On the Internet at politicalcompass.org there is a test you can take to find out how left or right you are, as well as how authoritarian or libertarian. I found out about the test on Siditty’s blog.
Here are my scores:
- Economic Left/Right: -3.00
- Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -2.87
That puts me on the Libertarian Left.
To compare:
- Authoritarian Left: Stalin, Pol Pot, Mao, Castro, Lenin.
- Authoritarian Right: Hitler, Thatcher, Pinochet, Bush, Pat Buchanan, William F. Buckley, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Peter Hitchens.
- Libertarian Left: Gandhi, Chomsky, Edward Said, Howard Zinn, Naomi Klein.
- Libertarian Right: Hayek, Milton Friedman, Ayn Rand, Jonah Goldberg.
Authoritarians believe in the power and right of the state over that of its citizens, like in Orwell’s “1984” and “Animal Farm”, to take extreme examples. Libertarians are the opposite: citizens matter more than government, like in Jefferson’s “Declaration of Independence”.
The right, like Adam Smith, believes that everyone will be richer and better off if business is left to do as it pleases. The left, like Lenin, thinks that business does need to be controlled by government, at least to some degree, for the good of all.
The test asks you dozens of questions to see where you fall on these two scales.
I am on the Libertarian Left because I trust neither government nor business to do what is best – they both need to be kept in check.
But that puts me on the far left in America because most Americans pretty much trust both business and government. Both the Democrats and Republicans are on the Authoritarian Right. So were nearly all of those who ran for president in the 2008 election, even Obama:
- Authoritarian Left: none.
- Authoritarian Right: from left to right: Edwards, Biden, Obama, Chris Dodd, Hillary Clinton, Richardson, McCain, Giuliani, Alan Keyes, Huckabee, Duncan Hunter, Romney, Fred Thompson, Gingrich, Tancredo, Ron Paul.
- Libertarian Left: Nader, Kucinich.
- Libertarian Right: Gravel.
In fact, I have voted for Nader in the past.
So America no longer has a left and right party, but a right and a far right party! You can thank Ronald Reagan for that – he shifted the centre of the country to the right back in the 1980s.
Here are some world figures:
- Authoritarian Left: Mugabe, Mahmoud Abbas, Pope Benedict XVI.
- Authoritarian Right: from left to right: Romano Prodi, Jose Zapatero, Kevin Rudd, Angela Merkel, Stephen Harper, Ehud Olmert, Gordon Brown, Jose Maria Aznar, Nicolas Sarkozy, Silvio Berlusconi, George W. Bush.
- Libertarian Left: Nelson Mandela, the Dalai Lama.
- Libertarian Right: none.
Notice that Obama is hardly a Nelson Mandela or Dalai Lama sort of figure.
Curiously, the website even rates famous classical musicians:
- Authoritarian Left: Schumann.
- Authoritarian Right: Brahms, Haydn, Elgar, Stravinsky, Puccini, Wagner.
- Libertarian Left: from left to right: Prokofiev, Bartok, Britten, Schonberg, Mahler, Shostakovitch, Beethoven, Smetana, Dvorak.
- Libertarian Right: Chopin, Tchaikovsky.
If you are a regular reader of this blog, then you are probably on the Libertarian Left. People tend to read blogs that share their view of the world in some way. Otherwise you are probably on the Authoritarian Right since most people with Internet service are. But take the test and see!
– Abagond, 2008, 2015.
See also:
It’s quite depressing to see how far right the world is
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I know. I was shocked to see the Democrats on the right, but it makes sense once you think about it.
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That rightward shift isn’t due solely to Reagan. It has been moving that way steadily since WWII. Some would argue that it was the New Deal that started the process in motion.
Currently, its continued momentum is almost guaranteed due in large part to the workings of our electoral college. Both parties at some point realized that the electoral college pretty much ensures that no viable third party can find traction and voice on the national stage.
Both major parties have gradually moved closer and closer together on the issue of the scope of centralized government control. They are virtually indistinguishable on this point today.
It is in the interest of the continued hegemony of both parties that they share this fundamental view of the increasing role of government. Government has become its own professional class that now regulates and legislates in its own self-interest, for the purpose of maintaining their stranglehold on the American people.
I’m reminded of a Will Rogers quip, something like this: “The trouble with elections is that, no matter who you vote for, the government always wins.”
The way to reverse this, pretty much the only way as I see it, is a wholesale revision to the way our electoral college process works. This will have to occur at a grassroots level because neither major party has any vested interest in relinquishing its role. In fact, so far, both parties have become very adroit at co-opting any such momentum, with Libertarians tending to agglomerate into the Republican party and populists tenting to agglomerate to the Dems.
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I do not think the electoral system makes third parties impossible. The Republicans were once a third party. But in practice when a third party starts to gain ground, like the Populists in the 1890s, one of the two bigger parties will start pushing the same ideas. The same is true when one of the two parties gets too much of an upper hand. After Reagan, for example, you saw Clinton pushing a very Republican sort of welfare reform. The Democratic party we know is nothing like it was in the 1930s. And the same is true for the Republicans. Both parties are constantly changing trying to take and hold the middle ground.
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Yes, both parties morph as they battle for the middle. In the meantime, though, both parties consistently grow government. So far, I’ve seen no meanignful traction for Libertarian ideals of smaller government in either major party, nor do I see fertile ground for this idea in any major party. Both parties pay lip service to the idea, but their actions belie their true intent.
Certainly the electoral college does not have rules or laws that prohibit third parties. As a practical matter, though, there is really no way a third party like the Libertarian party can attain the office of POTUS under our electoral college system as it currently operates.
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Holy Crud – according to this _ I am more left than Obama!!!
My Score:
Economic Left/Right: 1.50
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -0.15
I consider myself a conservative fiscally responsible independant – but vote republican because I didnt like the far left of the democratic party who appear to control it.
I never really like any of the choices I am given but figure I gotta deal with whats given to me. This test has shocked me…
How accurate do you think it is?
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Not sure how accurate it is. I wound up more to the left than I thought I would too. It shocked me too, but it makes more sense the more I think about it.
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I think because I dont really trust government or big companies…I am more of a libetarian – I have always said that. I think I am more enamoured with what republican used to me – or the myth of what it ment (small government, fiscally responsible, less taxes etc)…though I dont think any politician is REALLY for small government… that would be like a person on an assembly line being in favor of automation with robots.
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I’m almost right on top of Ralph Nadar.
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Here’s my political compass:
http://neckback.blogspot.com/2009/09/what-am-i-politically.html
Come on! Comment on my blog, I get so lonely!
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Here’s where I stood in Sept 2011
http://www.politicalcompass.org/printablegraph?ec=-8.62&soc=-8.00
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It would make sense to believe that world leaders and political figures would tend to authoritarianism.
Maybe we should look at societies, or social systems and see how they fare.
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I am even more Left and Libertarian than Abagond! Wow.
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(https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=o_WBo4sfmi4#t=1068) Please watch this!
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Bleeding Heart Libertarians is a left leaning Libertarian blog.
This is a response to Dave’s youtube post.
http://bleedingheartlibertarians.com/2011/12/how-did-we-get-here-or-why-do-20-year-old-newsletters-matter-so-damn-much/
Their is a lot of racism within the greater libertarian movement particularly on Facebook.
Today the NY Times did an article on Rand Paul and libertarianism. They didn’t have to dig too deep to find it’s racist history.
Left libertarianism is growing particularly among young people and their strains that are more free market then socialist.
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This is fun!
I guess @ abagond’s prediction re: readers of this blog is spot on. I also scored Libertarian Left. I’m more to the left than @ abagond (scored -3.21) but slightly less libertarian (scored -1.92).
@ Michael Jon Barker
Did you take the test?
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According to the test I am:
Economic Left/Right: -6.88
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -7.59
Which puts me really quite close to bottom left of the graph.
I don’t consider the test result accurately reflects my position (although it correctly identifies my leanings). If the statements were formulated differently I may have been depicted even further left, and correctly so.
Statements such as the one that posited (sorry if I misremember the exact words) something like “It is better for charity to care for disadvantaged people than the State to do it”… I imagine a lot of right wing people would agree with that because they don’t believe that the State, and taxpayers, should have to support the unemployed and the poor. On the other hand, my own belief is that the ONLY POSSIBLE limited justification for the existence of the State is for it to support those in need. If we have a State then it should support the vulnerable. However, my preference would be to evolve beyond the need for a State so, for different reasons, in an ideal world yes charity and community would take care of everyone.
The test is not formulated to consider very radical beliefs. That is not unreasonable. It seems to do a reasonable job at what it sets out to do but IMO it is only a gimmick. One cannot comprehensively assess a person’s politics by this method.
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@Michael Jon Barker
You say:
I would challenge the classification of free market libertarianism as “left” libertarianism at all. There is nothing of the left in the free market concept.
At the extreme of that tendency are the “anarcho”-capitalists or free-market “anarchists” with their dreams of unregulated acquisition and wealth. No state, just a world run by corporations. Over my dead body. I despise the idea.
The very concept of markets is unnecessary and counter productive. Markets are destructive.
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Economic Left/Right: 0.00
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -6.41
Apparently I’m an economic centrist lol
When I have more time I will respond to Legion and Buddhuu.
One of the questions I had a problem with was whether the focus of schools was to produce jobs. In my opinion the focus of schools should be to produce critical thinkers.
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I’m Very strongly authoritarian right.
And although I strongly disagree with most of the things you post, I still read your blog. Why?
Because I enjoy your writing style. It is not overly complex, but still highly sophisticated. It is always engaging, and never long winded. I can also tell you are very passionate and engaged with what you write about.
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Ayn Rand born Feb. 2, 1905.
Happy Birthday mam!
(belated)
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*mama
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My political compass:
Economic Left/Right: -7.63
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -5.44
https://www.politicalcompass.org/yourpoliticalcompass?ec=-7.63&soc=-5.44
This is a current one. Back in 2010, it was:
Economic Left/Right: -7.12
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -5.08
So, my opinions have not changed much in this period but the trend is toward more extreme options (I am a bit closer to both the Left and Libertarian edges than in 2010). I wonder what it means. Especially since I dislike the idea of being a libertarian.
Perhaps this test is for USians only? There are some questions that kind of assume that you live in the USA.
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Libertarian Right here…I feel I had to represent since there are so few of us! I don’t actually agree with my test scores (1.63, -5.58) – I think I should be much further right & a little further down, maybe near Hayek (whom I love) as opposed to on top of Friedman. There aren’t enough questions (incl. more extreme questions as said) & many of the questions are framed poorly or just too vague. I don’t read your blog but I came here to see where politicians are on the compass since I don’t agree w/ their placement & it varies from compass to compass which I find strange.
Def agree that Dems & Reps are far to similar & I despise the 2 party system.
@RhodiumMaiden
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