# How's your political compass read? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 27, 2002, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-your-political-compass-read/116207 "2002-06-27T11:17:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Lodrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c4cdca/32.png) [@Lodrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lodrain)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2002, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-your-political-compass-read/116207/21 "2002-06-28T01:01:16Z")
Economic Left/Right: -3.00 Authoritarian/Libertarian: -5.28 Well, I do like sitar music… ---
**Author:** ![BraheSilver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@BraheSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BraheSilver)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2002, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-your-political-compass-read/116207/22 "2002-06-28T01:41:15Z")
Economic Left/Right: -1.00 Authoritarian/Libertarian: -4.05 I need to start getting passionate about things, it seems. ---
**Author:** ![BraheSilver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@BraheSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BraheSilver)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2002, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-your-political-compass-read/116207/23 "2002-06-28T01:47:12Z")
Economic Left/Right: -1.00 Authoritarian/Libertarian: -4.05 I need to start getting passionate about things, it seems. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2002, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-your-political-compass-read/116207/24 "2002-06-28T02:23:20Z")
I’m Economic Left/Right: -1.75 Authoritarian/Libertarian: -1.90. I guess that means I’m a pretty mellow guy…though if you look at my standing on most issues, it just looks like I want as many people either dead, or not reproducing, as possible. :eek: Ranchoth (Vlad the Impaler with an eye towards the arts?) ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2002, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-your-political-compass-read/116207/25 "2002-06-28T02:51:51Z")
Whoohoo!!! I’m done. Okay, I’m Economic Left/Right: -0.75 Authoritarian/Libertarian: -4.97 Hmmm. I always saw myself as more of a fascist than a libertarian. But I’m pretty close to the middle in terms of the economic one, which is true, IMHO. Stay the course, that’s my spin on things. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Netbrian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71e660/32.png) [@Netbrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Netbrian)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2002, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-your-political-compass-read/116207/26 "2002-06-28T02:52:57Z")
Economic Left/Right: -2.63 Authoritarian/Libertarian: -7.33 Well… I’m a bit to the Economic left, but very strongly Libertarian. Go figure… ---
**Author:** ![ResIpsaLoquitor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b3f665/32.png) [@ResIpsaLoquitor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ResIpsaLoquitor)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2002, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-your-political-compass-read/116207/27 "2002-06-28T03:12:14Z")
Economic Left/Right: -0.38 Authoritarian/Libertarian: -1.28 In other words, I’m almost smack in the center of this thing. I was a little spooked when I saw that. I think this generally reflects where I am politically/morally, but I think the result was more because of a “law of averages” thing than because of the poorly-written questions. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2002, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-your-political-compass-read/116207/28 "2002-06-28T03:24:27Z")
Economic left/right: -4.38 Authoritarian/Libertarian: -5.64 i always knew i was socially liberal, but considered myself a fiscal conservative. I notice few questions regarding spending, more along the lines of “rights” of governments to intervene in the economy, if you define it that way, in terms of whether the govt has the right to intervene in the economy, that i am sort of to the left economically. Just not so much that I dont believe that fiscal reforms such as welfare reform, social security reform, etc, are not worthlooking at, even if they bring harm to some people yet ultimately bring a greater reward to society as a whole through a lower natl debt. But i didnt see any questions on that. “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” I find that a particularly incomplete question. Yes, i believe that it would be just for an individual to recieve exactly the harm that they have visited upon others. Heck, i would go even further, **in theory** i would say that there’s plenty of people who deserve death who did not mete it out themselves, serial criminals of any brand (theft, physical/sexual assault) especially. Does that give society the right to enact that punishment? no. ---
**Author:** ![5-HT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/5/f19dbf/32.png) [@5-HT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/5-HT)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2002, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-your-political-compass-read/116207/29 "2002-06-28T04:10:54Z")
I come out as Economic Left/Right: 0.13 Authoritarian/Libertarian: -5.54 I was suprised I didn’t come out further to the right economically, I have definately found that I’ve been moving to the left politically as I get older(not A LOT older, I’m only 24) but generally I thought the move was much more on a civil libertarian level than an economic one. I don’t know who any of the UK politicians on the chart are, but apparently my views fall somewhere between Simon Hughes and Charles Kennedy, though slightly more libertarian than either of them. ---
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2002, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-your-political-compass-read/116207/30 "2002-06-28T04:16:50Z")
Economic left/right: 1.88 Authoritarian/Libertarian: -1.90 Whatever that means. Frankly, after reading the test, I don’t think it really means very much (and that was an awful website to navigate - scroll, scroll, scroll…) FWIW, I plotted closest to Freidman. ---
**Author:** ![Neurotik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/91b2a8/32.png) [@Neurotik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neurotik)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2002, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-your-political-compass-read/116207/31 "2002-06-28T04:58:43Z")
Economic: - 0.5 Authoritarian: -3.03 Woohoo! Closest to Charles Kennedy and Simon Hughes. That’s about right, actually. ---
**Author:** ![dead0man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/edb3f5/32.png) [@dead0man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dead0man)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2002, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-your-political-compass-read/116207/32 "2002-06-28T06:09:36Z")
Economic Left/Right: 2.50 Authoritarian/Libertarian: 0.72 Some of those questions were pretty bad. I’m pretty conservative economicaly IRL and I consider myself much more of libertarian than this shows. Would Thatcher and Hitler really score like that if they took the test? I dont think so. Blair is more Authoritarian than I am? I guessed I’d score closer to where that Friedman guy/gal scored. dead0man ---
**Author:** ![Philosophocles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b38774/32.png) [@Philosophocles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philosophocles)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2002, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-your-political-compass-read/116207/33 "2002-06-28T06:33:13Z")
Economic Left/Right: -9.13 Authoritarian/Libertarian: -9.03 That was a fun little test. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Kal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9de053/32.png) [@Kal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kal)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2002, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-your-political-compass-read/116207/34 "2002-06-28T07:04:11Z")
Economic Left/Right: -6.50 Authoritarian/Libertarian: -4.72 Which puts me somewhere between Tony Benn and Ken Livingstone - Just about correct, I suppose. ---
**Author:** ![lel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8797f3/32.png) [@lel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lel)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2002, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-your-political-compass-read/116207/35 "2002-06-28T07:37:19Z")
Economic Left/Right: -1.00 Authoritarian/Libertarian: -2.82 I’m near the center in the libertarian left quadrant, which seems to be fairly close to how I would represent my own views. I can’t say anything about the politicians whose scores would be near my own, as I am not familiar with them. ---
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2002, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-your-political-compass-read/116207/36 "2002-06-28T07:53:51Z")
Economic Left/Right: 0.00 Authoritarian/Libertarian: -3.44 Right on the damn line, and pretty far towards anarchy. That sounds about right. I don’t trust the left or right too much, and I don’t trust Corporations or the Government. Though I don’t believe anarchy is better either, since it then just sets the scene for the emergence for a dictatorship or a feudal system, which helps no one. I can’t decide it if makes me moderate, a person with little faith in humanity, or just paranoid? ---
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2002, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-your-political-compass-read/116207/37 "2002-06-28T07:59:08Z")
Economic Left/Right: 0.00 Authoritarian/Libertarian: -3.44 Right on the damn line, and pretty far towards anarchy. That sounds about right. I don’t trust the left or right too much, and I don’t trust Corporations or the Government. Though I don’t believe anarchy is better either, since it then just sets the scene for the emergence for a dictatorship or a feudal system, which helps no one. I can’t decide it if makes me moderate, a person with little faith in humanity, or just paranoid? ---
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2002, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-your-political-compass-read/116207/38 "2002-06-28T08:08:41Z")
sorry about the double post ---
**Author:** ![The\_Great\_Unwashed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_great_unwashed/32/4791_2.png) [@The\_Great\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Great_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2002, 9:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-your-political-compass-read/116207/39 "2002-06-28T09:49:51Z")
Economic Left/Right: -4.75 Authoritarian/Libertarian: -7.33 I find the tendency for people to fall along the main diagonal interesting – those acquaintances of mine who I know to have scored _off_ this diagonal always struck me as “odd”. No offence intended to anyone. BTW: The questions were not designed to be “good”, or, “straight”, and the neutral fifth option was deliberately missed out. There’s an FAQ of the main page that says more about the design. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Great\_Unwashed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_great_unwashed/32/4791_2.png) [@The\_Great\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Great_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2002, 10:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-your-political-compass-read/116207/40 "2002-06-28T10:03:15Z")
Gulp – I’ve just taken the test again (the previous results are from about a year ago), the score this time. Economic Left/Right: -9.25 Authoritarian/Libertarian: : -6.77 What could have happened in the past year to move me four and a half clicks leftwards? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-your-political-compass-read/116207.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-your-political-compass-read/116207.md?page=3)