pay for some women s birth control or cell phone yet she is a chain smoker and a alcoholic ? She how well the welfare state has worked out for America ? Or Detroit ? Help feed it or save a child's life ? yet a 7 months if its born alive just snip the babies spine and toss it in the trash.
 
Joe, you don't want to be taxed for the child's education or to help feed it or to save it's life, either, but I bet you have little problem paying for prisons. Unless you feel that they should be self supporting also.

I would MUCH rather see a little of my tax money spent on birth control (which is NOT abortion), than to spend tens of thousands on helping a poor mother raise her child. I would rather spend that money than the even higher cost of sticking that child in a prison cell for years.
Wouldnt it be better if that child had a daddy ? Weve seen what happens when a poor single mother has to depend on The government to be the daddy ? The welfare state was designed to break up families as it did in the sixties . It has failed us miserably . How many in our prisons today came from single parent homes on government assistance . We are enabling people not lifting them out of poverty . Free stuff is very addicting .
 
Wouldnt it be better if that child had a daddy ? Weve seen what happens when a poor single mother has to depend on The government to be the daddy ? The welfare state was designed to break up families as it did in the sixties . It has failed us miserably . How many in our prisons today came from single parent homes on government assistance . We are enabling people not lifting them out of poverty . Free stuff is very addicting .
Wouldn't it be better if single parents could afford to raise their child(ren)? What makes you think that having a father is a solution? I'd be willing to bet that the majority of these fathers had no interest in raising their children in the first place. What is a single mother supposed to do with one income? Daycare is expensive.

I think that the problem is alot more complex than that. The question we should be asking is; Do broken families cause poverty or does poverty cause broken families?
 
Dont make up things about me you dont know . taxes for schools even government schools I never said I dont like paying for them and the same for welfare to feed the poor. Its the fraud that Im against and dislike because it steals from the people that really need it . I much rather pay for birth control than a abortion but still dont like the fact The moochers are just milking the system . I know many who are and some are related to me . I have to pay for some women s birth control or cell phone yet she is a chain smoker and a alcoholic ? She how well the welfare state has worked out for America ? Or Detroit ? Help feed it or save a child's life ? yet a 7 months if its born alive just snip the babies spine and toss it in the trash.


That's where I always expect NOT to fall on the liberal side in these tests. I am totally against paying my property taxes for the schools. The median FAMILY income in my town is about 60,000 yet teachers in my school district make up to 150,000, the administrators, which they have too many of, make up to and over 200,000. They retire on 80% of their salary, and only page 15% of their health care for the whole family.
 
That's where I always expect NOT to fall on the liberal side in these tests. I am totally against paying my property taxes for the schools. The median FAMILY income in my town is about 60,000 yet teachers in my school district make up to 150,000, the administrators, which they have too many of, make up to and over 200,000. They retire on 80% of their salary, and only page 15% of their health care for the whole family.
wow ! Thats a lot . last i knew suffolk county cops were making over 100,000 . Teachers starting salary here is about 30,000 op salary about 60,000 of course the cost of living is much less then the Island . My property taxes are about 1200 a year on my house . which is valued at around 130,000 . Same house on the Island would be 600,000 ? bet your taxes are pretty high ?
 
Ok. most of us are in the "left-under"-green Field. Not really a surprise for me...

... are they any actions compareable to this by the fans of the Conspiracy-Theories?
Are they on the rigth-abouve-corner?

As a German, I´ve tried to recapture Hitler on this test, just by answering how he would done since to my knowledge. The Software by politicallcompass just broke down between Page 4-6 with an eternal Error.
 
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Economic Left/Right: -8.00
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -5.03

 
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What is interesting is the chart of the 2012 presidential candidates.

Fuck yeeaaah reply-button...! And I couldn't agree more. A little strange that the political "choices" in the last election were all in the same political spectrum, and in pretty stark contrast to the views of every person who took the pole here, regardless of where they came out. Government for the people by the people?
 
Fuck yeeaaah reply-button...! And I couldn't agree more. A little strange that the political "choices" in the last election were all in the same political spectrum, and in pretty stark contrast to the views of every person who took the pole here, regardless of where they came out. Government for the people by the people?
If Obama's score was based on the promises he has made and what he says, He'd probably be a good lefty. But it appears that they rated Obama based on what he does, in which case this makes perfect sense.
 
If Obama's score was based on the promises he has made and what he says, He'd probably be a good lefty. But it appears that they rated Obama based on what he does, in which case this makes perfect sense.
I think they are all on that side because all of them are the same . Elitist . Shows you how far they are away from the people . Noticed how even though we think we are all opposite we are all pretty close on the political scale . The Left Right paradigm seems to be just a illusion . Divide and conquer or at least control .
 
"The Left Right paradigm seems to be just a illusion."

At least insofar as it applies to the American political scene.

An extremely accurate metaphor, from an unexpected place:

 
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I believe in my theory of the four corners of politics: Conservatives, Liberals, Libertarians, Conspiracy Theorists. They are currently the loudest groups in American Politics right now. Libertarians and Conspiracy Theorists are growing in dangerous numbers. At least from what I've gathered from activity on social media.

I don't fall into any of those categories but I align with Mitt Romney on the political chart here.
 
I believe in my theory of the four corners of politics: Conservatives, Liberals, Libertarians, Conspiracy Theorists. They are currently the loudest groups in American Politics right now. Libertarians and Conspiracy Theorists are growing in dangerous numbers. At least from what I've gathered from activity on social media.

I don't fall into any of those categories but I align with Mitt Romney on the political chart here.

Did you take the test? What numbers did you get?
 
I have taken this test so many times, that I really don't want to take it again. I don't recall my exact numbers but it was 93% in line with Mitt Romney.
If you have taken it so many times then it shouldn't take you long to take it again and post your results.
 
On the subject of evident collusion and consensus between the left and right on authoritative matters, who are at each others throats in rhetoric alone, this finely composed article on the recent dismissal of the bill to stop broad NSA surveillance of Americans speaks to the issue rather powerfully. The result wasn't a surprise to me, but how close the vote wound up being was, not to mention the highly unexpected figures who spoke out against it.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jul/25/democratic-establishment-nsa

"What one sees in this debate is not Democrat v. Republican or left v. right. One sees authoritarianism v. individualism, fealty to The National Security State v. a belief in the need to constrain and check it, insider Washington loyalty v. outsider independence. That's why the only defenders of the NSA at this point are the decaying establishment leadership of both political parties whose allegiance is to the sprawling permanent power faction in Washington and the private industry that owns and controls it. They're aligned against long-time liberals, the new breed of small government conservatives, the ACLU and other civil liberties groups, many of their own members, and increasingly the American people, who have grown tired of, and immune to, the relentless fear-mongering.

The sooner the myth of "intractable partisan warfare" is dispelled, the better. The establishment leadership of the two parties collaborate on far more than they fight. That is a basic truth that needs to be understood. As John Boehner joined with Nancy Peolsi, as Eric Cantor whipped support for the Obama White House, as Michele Bachmann and Peter King stood with Steny Hoyer to attack NSA critics as Terrorist-Lovers, yesterday was a significant step toward accomplishing that."
 
On the subject of evident collusion and consensus between the left and right on authoritative matters, who are at each others throats in rhetoric alone, this finely composed article on the recent dismissal of the bill to stop broad NSA surveillance of Americans speaks to the issue rather powerfully. The result wasn't a surprise to me, but how close the vote wound up being was, not to mention the highly unexpected figures who spoke out against it.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jul/25/democratic-establishment-nsa

"What one sees in this debate is not Democrat v. Republican or left v. right. One sees authoritarianism v. individualism, fealty to The National Security State v. a belief in the need to constrain and check it, insider Washington loyalty v. outsider independence. That's why the only defenders of the NSA at this point are the decaying establishment leadership of both political parties whose allegiance is to the sprawling permanent power faction in Washington and the private industry that owns and controls it. They're aligned against long-time liberals, the new breed of small government conservatives, the ACLU and other civil liberties groups, many of their own members, and increasingly the American people, who have grown tired of, and immune to, the relentless fear-mongering.

The sooner the myth of "intractable partisan warfare" is dispelled, the better. The establishment leadership of the two parties collaborate on far more than they fight. That is a basic truth that needs to be understood. As John Boehner joined with Nancy Peolsi, as Eric Cantor whipped support for the Obama White House, as Michele Bachmann and Peter King stood with Steny Hoyer to attack NSA critics as Terrorist-Lovers, yesterday was a significant step toward accomplishing that."
Dont remind me Im still pissed at those so called tea party small government liars . Illusion .
 
I think they are all on that side because all of them are the same . Elitist . Shows you how far they are away from the people . Noticed how even though we think we are all opposite we are all pretty close on the political scale . The Left Right paradigm seems to be just a illusion . Divide and conquer or at least control .


I kinda suspect that this test might gear offset people toward the left by a couple or so points. But then again politics is alot about perspective and ideologies vary based on regions and historical periods. I'm also somewhat surprised that none of these tests had questions about gun control.

But I have to agree on the 'elitist' part. I think that 90+% of Americans from all political sides feel like they aren't being represented.
 
"But I have to agree on the 'elitist' part. I think that 90+% of Americans from all political sides feel like they aren't being represented."

About the sum of it, though I'd go so far as to scratch the 'feels like.' Terrible situation for a "democratic" superpower to be in.


"I find it interesting that Joe is a lot more authoritarian than I am."

I think what's been most compellingly revealed by this experiment is just how similar most of us are in our politics and what we believe to be right and wrong where politics is concerned. Even those of us at widest odds with each other (SR and myself, not surprisingly, seeming to take the cake in that regard) seem to be more in tune with each other than the 'leader of the free world.' There's common ground here. If we can build on that, rather than focus on what sets us apart, then maybe we can stop seeing each other as 'crazy troofers' and 'blind sheeple', but instead as intelligent and rather like-minded people who perceive the issues, broad or specific, in different and sometimes opposing ways. Maybe I'm dreaming on that front.. But I suppose that's my prerogative as a bleeding-heart hippie of the Left. :)
 
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