# Is there an internet questionaire to determine one's politcal persuasion? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 2, 2002, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-internet-questionaire-to-determine-ones-politcal-persuasion/134948 "2002-11-02T02:37:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2002, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-internet-questionaire-to-determine-ones-politcal-persuasion/134948/1 "2002-11-02T02:37:56Z")
I am not a very political person, but when politics is an issue I tend to think like a liberal and somehow think I am ‘left of center’ but don’t know why I think that (maybe because the labour party is ‘left of center’ and I support labour) Suddenly I wondered if there is actually a set of questions somewhere that will determine wheither the questionee (is there such a word?) was a leftie or a rightie based on their answers. So is there? ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2002, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-internet-questionaire-to-determine-ones-politcal-persuasion/134948/2 "2002-11-02T02:48:28Z")
SHit!.. I mean Do’h. Mod(s) please can I borrow an ‘i’ for my subject? I forgot mine. And I don’t want to look stupid. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2002, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-internet-questionaire-to-determine-ones-politcal-persuasion/134948/3 "2002-11-02T03:12:43Z")
There’s [this one](http://www.lp.org/quiz/), which I like because it uses a two dimensional model, though it’s not very comprehensive. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2002, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-internet-questionaire-to-determine-ones-politcal-persuasion/134948/4 "2002-11-02T03:27:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by friedo \* > \*\*There’s [this one](http://www.lp.org/quiz/), which I like because it uses a two dimensional model, though it’s not very comprehensive. \*\* I am a ‘left-liberal’ ---
**Author:** ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2002, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-internet-questionaire-to-determine-ones-politcal-persuasion/134948/5 "2002-11-02T06:02:55Z")
I like [the Political Compass](http://www.politicalcompass.org/), which also uses a two-dimensional scale. It’s a bit more comprehensive, but I don’t know if it’s any better. ---
**Author:** ![cart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3ec8ea/32.png) [@cart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cart)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2002, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-internet-questionaire-to-determine-ones-politcal-persuasion/134948/6 "2002-11-02T12:10:39Z")
These tests are fun. Perhaps there should be something like this to replace actual voting. I’m a ‘centrist’, on the border with ‘left-liberal’. And on the other test I’m pretty much the same thing as Clare Short 1996. And yet, I’ve always voted Liberal, and will probably switch to Conservative next time as I am libertarian and euro-sceptic. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2002, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-internet-questionaire-to-determine-ones-politcal-persuasion/134948/7 "2002-11-02T16:31:39Z")
In the second one I was [here](http://www.digitalronin.f2s.com/politicalcompass/questionnaire.pl?page=printable_graph&X=-4.38&Y=-4.10). I came closest to Charles Kennedy!. I can’t believe Tony Blair is where he is! and he calls himself a socialist. Those questions were very interesting, although I can’t help but think that there was little choice without picking an ‘evil’ or out-dated answer in some of them, such as > [@](#): > > It’s fine for women to have careers, but their first duty is to be homemakers. come on, who still thinks like that? > [@](#): > > One day, science may be able to cure homosexuality. ‘cure’? I was not aware that it was a disease. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2002, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-internet-questionaire-to-determine-ones-politcal-persuasion/134948/8 "2002-11-02T16:39:42Z")
In the second one I was [here](http://www.digitalronin.f2s.com/politicalcompass/questionnaire.pl?page=printable_graph&X=-4.38&Y=-4.10). I came closest to Charles Kennedy!. I can’t believe Tony Blair is where he is! and he calls himself a socialist. Those questions were very interesting, although I can’t help but think that there was little choice without picking an ‘evil’ or out-dated answer in some of them, such as > [@](#): > > It’s fine for women to have careers, but their first duty is to be homemakers. come on, who still thinks like that? > [@](#): > > One day, science may be able to cure homosexuality. ‘cure’? I was not aware that it was a disease. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2002, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-internet-questionaire-to-determine-ones-politcal-persuasion/134948/9 "2002-11-02T19:02:35Z")
Interesting. Both of them place me smack ON a border line - the first parks me right on the “tricorner point” of centrist / left liberal / libertarian. The second, right smack on the axis separating right from left, somewhat down in the “libertarian” region. Since I consider myself very much a raving centrist, I don’t mind. If I don’t know anything else about an issue, I adopt a middle position if forced to have an opinion, since both sides probably have a point - otherwise, there wouldn’t be a serious argument. As I find out more about the issue, I’ll shade towards one side or the other, but I would contend there are very few questions that aren’t correctly answered in shades of grey, not black or white, and extremists are almost always wrong. It probably also measures the fact that I wind up conciously “balancing” my answers on tests like that - if I had to debate over how to answer one, and took the more conservative answer, the more liberal answer gets the nod on the next one I have to consder. ---
**Author:** ![manhattan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manhattan/32/7_2.png) [@manhattan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manhattan)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2002, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-internet-questionaire-to-determine-ones-politcal-persuasion/134948/10 "2002-11-02T19:58:38Z")
**Moderator’s note** : I added an “i” to the title at the request of the OP. So now it has a tiitle. The General Answer to this question is obviously “yes.” I’ll move the thread to IMHO for more discussion of the merits of various quizzes. ---
**Author:** ![Wyborowa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/7ea924/32.png) [@Wyborowa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wyborowa)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2002, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-internet-questionaire-to-determine-ones-politcal-persuasion/134948/11 "2002-11-02T21:08:50Z")
These tests are excellent! I am a left liberal in the first test and a left libertarian in the second. Not too surprising, but it was nice to confirm my instinctive view on a general scale. Tony Blair is a long way from me, even though I support him as PM due to the position of IDS and the tories. ---
**Author:** ![Silentgoldfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Silentgoldfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silentgoldfish)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2002, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-internet-questionaire-to-determine-ones-politcal-persuasion/134948/12 "2002-11-02T21:56:17Z")
[hijack] “One day, science may be able to cure homosexuality.” I think that homosexuality is just the brain being wired differently in certain areas. So one day it’s concievable that if someone wanted you could rewire it. Thinking along those lines I Agreed, but I’m not sure if it was the right interpretation of the question. I’m almost a polar opposite of Hitler. It’s a good thing. ---
**Author:** ![Stccrd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8797f3/32.png) [@Stccrd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stccrd)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2002, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-internet-questionaire-to-determine-ones-politcal-persuasion/134948/13 "2002-11-02T22:17:13Z")
This is interesting: Economic Left/Right: 0.75 Authoritarian/Libertarian: -0.97 ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2002, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-internet-questionaire-to-determine-ones-politcal-persuasion/134948/14 "2002-11-03T01:37:42Z")
I liked this thing so much that I felt like sharing my responses… There were a few I was unsure about or just didn’t understand so I just picked agree or disagree. I have annotated bits. but may have missed some. The annotation refers to the question above it. > [@](#): > > If globalisation is inevitable, it should primarily serve humanity rather than the interests of trans-national corporations. Agree > > I’d always support my country, whether it was right or wrong. Disagree > > No one chooses their country of birth, so it’s absurd to be proud of it. > Strongly agree > > (I like this question) > > Our nation has many unique virtues. Agree > > The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Disagree > > Jews surely have to take some of the responsibility for their persecution over the past 2000 years. Disagree > > (what did they do? I don’t know my history. Someone help me) > > The growing fusion between information and entertainment is a worrying contribution to the public’s shrinking attention span. Disagree > > (the growing lack of quality entertainment that doesn’t patronise people is a worrying contribution to the public’s shrinking attention span) > > Class background determines peoples’ consciousness more than their membership of a particular nation. Disagree > > Controlling inflation is more important than controlling unemployment. Disagree > > Corporations cannot be trusted to voluntarily respect the environment. Strongly agree > > From each according to his ability, to each according to his need is a fundamentally good idea. Agree > > It’s a sad reflection on our society that something as basic as drinking water is now a consumer product. Agree > > Land shouldn’t be a commodity to be bought and sold. Agree > > Many personal fortunes are made by people who simply manipulate money and contribute nothing to their society. Agree > > Protectionism is sometimes a necessary element in trade. Agree > > (I have no idea what ‘protectionism’ is) > > The only social responsibility of a company should be to deliver a profit to its shareholders. Disagree > > The rich are too highly taxed. Strongly disagree > > Those with the ability to pay should have the right to higher standards of medical care and education. Disagree > > (All should have the right to the same [high] standards of medical care) > > We’d be better off if companies simply told the truth, rather than spending a fortune on manipulative consumer advertising. Agree > > The freer the market, the freer the people. Agree > > Abortion, when the mother’s life is not threatened, should always be illegal. Agree > > All authority must be questioned. Agree > > An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. Disagree > > (I have no idea what this saying means) > > All theatres and museums that can’t survive on a commercial basis deserve to perish. Strongly disagree > > Education should involve enabling children to develop their own personality. Strongly agree > > Everyone has their rights, but it is better for all of us that different sorts of people should keep to their own kind. Disagree > > Good parents sometimes have to spank their children, to teach them right from wrong. Strongly disagree > > It’s natural for children to keep some secrets from their parents. Agree > > Marijuana and hashish should be legalised. Agree > > Schools pay too much attention to the arts and not enough towards their real function - equipping the future generation to find jobs. Agree > > Significantly physically disabled people should not be allowed to reproduce. Disagree > > The most important thing for children to learn is discipline. Disagree > > There are no savage and civilised peoples; there are only different cultures. Agree > > Those who are able to work and do not should not expect to eat. Disagree > > When a person is troubled, it’s better not to think about it, but to keep busy with more cheerful things. Disagree > > First-generation immigrants can never be fully integrated within their new country. Disagree > > What’s good for the most successful corporations is always, ultimately, good for all of us. Disagree > > (don’t fully understand that one) > > No broadcasting institutions should receive public funding. Disagree > > A government must give its citizens as much social freedom as possible. Agree > > A one-party state is better because it avoids all the arguments that delay progress in a democratic political system. Disagree > > (I’ve been led to believe a one party state is a very bad idea – no competition, free run and all that) > > Although the electronic age makes official surveillance easier, people who haven’t done anything wrong shouldn’t be worried. Agree > > Capital punishment should be a judicial option. Disagree > > (does ‘capital’ mean death? And what is ‘judicial’ is it jurisdiction?) > > In a civilised society, one must always have people above to obey and people below to command. Disagree > > Abstract art, because it doesn’t represent anything, shouldn’t be considered art at all. Disagree > > In criminal justice, punishment is as important as rehabilitation. Disagree > > Social workers waste their time trying to rehabilitate those who are simply born bad. Disagree > > The businessman and the manufacturer are more important than the writer and the artist. > Disagree > > (I could not decide on this one. I’d say equally important, if that were an option) > > It’s fine for women to have careers, but their first duty is to be homemakers. Disagree > On environmental issues, thinking globally and acting locally is a basically good idea. > Agree > > (not sure what it means) > > Young people may have some rebellious ideas, but it’s normal to grow out of them and settle down. Agree > > Astrology can explain many more things than most people presently realise Disagree > > Religion and morality are inseparable. Strongly disagree > > (I feel strongly about this one. I am not religeous, I am in fact anti-religeon, but I have morals) > > Sex outside marriage is a sin. Disagree > > Charity is better than social security as a means of helping the genuinely disadvantaged. > Disagree > > Some people are naturally unlucky. Disagree > > (is this political?) > > Faith-based schools have a positive role to play in our education system. Disagree > > A same sex couple in a stable, loving relationship, should not be excluded from the possibility of child adoption. Agree > > Pornography, depicting consenting adults, should be legal for the adult population. > Agree > > What goes on in a private bedroom between consenting adults is no business of the state. > Agree > > One day, science may be able to cure homosexuality. Disagree > > (didn’t know it was a disease .–It’s like saying “one day, science may be able to cure the preference for blonde hair in a mate”) > > It’s fine for society to be open about sex, but these days it’s going too far. Disagree ---
**Author:** ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2002, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-internet-questionaire-to-determine-ones-politcal-persuasion/134948/15 "2002-11-03T03:18:08Z")
When my friends and I last took the Political Compass test, there were one or two questions that we were unsure of. But I think that there are enough questions to cancel out any random error due to confusion. Now you see, the kind of question that gets to _me_ is this one: > [@](#): > > Astrology can explain many more things than most people presently realise Disagree Why anyone would not pick Strongly Disagree is beyond me. Come on. Why didn’t you? ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2002, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-internet-questionaire-to-determine-ones-politcal-persuasion/134948/16 "2002-11-03T03:24:32Z")
> [@](#): > > Why anyone would not pick Strongly Disagree is beyond me. Come on. Why didn’t you? I didn’t want to offend anyone. strange, I know, when you consider that I didn’t mind offending religeous nuts with this… > [@](#): > > Religion and morality are inseparable. Strongly disagree > > (I feel strongly about this one. I am not religeous, I am in fact anti-religeon, but I have morals) ---
**Author:** ![Sivalensis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@Sivalensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sivalensis)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2002, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-internet-questionaire-to-determine-ones-politcal-persuasion/134948/17 "2002-11-03T07:41:45Z")
So on the first one, I was only one square off from extreme liberal left. Second one I was smack in the middle of the bottom left square - left/libertarian can’t say I’m surprised at the result 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2002, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-internet-questionaire-to-determine-ones-politcal-persuasion/134948/18 "2002-11-03T07:53:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Lobsang \* > **I didn’t want to offend anyone.** What if I told you that anything less than a vehement and utter dismissal of astrology offends me? ---
**Author:** ![MannyL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@MannyL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MannyL)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2002, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-internet-questionaire-to-determine-ones-politcal-persuasion/134948/19 "2002-11-04T02:03:50Z")
On the second one I was Economic Left/Right: -2.38 Authoritarian/Libertarian: -4.41 ---
**Author:** ![Narile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@Narile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Narile)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2002, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-internet-questionaire-to-determine-ones-politcal-persuasion/134948/20 "2002-11-04T03:44:29Z")
On the second one I am: Economic Left/Right: 2.00 Authoritarian/Libertarian: -1.79 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-internet-questionaire-to-determine-ones-politcal-persuasion/134948.md?page=2)