Assuming the 46 Dopers who took the political compass test in this thread constitute a good random sample, and assuming the test in question is not significantly biased, then we lean solidly to the left on social issues and slightly to the left on economic issues. Here are the results, which I’m reproducing here for your convenience:
Note: the scale is from -10 to 10, -10 being the extreme left and 10 being the extreme right.
When I say I feel the site leans left, and feel it supports and promotes more liberal topics than conservative one’s, it doesn’t necessarily mean I lean right myself. If I said it was hotter than hell in Arizona, would you imply by my comments that I not only dislike Arizona, but that I prefer Alaska? (For the record, I like both… they’re cool with me). Of course not, it doesn’t. It’s simply an observation on my part that doesn’t reveal a whit about my own personal beliefs.
If you want to ask me where I fit into this equation, I’d say I’m alongside those that say they pick and choose their arguments regardless of a specific ideology, or a political affiliation. If it makes sense to me, than I’m for it, regardless of whether it’s conservative, liberal, or libertarian. Make sense?
What I’m getting at is whether you feel the people here, or the topics that routinely get argued and played here, represent either side more than the other. Taken as a whole, do you feel it’s more liberal, conservative, or otherwise.
** On preview I see a table and some statistics. Alright!!
I think a better analogy would be: “If you think Massachusetts winters are cold, you’ve never experienced winter in Montana”. It’s not about what you like or don’t like.
I tend to agree with nicky, but then I’m pretty sharply liberal so I don’t know how much my thinking is biased.
I’ve always gotten the impression of the boards being very conservative about being liberal…meaning ur on the wrong side of the track if ur conservative hence its very annoyingly conservative about being liberal.
I consider myself a die-hard liberal and appreciate the fact that I feel compelled to think before I write on this board.
It makes me aware that whatever I write can be interpreted in many different ways - and while I certainly have my opinions, I think it is important not to intentially alienate others who have totally different opions on the same subject.
I want to hear their opinions, otherwise I wouldn’t have posed/responed to the question.
I have seen well-meaning conservative writers express their opinion in ways that could really piss me off, but I realize that they are doing their best to express themselves to “liberals” like myself.
If everybody on this board thought the same, it would be really boring.
But to vote on the OP…well, I would say the board is pretty much 50/50…go ahead and post a really left/liberal thread and watch the more conservative members come flying out to respond.
I like that.
I really don’t think the old “liberal” on social issues and “conservative” on fiscal issues saw plays very well anymore, because so many social issues are economically driven.
I think it leans left, but I’ve noticed that when someone posts with one opinion on an issue, whether it’s here, in GD or in the BBQ Pit, there are enough people with opposing views to provide a lively debate. Myself, I’m Libertarian, but I’m a little dismayed at the nastiness that sometimes gets directed at conservatives…no, they do NOT want to poison the water and drive the homeless into mines to die. (They just want to tell you how to pray ) So I’d say there’s enough of a mix, unlike the Freep board or the Democratic Talk Radio board, so you can actually get some insight into other views, rather than a bunch of “Me toos.”
I’m a Sagitarrian, but I dress to the left and try to do all things in moderation.
I’d have to agree that the board is roughly centrist. If it looks skewed inordinately to the left or right, it’s probably just perspective based on your distance from the center.
Of course, this is IMHO, YMMV.
It’s pretty clear to me that it leans to the left, but much more libertarian left than authoritarian left, so it’s not too bad from the POV of this libertarian. Not to say that there aren’t plenty of Marxists/Socialists/Whatevers that are happy to share their views.
Until I read that, I thought you were talking about archetypes, not actual dopers, but I know exactly who that is (that’s some pretty good Sapphic porn too ;)). Now I’m curious to know who the others are.
Don’t the definitions of conservative/liberal vary across countries? For e.g., an economic “liberal” in India is one who is advocating a freer market. Besides, the de facto two party system in the US forces each party to take a stand on issues, which can lead to the conservatives and liberals in the US (read: Republican and Democratic parties) having a melange of positions on issues in their baskets. May be the Euro-dopers can weigh in on this one.
(If the OP is indeed directed at US denizens, please ignore this post.)
Libertarianism is a political philosophy taylored to that section of the working class with intellectual leanings which has achieved a certain level of economic security and now imagines itself middle class. It believes that the system is sound and rewards effort and individual initiative and therefore doesn’t believe in collective action, especially by the working class either through trade unions or government.
At the same time, it rejects the neanderthal social views regarding drugs, abortion, sex, and other restrictions on personal behavior that the capitalist class has accomodated to gain the support of backward elements of the working class for an economic program which is clearly not in its interest.
The end result is to divide the working class in the interests of the capitalist class.
I think the board is fairly neutral, except for great debates. That forum has become extremely hostile to conservatives, and as a result many of them aren’t posting there any more, leading to a liberal slant. I see a ton of conservatives in the other forums who we never hear from in GD any more.
And that would be an example of what I’m talking about.
Sam - I can’t disagree with your statement, since my own politics probably lead me to underestimate any liberal/left bias in GD, but I think December is more than flying the flag for GD threads hostile to the liberal/left.
I’ve thought about alot, and here is my wild ass theory on it. Young people tend to have more of a liberal slant, and older people tend to have more of a conservative leaning. Not exact correlation obviously but enough to effect things. I think the age difference kind of ends up skewing the arguments. The internet, and this board in particular, is often the first chancefor younger people from isolated places or crappy schools to get into a good argument. To get into a debate where they can really sink there teeth into the subject matter and try to expound their views with well-thought out oposition. I think there is a lot of that going on in most GD threads. One the other hand, older posters tend to have a bit of a been-there-done that attitude, they have usually had the same debate lots of times before the internet existed. It’s really hard to get up for the hundredth debate on Abortion, or affirmative action, or school vouchers or whatever, unless you really feel fervently about it, especially when you have seen most every argument the other side has said (and no offense to anybody but nearly any thought has already been expressed, and dealt with by the opposing side at some point).
So my theory is that they skewing of younger enthusiastic debaters toward liberalism, and number of battle weary older conservatives who don’t bother much anymore, ends up with many GD threads becoming a liberal pile-on.
) So I’d say there’s enough of a mix, unlike the Freep board or the Democratic Talk Radio board, so you can actually get some insight into other views, rather than a bunch of “Me toos.”