# 2D political compass: where do you sit ? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 17, 2004, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2d-political-compass-where-do-you-sit/229594 "2004-02-17T02:55:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![manx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/65b543/32.png) [@manx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manx)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2004, 9:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2d-political-compass-where-do-you-sit/229594/22 "2004-02-17T09:07:51Z")
I scored Economic Left/Right: -4.50 Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -5.33 me and the Dalai Lama are like _that!_ (that’s me, and that there’s the DL :D) but I don’t know that I liked the way some of the questions were phrased: ‘A significant advantage of a one-party state is that it avoids all the arguments that delay progress in a democratic political system’ Well, yea, one of democracy’s failing is the time that it takes to make decisions, but this is not necesarily a bad thing… ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2004, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2d-political-compass-where-do-you-sit/229594/23 "2004-02-17T11:10:37Z")
Economic Left/Right: -8.25 Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -7.85 I got nowhere near as left/Lib the last time I did it. Hmmmm. Still a pinko bastard though 😃 ---
**Author:** ![owlstretchingtime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/958977/32.png) [@owlstretchingtime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/owlstretchingtime)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2004, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2d-political-compass-where-do-you-sit/229594/24 "2004-02-17T11:18:53Z")
Economic Left/Right: 1.12 Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -2.67 Closest example is Friedman - which is about right. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_Wright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@Steve\_Wright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_Wright)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2004, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2d-political-compass-where-do-you-sit/229594/25 "2004-02-17T11:41:25Z")
Economic Left/Right: -7.62 Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -5.74 Round about where I usually am, whenever I take one of these tests - way off to the left. Vegetable rights and peace! ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2004, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2d-political-compass-where-do-you-sit/229594/26 "2004-02-17T13:38:12Z")
Economic Left/Right: 5.12 Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: 0.92 I seem to be Tony Blair. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![PookahMacPhellimey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pookahmacphellimey/32/3175_2.png) [@PookahMacPhellimey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PookahMacPhellimey)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2004, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2d-political-compass-where-do-you-sit/229594/27 "2004-02-17T13:54:05Z")
Eco: -6.62 Soc: -6.92 Ew…feel like such a right-wing pig now. 😃 I always seem to come up a bit more to the right than I am because I don’t give a s\*\*\* about the environment and/or animals, and it always puzzles me why lefties should care about fluffy animals more than right-wingers. ---
**Author:** ![Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bambi_Hassenpfeffer)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2004, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2d-political-compass-where-do-you-sit/229594/28 "2004-02-17T14:54:34Z")
Economic: -3.62 Authoritarian: -7.38 I’m near Mandela and the Dalai Lama. Which is about right, given what I know about their politics. ---
**Author:** ![mascaroni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/dc4da7/32.png) [@mascaroni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mascaroni)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2004, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2d-political-compass-where-do-you-sit/229594/29 "2004-02-17T21:19:47Z")
L/R 1.38 SL/A -1.83 That’s frightening… I’m so close to the Liberal Democrats. I don’t think this test caters for people who have their own thoughts on any particular issue, rather than following a party line. A 3D political compass with the additional question of ‘How much do you care?’ about each question would IMHO give a far truer picture. In the main, people don’t vote for politicians, they vote against them. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2004, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2d-political-compass-where-do-you-sit/229594/30 "2004-02-17T21:54:29Z")
Economic Left/Right: -2.75 Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -3.64 Looks like it’s me, Gandhi and Nelson Mandela. No big surprise there. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![BuckleberryFerry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5f9b8f/32.png) [@BuckleberryFerry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BuckleberryFerry)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2004, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2d-political-compass-where-do-you-sit/229594/31 "2004-02-17T22:34:31Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Economic Left/Right: 5.12 > Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: 0.92 > > I seem to be Tony Blair. > > Regards, > Shodan Damn you! You stole my punchline! Anywho– Economic Left/Right: 4.25 Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: 2.36 ---
**Author:** ![antechinus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/fbc32d/32.png) [@antechinus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antechinus)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2004, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2d-political-compass-where-do-you-sit/229594/32 "2004-02-17T22:45:20Z")
> [@PookahMacPhellimey](#): > > Eco: -6.62 > > Soc: -6.92 > > Ew…feel like such a right-wing pig now. 😃 > > I always seem to come up a bit more to the right than I am because I don’t give a s\*\*\* about the environment and/or animals, and it always puzzles me why lefties should care about fluffy animals more than right-wingers. Eh? So you were placed in the far down-left quadrant and you think you are more extreme than that? Was there a question about the environment? I forgot. If there was that may have centred you more. The third dimension could be the environment. Like the economic-social-ecological triple-bottom-line used by business. ---
**Author:** ![kellner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c2a13f/32.png) [@kellner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kellner)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2004, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2d-political-compass-where-do-you-sit/229594/33 "2004-02-17T22:46:56Z")
Left/Right : -7.00 Libertarian/Authoritarian: -8.72 I took that test a while ago and in a similar one I scored a little more “off center”. Did I miss someone or am I really the most “lower left” person so far? Interesting. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2004, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2d-political-compass-where-do-you-sit/229594/34 "2004-02-17T22:52:18Z")
Economic Left/Right: 3.62 Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -5.23 Dang. Usually I’ve got the biggest gap between my results, but not this time. Damn you, **cynic**! Julie ---
**Author:** ![kellner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c2a13f/32.png) [@kellner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kellner)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2004, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2d-political-compass-where-do-you-sit/229594/35 "2004-02-17T23:08:02Z")
> [@yojimbo](#): > > Economic Left/Right: -8.25 > Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -7.85 How could I miss you? Now I feel a lot less lonely in that corner 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![mouthbreather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a698b9/32.png) [@mouthbreather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mouthbreather)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2004, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2d-political-compass-where-do-you-sit/229594/36 "2004-02-17T23:28:24Z")
Economic Left/Right: 3.88 Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -1.49 Puts me pretty close to Friedman. ---
**Author:** ![PigArcher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bcef8e/32.png) [@PigArcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PigArcher)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2004, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2d-political-compass-where-do-you-sit/229594/37 "2004-02-17T23:33:20Z")
Economic Left/Right: 3.75 Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -3.03 Right about where I’d expect to be, though I’d have to say many of these questions are designed to push people to the left by creating a false binary choice. Examples: Charity is better than social security as a means of helping the genuinely disadvantaged. The businessman and the manufacturer are more important than the writer and the artist. In criminal justice, punishment should be more important than rehabilitation. In a civilised society, one must always have people above to be obeyed and people below to be commanded. ---
**Author:** ![kellner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c2a13f/32.png) [@kellner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kellner)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2004, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2d-political-compass-where-do-you-sit/229594/38 "2004-02-17T23:49:29Z")
> [@Max\_Castle](#): > > Right about where I’d expect to be, though I’d have to say many of these questions are designed to push people to the left by creating a false binary choice. The makers of that site openly admit that many of the questions are slanted one way or another on purpose. However I suspect that everybody is just more offended by questions which try to push him towards the opposite of his original direction. Equally manipulative questions in favor of one’s opinion just don’t stand out that much. ---
**Author:** ![akennett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ee59a6/32.png) [@akennett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/akennett)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2004, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2d-political-compass-where-do-you-sit/229594/39 "2004-02-17T23:52:11Z")
7.5, -1.69 Looks like me and Milty boy can hang out anytime. These questions are a bit simplistic though for any real sort of comparison. Eugenics? Is this seriously a question in today’s political culture? And what is with “Mothers may have careers, but their first duty is to be homemakers.” Certainly the first duty of a mother should be to her children (over a career), but this is just as true of fathers. ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2004, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2d-political-compass-where-do-you-sit/229594/40 "2004-02-18T07:01:05Z")
Ec: -.075 Soc: -5.23 Funny, I thought I’d be a little more to the right economically, but the Libertarian part seems right on. I like drugs, sex _and_ making lots of money. ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2004, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2d-political-compass-where-do-you-sit/229594/41 "2004-02-18T07:11:35Z")
Rather, that should be -0.75 economically. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2d-political-compass-where-do-you-sit/229594.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2d-political-compass-where-do-you-sit/229594.md?page=3)