Your place on the political spectrum

[WillyBrandt]

Poll question: Your place on the political spectrum

Yes, these things pigeonhole people and appropriate labels are difficult to devise, but it'd be interesting to see how folks see themselves.

Anyway, I tried dividing up the spectrum as well as I can. There's not a perfect transitive relation, so it's imperfect

For the record, I think that two-dimensional political spectrum thing is ridiculous claptrap that (a) willfully ignores political context and historical contingencies; and (b) is designed by crackpot libertarians to make themselves look good. It's amazing so many DUers post their coordinates on that Randian axis.

NOTE: This is a question of ideology, of political and policy beliefs. It is not a question of grassroots vs Establishment, or anything like that.

Poll result (169 votes)
Moderate Republican (eg Lincoln Chafee)	(3 votes, 2%)	Vote
Centrist (DLC, neo-liberal, etc.)	(11 votes, 7%)	Vote
Moderate Democrat (Edwards/Graham type)	(16 votes, 9%)	Vote
New Deal Democrat (Extinct species; Truman, LBJ, FDR, sometimes Gephardt)	(13 votes, 8%)	Vote
Liberal (Ted Kennedy)	(44 votes, 26%)	Vote
Activist Left-Liberal (Paul Wellstone)	(21 votes, 12%)	Vote
Democratic Socialist (West European Leftist parties)	(26 votes, 15%)	Vote
Left-Leftist (Noam Chomsky)	(22 votes, 13%)	Vote
Radical Left	(9 votes, 5%)	Vote
Devoted Communist	(4 votes, 2%)	Vote

[bicentennial_baby]

1. Left-Leftist

with a lil' radical sprinkled on top!

[IronLionZion]

2. Howard Dean Democrat I think

He has a good mix of liberal, conservative, and moderate stances on the issues.

[WillyBrandt]

3. I think that's moderate or New Deal--the above refers

to ideology, not political organizing style.

[spaniard]

23. I would say Dean is...

Centrist (DLC, neo-liberal, etc.) or moderate Democrat.

[IronLionZion]

38. I chose moderate Dem n/t

[boobooday]

4. Left-Leftist

And a big fan of the New Deal, too.

http://www.wgoeshome.com

[gayrebel83]

5. In theory or

in practice? I'm a hardcore radical in my personal analysis of everything, but probably more "West European" in the policies I would advocate.

[WillyBrandt]

6. Your pick--it's a question of ideology, not political style however

[gayrebel83]

9. Radical left

[WillyBrandt]

7. Huh--bell curve distribution with "liberal" at the peak

Seems appropriate!

[Waverley_Hills_Hiker]

27. yes, but note the "left" skew.

...heh...! looks good!

[RebelOne]

8. I can't classify myself in any of those categories.

I'm a Kucinich leftie.

[WillyBrandt]

10. Yes, it's hard to categorize life

But you're only allowed 10 slots for a poll

[Bombtrack]

11. Edwards/Graham Moderate type dem.

Although they are both liberals in my opinion as am I a liberal. I just seek out solutions, to solve problems, that don't grow government much or at all.

[Selwynn]

12. Left-Leftist

[JohnKleeb]

13. hmmm thats tough

I really dont know. I have some new dealer in me, some liberal, some far left, I got it all somehow, most of it is my own views, my new deal dem comes from my grandparents, my liberalness from my dad I guess, and my far leftness just from me. I am a yellow dog also.t

[JHBowden]

14. Moderate

I tend to be very liberal on social issues, pragmatist on economic/social issues, and center-right on foreign policy matters.

[wyldwolf]

15. I believe the lines of distinction on some of these are very blurred

For example - Centrist (DLC, neo-liberal) and Moderate Democrat.

You have Edwards and Graham as moderate democrats yet they are DLC.
John Kerry - who has one of, if not the most, liberal voting record in congress and is also DLC.

Where does Clinton fall? DLC/neo-liberal or moderate democrat? Howard Dean, who was also DLC?

The only conclusion I can reach is that the line of distinction between your first two options is so vague as to be meaningless.


..but that is just my opinion.

[JohnKleeb]

17. I am not a fan of the DLC but reading their membership list

shows an interesting ranges of figures. Kerry doesnt have the most liberal record but it is liberal. I personally think, conservative dem should be added, tho I bet those are hard to come by here, those are generally rural dems, who are generally conservative on social issues, moderate on economics but might oppose NAFTA, and hawkish in foreign policy. Someone like Charlie Steinholm I guess.

[wyldwolf]

25. depends on who you ask on Kerry

Kerry's voting record is generally liberal, similar to that of his more senior colleague, Edward Kennedy. Americans for Democratic Action, a liberal political group, gave Kerry an 85 percent rating in 2002 and a 95 percent rating in 2001. Kennedy, by comparison, got 100 percent in both years.

http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2004/special/president/cand...

The same group gave Kerry a 93% lifetime rating, Ted Kennedy got 88%

[WillyBrandt]

18. Um, that's why I added the word "Neoliberal"

and the warning that the relations among these categories aren't transitive, nor can they be.

The distinction between the two categories is, I think, decided by the devotion to a neoliberal approach to public problem. In a very practical sense, if you're more inclined to agree with what The Economist recommends for a particular problem (reworking market incentives, workfare, etc.) rather than what your average mushy Democrat would, then centrist is the right answer. If you don't, then moderate is.

[Zinfandel]

16. Racial liberal...I'm still not there yet

[IronLionZion]

21. racial eh?

Sieg Heil!

[Blasphemer]

19. Democratic Socialist..

I would say the European lefties most reflect my views though I do have some decidely radical philosophical views, I don't see them as real world applicable.

[mmonk]

20. A little left of center

and anti-Imperialist. I do like many aspects of free enterprise (not just a free for all that we have under bush).

[citizen snips]

22. I am a Centrist Democrat.

n/t

[Blue_Tires]

24. to be truthful

this board is WAY too conservative for my tastes, but it's the farthest left place i can find j/k!!!!

[Waverley_Hills_Hiker]

26. Democratic Socialist? Are you sure?

The European political tendancy is probably better described as "Social Democrat", as they are probably not truley socialist in the old Marxist sense of the word.

on edit, thats what i picked...the German SPD, or "Old Labour", or the scandinavian social democrats.

[cally]

28. I put activist

but I really don't know where I fall. I would like to see many of our corporations controlled by the state, much higher corporate taxes, much greater regulation. I would like a foreign policy that actually fights for world peace and prosperity instead of American economic power. But I'm mostly a pragmatist politically. I don't think we will accomplish massive change in one election so I will take the small advances.

[Maestro]

29. Moderate Democrat -nt

[GreenPartyVoter]

30. I'm a socialist Green, so what should I check off on the poll?

[durutti]

31. Well, I'm certainly a communist...

But not a big-"C" Communist. I gravitate between Trotskyism and council communism.

I agree with pretty much all of the positions of the U.S. International Socialist Organization, but I'm not a member because the way the group is organized is too authoritarian and hierarchical for my liking.

[guitar man]

32. Haha........I'm extinct!

I probably line up with the "new deal" FDR type thinking the closest.

[davekriss]

33. Taking Measure of Your Political Compass

Proud to say I align in the anarcho-syndicalist territory of Noam Chomsky.

From time to time it's interesting to complete a questionairre that reveals where we stand relative to the political minded amongst us. Here are two I've had fun with before:

(1) The Political Compass: http://www.politicalcompass.org /

This one consists of a 6 page questionairre that ranks you along two axis: Economic (Left-Right) and Social (Authoritarian-Libertarian). You find almost all the presidential primary candidates in the Right-Authoritarian quadrant, with Bush closest to the upper right hand corner which is about as close to a Caligua as an American candidate can get, but most bunched near the very center-right. The international examples show only Mahatma Ghandi, Nelson Mandela, and the Dali Lama in the Left-Libertarian quadrant (about half-way from the center).

I did the questionairre and scored a -7.88 on the economic axis and a -8.36 on the social axis, which puts me on the lower left corner of the quadrant graphic, an extreme Leftist Anarchist. Or, in the language of the site, "...the classical libertarian collectivism of anarcho-syndicalism (libertarian socialism) belongs in the bottom left hand corner". Puts me squarely in the company of the Chomster. I'm certainly OK with that!

Interestingly GWB is almost diametrically opposite to me (he occupies the outer bounds of the Right-Authoritarian quadrant -- only Hitler shows up more authoritarian but, surprisingly, practically a centrist along the financial axis). No wonder I get ill when I see GWB speak.


(2) The F Scale: http://www.anesi.com/fscale.htm

Developed 50 years ago (see T. W. Adorno et al., The Authoritarian Personality), the F Scale is meant to measure one's receptivity to fascism.

I scored a whopping 1.2, which labels me a "whinning rotter" (yes, I'm proud of myself). Guess it's off to Gitmo for me, mates.

***

Have fun with it and tell us your scores.

[robbedvoter]

34. Welstone democrat

[Guaranteed]

35. I don't know how to label myself. Maybe one of you can help me.

I think taxes on the rich should be sky-high. I believe in a balanced budget, EVERY year.

I'm a member of the ACLU (that should basically cover the civil liberties issues, which I'm VERY passionate about), and I'm anti-gun-control (for the most part- some things like CCW are ridiculous, in my mind).

I'm pro-choice, but not for the same reasons as most- I don't think it's just for men to "shut up about" or that a fetus can be disregarded as non-human. I think that, human or not, a woman has the right to detach another living being from her body. It's really as simple as that, and that's the best argument I know of. The rest of them are argumentative and/or bullying.

I'm pretty anti-PC. The recent yelling and screaming about the word "bitch" REALLY pissed me off. I also know that words like "nigger," "kike" and "fag" have no good use in the English language, with only very, very rare exceptions that usually involve a member of the demographic being referred to making use of the word. GENIUNE racism and sexism need to wiped out from our culture.

I'm not sure where I stand on affirmative action. That's a very difficult one for me.

I think the most pressing issue for our country today is alternative energy. It's an economic, environmental, and national security issue, and we need an alternative to oil NOW.

I was HEAVILY against the Iraq war....I mean BIG time. I was called names over it. However, at the same time, I was definitely in favor of invading Afghanistan. I believe the war on terror needs to be fought. We can't let stuff like 9/11 go. Al Qaeda, the Taliban and all related groups need to be destroyed.

I think gays and other minorities deserve the exact same rights as everyone else. Civil rights are extremely important to me- discrimination based on skin color or sexual orientation is disgusting and should be fought against viciously.

Environmental issues are important to me, but I don't believe the Earth is falling apart in the way that many try to make it seem. I think we have to learn to work with the Earth, and adapt with it. Ultimately, we are at the mercy of the Earth, not the other way around, but we do have to make sure that we don't screw up our surroundings to the point that they are unlivable for us. It's also important to me that we protect our forests and wildlands so that our children and theirs can enjoy nature in its purest form.

I think EVERY American should have health care. It's barbaric that in the richest country in the world there are some that have to worry about whether or not they are going to get the quality healthcare that they need. On a related point, I believe that it's the government's job to make sure that health care corporations aren't ripping people, and the government itself, off. Health care costs need to be kept DOWN. The same thing goes for education- education should be free for everyone that has worked hard enough to show that they take it seriously.

Corporations, especially recently, have been destroying our culture. The media has 6 major corporations, whereas ten years ago there were 24. They're manipulating us. I also HATE Walmart, and the fast-food SUV driving mentality in general. Our culture has gotten to the point where it makes me sick.

In general, I don't like taking up minority issues because I feel it's divisive (unless there is some egregious violation of civil rights happening), but the broad principles that I fight VERY passionately for via the ACLU and the like, in my opinion, should cover them.

[dumpster_baby]

40. You are much like me--> EU-style social democrat

Scandanavia and some other European countries have much that same model/philosophy.

[Guaranteed]

41. Alrighty...that's what I went ahead and voted for, then...

Thanks...

[LWolf]

36. I don't know.

I value personal and social responsibility equally.

I think government/public systems exist to serve all the people in their sphere.

I believe in freedom. Period. I believe that personal liberties end at the end of your nose; when they intrude on someone else, or on other living things, or on the planet, you are no longer free to indulge. I believe rights and responsibilities are irrevocably connected.

I believe health care, shelter, food, clothing, and education are rights and should be equally available to all.

I believe in respect, honesty, and integrity. I believe in humility, service, and simplicity. I believe in generosity, self-discipline, and open-mindedness.

Where do I fall on your political spectrum?

[Guaranteed]

37. Very well put. nt

[MAlibdem]

39. where would you put John Kerry? (nt)

[John_H]

42. Great Lakes Pro Union Democrat a la Dennis Kucinich et. al.

[Van Helsing]

43. I'm a Moderate Democrat like Edwards.