I hate to nitpick, but every time I see a quiz like this, I hate the questions.

Question 1 should be "of the two, which do you think is the better way to reduce crime?"
Question 2 should be reworded along similar lines.

The same person (*coughs me coughs*) could answer "Yes" to both responses to question 3.

As I understand it, the conservative position on question 4 is that the smallest government isthe most most "just and fair". It's been a while since I read Hayek, though.

"Measurable results of effectiveness" is the Technocratic position. Technocrats these days seem to be mainly liberal. Indeed, I seem to recall a recent Republican president claiming to be a "compassionate conservative".

There. I feel better, at least...

Let me see ....

I know that I am a poor french that know few things about american politics, but I think that the scoring is upside down: If I have correctly understood the various Draginol's blogs, Draginol is a conservative and would have surely answered B in all those 5 questions, scoring a total of -5.

In America, I would probably be termed a Liberal, but if you call me that here in Australia, expect me to tell you where to go. And not politely, either.

What do exercises such as these prove? These prove exercises such as these don't prove a bloody thing.

The scoring is wrong.  I dont think the test is comprehensive enough, but a good 30 second sound bite as to which way you lean.

this is not a fair judge of anything, imho.

1st off, the claim that the conservative and the liberal philosophy are the "dominant" ones is false. they may be the most vocal, but they are hardly dominant. most people are not hardliners of either. and it is only the political climate of the last 10 or 15 years that has "pushed" people into corners that they really don't belong in. and now that the dust has settled once again, current numbers put both parties, which have become respectively synonymous with libs and cons, have become a minority to independents.

since vietnam both liberal and conservative camps have tried to convince us that their ideology is 100% correct, and the more time that goes on, more and more people realize that neither ideology is sound all of the time. and in real life, different situations sometimes call for different measures. treating political beliefs like they are a religious doctrine is foolish, imho.

i can't even answer some of these questions, like #3...i don't think people are rich exclusively for either reason. some worked hard, some inherited it, some fell into it and i'm sure there are a few other scenarios and combinations. many people who are well off have had combinations of luck and hard work. some people who are down in the dumps are there due to factors beyond their control and some aren't. trying to funnel everyone into 1 of these 2 camps is not a real choice, but a pundit's statement.

i think most people would rather try to figure out what we have in common at this point. the days of trying to "wedge" everyone into polarized camps are old news. the fact is that most of us (at large) have more in common than not and more and more people are realizing we'd be better served starting from there rather than trying to pigeon-hole everyone into naturally combative camps for another round of "why we're so good and righteous and the other side wants to ruin america and everything that is good even if they don't realize it, which they probably do" debate.

as far as a decent "soundbyte quiz" goes...i prefer this one. it's like the one above, with soeme more choices...WWW Link

one last note. a lot of the "philosophy" expressed for the "conservative side" actually are more libertarian. from their webpage...

Are you a Libertarian?



We know that can be a tough question as you may have heard many different definitions of the word "libertarian" or maybe you met a few people who identify themselves as such.

Let's see what Webster's has to say about it:

Pronunciation: "li-b&r-'ter-E-&n
Function: noun
1 : an advocate of the doctrine of free will
2 a : a person who upholds the principles of absolute and unrestricted liberty especially of thought and action b capitalized : a member of a political party advocating libertarian principles

While many may quibble with the definition, we think it's close enough.

Simply put, if you believe that you are responsible for yourself and your family, and not the government, then you belong with us.

just food for thought. not lookin to get anyone's panties in a bundle, lol

Also, to those whining about the test: then don't take it.

But I do have another question to add:

6) When you see a test on political belief do you:

a) Take it or not take it as it suits you [-1]

Whine that the test doesn't present enough shades of gray or is too "simplistic" even though you wouldn't be bothered to try to come up with something better yourself since complaining about what other people do is a lot easier than actually doing something yourself [1]

My score is 42. Does that make me liberal or conservative?

I'm in the mushy middle - mushy? I resemble that remark. I consider myself to be left leaning. I'm a registered Democrat.

1) Do you believe that the best way to have a safe society is...

A] Reduce the number of fire arms floating around in our population [ 1]
B] To encourage lawful citizens to possess fire arms [-1] XX

 

2) Do you believe the best way to promote a racially fair society is...

A] Reward and encourage companies and universities to have a racially diverse environment. [1]
B] To pass laws that forbid employers or universities from using race as a selection criteria. [-1] XX

 

3) Do you think that rich people got rich because..

A] They got lucky or cheated the system or inherited it. [1]
B] They worked hard and made good decisions. [-1]  XX

4) Do you think the federal government should be..

A] There to make sure that society is as just and fair as possible [1]
B] As small as possible -- the government the governs best governs least [-1]  XX

 

5) The policies that should be pursued should be based on

A] Compassion and good intentions [1]
B] Measurable results of effectiveness [-1] XX

 

how can this be? for I Am Moderateman, not conservativeman

Here's how I'd do a second draft of the test, separating out "libertarian" from conservative. What are you now? (I skipped question 2 because it was too confusing for me).

1) Do you believe that the best way to have a safe society is...

A] Reduce the number of fire arms floating around in our population [+1 liberal]
B] To encourage lawful citizens to possess fire arms [+1 libertarian]
C] To provide more firepower to the police and army [+1 conservative]

3) Do you think that rich people got rich because..

A] They got lucky or cheated the system or inherited it. [+1 bellyacher]
B] The system rewarded their behavior. [+1 liberal]
C] They worked hard and made good decisions. [+1 libertarian]
D] They have superior business sense and economic skills -- they deserved it. [+1 conservative]

If I can expand on point B a little bit, the idea is that some societies have a system that rewards people for being religious figures, some for being well born, some for contributing things of value to society. Some reward being corrupt or having more guns. The liberal insight is that just because your society says people deserve what they have -- what they earn or what they can take or what they were born with or what the religious rules say they get -- doesn't necessarily mean they deserve it. It depends on what you think of the system.

4) Do you think the federal government should be..

A] Interfering in society to protect people from injustice and economic mishaps [+1 liberal]
B] As small as possible -- the government the governs best governs least [+1 libertarian]
C] Interfering in society to make it stronger economically, militarily, and morally [+1 conservative]

5) The policies that should be pursued should be based on

A] Compassion and good intentions [+1 liberal]
B] Measurable results of effectiveness [+1 utopian]
C] Patriotism and morality [+1 conservative]

-4 conservative

N - Let me find that political map.

Just a sec..