Link: “The Poliltical Compass”

The Political Compass asks you a series of odd questions which help you determine where you stand politically. I’ve always been frustrated with America’s oversimplified Left/Right, Conservative/Liberal, Neo-Con/Commie, way of looking at things. This gives you a Cartesian spectrum, and allows you to compare yourself with the likes of Hitler and Gandhi. I’ve included my graph:

I guess I’m “hand’s off” government, both socially and economically.

I was really frustrated with the questions because they seemed slanted and outrageous. But FAQ #1 says:

Most 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.

I also thought there should be a ‘neutral’ or ‘not sure’ option in the questioning, but it said in FAQ #4:

This makes it too easy for people to duck difficult issues. By forcing people to take a positive or negative stance, the propositions make people really evaluate their feelings. Often people find they wanted to select ‘don’t know’ mainly because they’d never really thought about the idea.

It’s also fun to see where famous composers fit in, and where the 2007 candidates for US President fit in.