posted
Ok, so the last couple months I've been reading about a lot of different political philosophies- everything from communitarianism to libertarian and it between. I took the online Nolan chart quiz, which says I am a centrist.
I realize I hold a lot of conflicting political views. I don't really identify with Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians, conservatives, or liberals (with all their associated social/economic/etc flavors).
I've found points value in classic liberalism, modern liberalism, conservatism, libertarianism, and even communitarianism. The problem is that none of these philosophies, when fully carried out would produce a country that I would want to live in (except in a perfect world, then they'd all work).
What political schools of thought do you most closely identify with, and why?
Posts: 1412 | Registered: Oct 2005
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posted
Political classification is mostly used for pejorative labeling and summary group-based invective.
The only intelligent move is to deny having a label whatsoever. Use obscure and wordy definitions when pressed.
"I'm a civil-libertarian constitutionalist-structuralist nonaffiliate with emphasis towards the use of social functionalist analysis as a means by which policy may be empirically tested and driven"
Then, acronym.
You'll be a CLCSNwETTUOSFAaaMBWPMBETaD.
Never simplify! Never! You are endangered should the above handle be parsed into something like, for the purposes of the above example, "Civil Rationalist" or "Civil Structuralist" or -- heaven forbid -- something catchy like the Civic Party. This becomes a label by which all remotely affiliated misdeeds and ill intent, real or imagined, can be defamed in the name of all the members of its association.
The second anyone tries to lump you in with the left or right, shoot them in the face without hesitation and parade their head on a pike as a warning to others attempting to 'continuum' you. Remember: political stereotypers and opprobrious policy generalizers can smell fear.
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Do not scorn the murky waters of politically non-labeled limbo. It is warm and hidden, thereabouts. It is a gift.
Posts: 15421 | Registered: Aug 2005
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posted
Now to totally disregard the (good) advice about not labelling one's self.
I think communitarianism is awesome. If I could ever find a communitarian candidate running for any office, anywhere, I'd vote for them. I even mentioned communitarianism once in a thread somewhere.
And (I didn't realize this until I did the search), Scott claims our worthy host is also a communitarian here.
Posts: 2926 | Registered: Sep 2005
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posted
I have this problem too. I think I'm mostly Libertarian, but more for their social policies than their economic policies. So I don't really want to vote Libertarian, because I've found most Libertarians are so because of their economic policies. I like their economic policies in moderation, but Libertarians don't seem to be big on moderation.
I've been trying to figure out for the past 5 months how to vote in November, and am no closer to finding an answer than I was 5 months ago. I live in Indiana's 9th District, which is one of the closest races in the country, so I really feel like my vote counts. I just don't know how I want it to. I dislike both of the major parties pretty equally.
Posts: 4655 | Registered: Jan 2002
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quote: I like their economic policies in moderation, but Libertarians don't seem to be big on moderation.
Wouldn't a moderate Libertarian economic position boil down to being a mainstream economic position? It seems like all Libertarians do is take a semi-coherent idea (eg cut taxes)and make it more extreme (eg ABOLISH TAXES!! w00t!).
And you can yell at me if I'm wrong but you (blacwolve) seem like a DLC-style Democrat (fiscally conservative and softly neoliberal in policy) with a zeal for individual rights.
Just throwing it out there.
Posts: 183 | Registered: Aug 2002
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quote:Wouldn't a moderate Libertarian economic position boil down to being a mainstream economic position? It seems like all Libertarians do is take a semi-coherent idea (eg cut taxes)and make it more extreme (eg ABOLISH TAXES!! w00t!).
Actually, that was the impression I had of all the competing philosophies out there.
I'm not exactly seeking a label with which to identify myself. I'm more interested in learning about some as yet undiscovered group that somehow embodies more than one facet the way I view things.
Posts: 1412 | Registered: Oct 2005
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posted
According to the World's Smallest Political Quiz I am Centrist (whatever that means, in the grand scheme of things). Just thought you might be interested in the quiz.
Posts: 258 | Registered: Jul 2006
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quote:We welcome everyone in the Republican Party.
No doubt you welcome any votes you can get - though that in no way implies the Republican Party represents or advocates for everyone.
Posts: 183 | Registered: Aug 2002
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posted
Happyman-That's the quiz I took, I thought the results were shown on what is called a Nolan chart, but I could be wrong. It also showed me as a Centrist.
I realize I need more explanation of what I think. Several aspects of libertarianism and classical liberalism appeal to me. I like the idea of minimalist government intervention, with the rights of the individual emphasized. I also like the importance of self-responsibility. I do lean more towards the ideas of negative liberties as opposed to positive (sorry Pel & John Stuart Mill). Things I don't like about libertarianism is it completely rejects the idea of communities in my opinion, which ignores the way that we humans live and interact.
Somewhat on the opposite end of the spectrum is communitarianism. Their assertation of the existance of public values rings true to me, however, the direction they go with this I don't fully buy into.
I have similar concerns about conservatism and liberalism. Fiscal conservatism sounds great, and while I don't agree with all the stances social conservatism takes in this country (and indeed what it can be used to justify worldwide) I do appreciate the balance that it causes in its general opposition to modern liberalism. Modern liberalism's goals of social welfare states and wealth redistribution took some good ideas and went too far IMO. However, with their emphasis on civil liberties and responsible use of the environment I think they have a lot of moral positions.
I guess maybe I am a Centrist or maybe just Confused.
Note: I made a lot of broad statements in the above paragraphs. I know there's room to debate every sentence I wrote. My intent was not to declare truths of various schools of political thought, but rather just share my opinions. Please don't take offense if you feel I've unjustly characterized a position you hold with. Thank you.
Posts: 1412 | Registered: Oct 2005
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posted
The best political quiz I've ever seen is Your Political Compass It analyzes what you say on a social and fiscal axes and it is more in depth than the other one I mentioned earlier in this thread.
This quiz said that on an economic scale I'm -4.68 from the the Y axis. On a social scale I'm 1.38 from the X axis. (Both of those being out of 10)
posted
Interesting, quiz. I felt that many of the questions were inadequate in describing my views, but overall it wasn't bad.
If anyone's curious, I scored: Economic Left/Right: 0.63 Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -2.82
At least in wasn't 0,0 I guess. However, looking at the chart, there's not one world leader listed that is even in my quadrant. I guess I don't have a brilliant future in politics ahead Posts: 1412 | Registered: Oct 2005
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posted
I felt that the religious section needs to be longer- those questions made me seem like a person not-involved religiously. Which is quite the opposite of truth. And then out of the 5 questions they did have one was on the validity of Astrology?
Posts: 980 | Registered: Aug 2005
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posted
Yeah, I found MOST of the questions to be manipulative, and there was no option on any of them for "don't know" or "neutral/no opinion". I mean even if I didn't fully understand a question, I had to answer it.
Posts: 1522 | Registered: Nov 2005
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posted
Economic Left/Right: 7.63 Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -3.74
I've taken the test before, and also feel many of the questions to be manipulative.
quote:If economic globalisation is inevitable, it should primarily serve humanity rather than the interests of trans-national corporations.
There is a choice to agree or disagree, but what if I feel that globalization can and will be good for both?
quote:It is important that my child's school instills religious values.
Shouldn't the answer change depending on the type of school? It's obviously important if you have your child in a religous school. Much less so if it's a public school.
Posts: 413 | Registered: Apr 2003
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Gimme a break. The Republican Party gets these people in the voting booth and then promptly stabs them in the back after the results come in. They have no sway in the party, they're just window dressing to make the party appear more moderate and reasonable than it really is.
Posts: 183 | Registered: Aug 2002
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quote:Originally posted by Cavalier: Gimme a break. The Republican Party gets these people in the voting booth and then promptly stabs them in the back after the results come in. They have no sway in the party, they're just window dressing to make the party appear more moderate and reasonable than it really is.
"These people" join the Republican party knowing full well the party platform. Although they likely disagree with the party's stance on SSM and/or abortion, they likely feel more strongly about other issues (economic, foreign policy, etc.) where the party more closely represents their ideology. There's no back-stabbing going on at all; people (and parties) are not solely defined by their stance on SSM or abortion.
I even know some pro-lifers and SSM opponents who are registered Democrats. Shocking, I know.
Posts: 2926 | Registered: Sep 2005
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Have you ever tried this political survey. It was created in response to the poor methodology of the Political Compass. I've found it to be pretty good.
Posts: 2926 | Registered: Sep 2005
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Your scored 1 on the Moral Order axis and 0.5 on the Moral Rules axis.
Matches
The following items best match your score:
System: Authoritarianism Variation: Moderate Authoritarianism Ideologies: Social Republicanism US Parties: Democratic Party Presidents: Gerald Ford (83.91%) 2004 Election Candidates: John Kerry (79.15%), George W. Bush (69.94%), Ralph Nader (68.99%) Statistics
Of the 212076 people who took the test:
0.9% had the same score as you. 35.8% were above you on the chart. 52.5% were below you on the chart. 22.6% were to your right on the chart. 71.5% were to your left on the chart.
It was an interesting test, but again I'm right near the center and hated about half the questions.
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