# Am I a hard-core lefty, like I tell people? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [July 14, 2021, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-hard-core-lefty-like-i-tell-people/946516 "2021-07-14T22:33:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![kevlaw](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kevlaw/32/2281_2.png) [@kevlaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kevlaw)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2021, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-hard-core-lefty-like-i-tell-people/946516/81 "2021-07-20T13:21:47Z")
> [@Roger\_That](#): > > my political philosophy is the simple one I outlined at first: far too much wealth is concentrated in the wealthy and far too little in the poor That puts you on the left. > [@Roger\_That](#): > > I become because the one lesson I’ve learned is that if you try to do it too gradually, too “reasonably”, it never gets done, so I’m more focused on what giant steps can we take now to improve wealth distribution for the people living today. Fuck the long-range future. That puts you on the radical left. Neither statement says anything about whether you are liberal. ---
**Author:** ![Roger\_That](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roger_that/32/8505_2.png) [@Roger\_That](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roger_That)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2021, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-hard-core-lefty-like-i-tell-people/946516/82 "2021-07-20T14:22:34Z")
So that’s one vote for "You’re a hard-core lefty, like you tell people’ ---
**Author:** ![Crane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crane/32/3495_2.png) [@Crane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crane)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2021, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-hard-core-lefty-like-i-tell-people/946516/83 "2021-07-20T14:44:12Z")
> [@Roger\_That](#): > > people need to distribute resources (such money, goods, access to health care) more equitably Yep lefty! Whether you ever told queer jokes or stepped on ants or voted Republican is irrelevant. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2021, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-hard-core-lefty-like-i-tell-people/946516/84 "2021-07-20T15:16:56Z")
> [@Max\_S](#): > > So many of those questions are false dichotomies… Example. > > “The economic system in this country unfairly favors powerful interests” > “The economic system in this country is generally fair to most Americans” > > “The obstacles that once made it harder for women than men to get ahead are now largely gone” > “There are still significant obstacles that make it harder for women to get ahead than men” I noticed that myself. Then I re-read the actual instruction, that directed me to > [@](#): > > _pick the answer that comes **closest** to your view, even if it isn’t exactly right._ Sure, it sacrifices some nuance when it comes down to analyzing your overall “score,” but what can you expect from a five-minute categorization survey? It’s not very plausible that the final label you get will be completely wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2021, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-hard-core-lefty-like-i-tell-people/946516/85 "2021-07-20T15:17:04Z")
> [@Roger\_That](#): > > Sounds like Wesley Clark is putting me squarely in the lib camp. Maybe so. But I often find them wishy-washy, too eager to compromise, too satisfied with the status quo. Maybe that’s just their public posture, to get re-elected in a climate that that finds left-wing positions unacceptable? I think it’s mostly the fact that most Democratic party politicians in the US are Centrist or Conservative, not actually Liberal. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2021, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-hard-core-lefty-like-i-tell-people/946516/86 "2021-07-20T15:40:19Z")
> [@DemonTree](#): > > Pew quiz said Disaffected Democrat, 8values says Social Liberalism. Many of the questions are just impossible to answer, though: > > > Those with a greater ability to pay should receive better healthcare. > > It’s certainly not a principal I aspire to in a society, but what’s the alternative? Those who can afford to pay for better healthcare are banned from doing so? I don’t support that. No, the alternative is that _everybody **SHOULD** get the best healthcare that exists, and BETTER (or less good) healthcare shouldn’t be an option._ Note the SHOULD, above. It’s aspirational, not necessarily practical. > [@](#): > > A lot of it comes down to how you interpret the question. You ain’t just whistling Dixie (or whatever you Brits whistle. “The White Cliffs of Dover,” or something, I guess), sister! ---
**Author:** ![Roger\_That](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roger_that/32/8505_2.png) [@Roger\_That](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roger_That)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2021, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-hard-core-lefty-like-i-tell-people/946516/87 "2021-07-20T15:54:15Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > it sacrifices some nuance when it comes down to analyzing your overall “score,” but what can you expect from a five-minute categorization survey? Some people are just determined to declare themselves more nuanced than some stupid quiz. I think this is mostly a matter of going into a quiz saying “You think you can slap a label on me with your stupid quiz? I’ll show you!” ---
**Author:** ![Hellestal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3ab097/32.png) [@Hellestal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hellestal)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2021, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-hard-core-lefty-like-i-tell-people/946516/88 "2021-07-20T16:22:56Z")
> [@Thing.Fish](#): > > Lots of people argue in favor of free-market economics, but AFAIK none of them are claiming that more capitalism is good because it would reduce income inequality. Do you consider the current global economic system broadly capitalist? > [@Roger\_That](#): > > Of course not, but I utterly reject the premise of your question. You said in the OP that you “have no interest” in the formal investigation of premises such as this. It’s not clear why you would reject OR support any premise in a field in which you have no interest in how conclusions are reached. The best position with respect to something that bores you is “no opinion”. ---
**Author:** ![Roger\_That](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roger_that/32/8505_2.png) [@Roger\_That](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roger_That)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2021, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-hard-core-lefty-like-i-tell-people/946516/89 "2021-07-20T17:27:55Z")
> [@Hellestal](#): > > You said in the OP that you “have no interest” in the formal investigation of premises such as this I meant to imply that I normally have no interest in the matter, but it just now struck me as curious, so I’m asking. I still don’t have a lot of interest, or a lot of clarity either. it seems to be a strange indefinable subject. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2021, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-hard-core-lefty-like-i-tell-people/946516/90 "2021-07-21T00:07:46Z")
> [@Roger\_That](#): > > I think this is mostly a matter of going into a quiz saying “You think you can slap a label on me with your stupid quiz? I’ll show you!” Oh you’re totally a Ravenclaw, I can tell. ---
**Author:** ![Roger\_That](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roger_that/32/8505_2.png) [@Roger\_That](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roger_That)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2021, 9:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-hard-core-lefty-like-i-tell-people/946516/91 "2021-07-21T09:21:43Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > Ravenclaw Like I have the slightest fucking clue what a Ravenclaw is. ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2021, 9:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-hard-core-lefty-like-i-tell-people/946516/92 "2021-07-21T09:30:38Z")
> [@Roger\_That](#): > > Like I have the slightest fucking clue what a Ravenclaw is.   Have you been living in the remote Amazon jungle without an internet connection for the past 20 years? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![DemonTree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/demontree/32/8646_2.png) [@DemonTree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DemonTree)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2021, 9:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-hard-core-lefty-like-i-tell-people/946516/93 "2021-07-21T09:32:28Z")
> [@Roger\_That](#): > > Some people are just determined to declare themselves more nuanced than some stupid quiz. I think this is mostly a matter of going into a quiz saying “You think you can slap a label on me with your stupid quiz? I’ll show you!” I think it’s more the problem of trying to lump a complex and multidimensional set of political opinions together on a single scale. ---
**Author:** ![Roger\_That](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roger_that/32/8505_2.png) [@Roger\_That](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roger_That)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2021, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-hard-core-lefty-like-i-tell-people/946516/94 "2021-07-21T11:46:56Z")
Apparently so. And Googling “Ravenclaw” is useless. I’m, what, supposed to be some kind of Harry Potter character? Save me, merciful Jesus. ---
**Author:** ![Roger\_That](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roger_that/32/8505_2.png) [@Roger\_That](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roger_That)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2021, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-hard-core-lefty-like-i-tell-people/946516/95 "2021-07-21T11:50:31Z")
The idea is it’s designed to be a quick, shorthand way to get you approximated on a sliding scale, allowing for the inadequacy of specific questions to accomplish that modest goal for every individual, not to define your politics definitively with an iron-clad guarantee of absolute precision. if you thought that’s what you were getting with a five -minute quiz, I have some property that might might be right for your budget. ---
**Author:** ![DemonTree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/demontree/32/8646_2.png) [@DemonTree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DemonTree)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2021, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-hard-core-lefty-like-i-tell-people/946516/96 "2021-07-21T12:09:44Z")
I’ll just repeat someone else’s comment: > [@QuickSilver](#): > > And why are you so invested in this survey that you feel the need to defend its shortcomings, pointed out by those whom you’ve invited to take it? ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Wiggler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/red_wiggler/32/13190_2.png) [@Red\_Wiggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Wiggler)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2021, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-hard-core-lefty-like-i-tell-people/946516/97 "2021-07-21T12:10:40Z")
So, is Ravenclaw from the Harry Potter books or what? Sorry, I’ve been away in the jungle. ---
**Author:** ![Roger\_That](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roger_that/32/8505_2.png) [@Roger\_That](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roger_That)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2021, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-hard-core-lefty-like-i-tell-people/946516/98 "2021-07-21T12:16:18Z")
And I will repeat myself again: I didn’t invite anyone to take a fucking thing. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_S](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2021, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-hard-core-lefty-like-i-tell-people/946516/99 "2021-07-21T14:23:04Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Sure, it sacrifices some nuance when it comes down to analyzing your overall “score,” but what can you expect from a five-minute categorization survey? It’s not very plausible that the final label you get will be completely wrong. It is very plausible that I get a different score every time I take the test. Core Conservative New Era Enterprisers Market Skeptic Republican I’ve taken the test four times since it was linked to. There are only four or five out of seventeen questions where I have to pick between two choices I kind of agree with equally. As a result, I guess my answers are inconsistent. My ideology on the graph is anywhere from “consistently liberal” to slightly left of “mixed” to midway between “mixed” and “consistently conservative”. It also never matches the group I am assigned to (???). I am apparently either the most left leaning core conservative, or the most left leaning new era enterpriser, or the most left leaning of market skeptic republicans… ~Max ---
**Author:** ![Roger\_That](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roger_that/32/8505_2.png) [@Roger\_That](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roger_That)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2021, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-hard-core-lefty-like-i-tell-people/946516/100 "2021-07-21T14:54:10Z")
HOLY CRAP!!! You mean the test gives you different results when you enter different answers into it? THIS IS AN OUTRAGE!! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-hard-core-lefty-like-i-tell-people/946516.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-hard-core-lefty-like-i-tell-people/946516.md?page=6)