Making a map of dopers' political opinions

In My Humble Opinion
81
  1. A
  2. D
  3. D
  4. D
  5. D
  6. D
  7. D
  8. D
  9. D
  10. A
  11. no opinion
  12. no opinion
  13. D
  14. D
  15. no opinion
  16. no opinion
  17. D
  18. D
  19. D
  20. D
  21. A
  22. D
  23. D
  24. D
  25. A
  26. D
  27. A
  28. A
  29. D
  30. D
  31. D
  32. A
  33. D
  34. D
  35. D
  36. no opinion
  37. D
  38. A
  39. A
  40. A
  41. A
  42. no opinion
82
  1. DISAGREE
  2. DISAGREE
  3. AGREE
  4. DISAGREE
  5. DISAGREE
  6. AGREE
  7. SOMEWHAT AGREE
  8. DISAGREE
  9. NEED MORE INFO
  10. NEED MORE INFO
  11. DISAGREE
  12. DISAGREE
  13. DISAGREE
  14. DISAGREE
  15. DISAGREE
  16. NOT SURE
  17. DISAGREE
  18. DISAGREE
  19. DISAGREE
  20. DISAGREE (I don’t ‘enjoy’ it, but it is good to know you are helping the environment)
  21. AGREE
  22. DISAGREE
  23. DISAGREE
  24. DISAGREE
  25. DISAGREE
  26. DISAGREE
  27. DISAGREE
  28. DISAGREE
  29. DISAGREE
  30. AGREE
  31. DISAGREE
  32. AGREE
  33. DISAGREE
  34. DISAGREE
  35. DISAGREE (something can be very good and the best thing to use, yet its still ugly
  36. DISAGREE
  37. DISAGREE
  38. DISAGREE
  39. DISAGREE
  40. AGREE
  41. AGREE (efficient, yes, but perhaps not best system)
  42. AGREE

BTW, when will the data be compiled?

83

Just a note for the people who are discussing these rather than putting agree/disagree. Nobody’s going to read what you have to say, and you’re just making more work for the person who compiles the data. If you feel strongly about it, you might be better off putting in another thread.

  1. D
  2. D
  3. D
  4. A
  5. D
  6. A
  7. D
  8. D
  9. A
  10. A
  11. D
  12. D
  13. D
  14. D
  15. A
  16. A
  17. D
  18. D
  19. D
  20. A
  21. A
  22. A
  23. D
  24. D
  25. A
  26. D
  27. D
  28. A
  29. A
  30. A
  31. D
  32. A
  33. A
  34. D
  35. A
  36. D
  37. D
  38. D
  39. D
  40. A
  41. D
  42. A
84

…but that’s not NEARLY as fun!! :smiley:

85
  1. D
  2. D
  3. D
  4. D
  5. D
  6. A
  7. D
  8. D
  9. A
  10. D
  11. A
  12. D
  13. D
  14. D
  15. D
  16. D
  17. D
  18. D
  19. D
  20. D
  21. D
  22. A
  23. A
  24. A
  25. A
  26. D
  27. D
  28. A
  29. D
  30. A
  31. D
  32. D
  33. D
  34. D
  35. D
  36. D
  37. D
  38. D
  39. D
  40. A
  41. A
  42. A
86

It’s down to how the questions are worded. Question 30 and 31 basically ask if there is any merit at all in modified Socialism/Communism, not whether pure versions represent the ideal political system. Question 2 represents a feature of un-tweaked Communism.

By contrast, question 42 asks if unchecked Capitalism is the best possible system - not whether there is anything to be said for it at all. Probably more people will agree with 30 than with 42, but those who prefer Communism to Capitalism will probably be in the minority.

No problem, it’s a good opportunity to state opinions without having to back them up with facts.

I think that most of the questions need re-wording to take away their ambiguity. Probably because you took them away from their contexts in the original thread, many of them have several possible meanings. This will spoil your results as different people will effectively be answering different questions.

87
  1. People shouldn’t automatically have the right to reproduce
    DISAGREE
  2. Abolish private ownership of income-generating property
    DISAGREE
  3. Most prisons should be closed; give the inmates jobs and counseling
    DISAGREE
  4. Armies should be replaced by lightly armed border guards
    DISAGREE
  5. Fortunes over a million dollars should be confiscated
    DISAGREE
  6. National forests should be offlimits to logging
    DISAGREE
  7. Move to a hydrogen economy
    DISAGREE
  8. People should be allowed to bill companies for time spent on hold
    DISAGREE
  9. Kids of convicts should receive mentoring, tutoring, scholarships, etc
    AGREE (but vague question)
  10. Low income seniors should get free drugs
    AGREE
  11. The world’s institutions are patriarchal (based on male authority)
    AGREE
  12. There is no such thing as “mental illness”
    DISAGREE
  13. There’s no need for a hierarchy of people having authority over others
    DISAGREE
  14. We are weakening our species by allowing defective specimens to survive
    DISAGREE
  15. Spend $ on expansion (into space, oceans) not internal problems
    DISAGREE (vague)
  16. Reach out toward the stars before the earth is rendered unlivable
    DISAGREE (vague)
  17. Guns should be encouraged, and shooting skills should be taught in schools
    DISAGREE
  18. Property tax should be abolished
    DISAGREE
  19. Intellectual property laws hurt humanity as a whole
    DISAGREE
  20. I enjoy riding on public transportation
    AGREE
  21. It’s valid to not want to work
    AGREE (very vague)
  22. God exists
    AGREE
  23. Homosexual behavior is a sin
    DISAGREE
  24. Heaven and Hell exist
    DISAGREE
  25. Underage drinking is wrong
    DISAGREE
  26. Prisons are too luxurious - make them do more hard labor
    DISAGREE
  27. Affirmative Action is racist
    AGREE (vague)
  28. There is no place for guns in a civilized society
    DISAGREE
  29. Communism has some promise with a few tweaks here and there
    DISAGREE
  30. Socialism has some promise with a few tweaks here and there
    DISAGREE
  31. Ararchism has some promise with a few tweaks here and there
    DISAGREE
  32. Libertarianism has some promise with a few tweaks here and there
    DISAGREE
  33. There should be one world government
    DISAGREE (vague)
  34. The government shouldn’t mess with the market
    AGREE
  35. Industrial development, oil rigs, highways, etc aren’t ugly
    AGREE
  36. We should exploit energy reserves in the ANWR
    AGREE
  37. No cause justifies violence
    DISAGREE
  38. No cause justifies vandalism
    AGREE
  39. We should all leave each other completely alone as much as possible
    DISAGREE (vague)
  40. Limiting our individual freedoms will not stop terrorism
    AGREE
  41. Laisse-faire capitalism is the most efficient possible economic system
    DISAGREE
  42. Society shouldn’t starve people into productivity
    AGREE (vague)

I can’t believe this is a meaningful scientific instrument.

88
  1. A
  2. D
  3. A
  4. D
  5. D
  6. A
  7. A
  8. A
  9. A
  10. A
  11. A
  12. A
  13. D
  14. D
  15. D
  16. D
  17. D
  18. D D D D D!
  19. D
  20. A
  21. D
  22. A
  23. D
  24. D
  25. D
  26. D
  27. A
  28. A
  29. A
  30. A
  31. A
  32. D
  33. D
  34. D
  35. D
  36. A
  37. ?
  38. A
  39. D
  40. D
  41. D
  42. A
  43. A

I’ve just gone through this quite quickly and given more a gut reaction, hence please forgive any inconsistencies!

N.

89

Some of these were very weird.

1 d
2 d
3 d
4 n
5 d
7 a
8 ?
9 d
10 a
11 a
12 a
13 d strongly disagree !
14 d
15 d
16 d
17 d
18 a
19 a
20 d
21 a
22 d
23 a
24 d
25 a
26 a
27 d
28 a
29 d
30 d
31 d
32 d
33 d
34 d
35 don’t know enough about it
36 a
37 d
38 d
39 d
40 d
41 a
42 d
43 d

90

1-disagree(we need to kep our rights)
2-disagree
3-disagree!(some people need to be locked up)
4-disagree( no tans?)
5-disagre(ridiculous!)
7-undecided
8-uninformed
9-agree
10-maybe
11-agree
12-agree
13-disagree(there sure is)
14-agree!
15-disagree(who decides?)
16-disagree
17-disagree
18-agree
19-undecided
20-don’t know
21-I have to so- agree
22-disagree
23-agree completely
24-define behavior!
25-agree completely
26-wrong or harmless?
27-disagree
28-nope
29-disagree
30-disagree totally(I’m a Bircher!)
31-disagree, a republic is the way to go
32-disagree’
33-agree
34-no way!(but there will be)
35-does it?
36-agree
37-agree(it s use, not exploit)
38-disagree(I am not a pacifist)
39-agree(laws should be obeyed)
40-disagree
41-disagree(but is it worth it?)
42-do not understand
43-does it?

91
  1. People shouldn’t automatically have the right to reproduce
    DISAGREE
  2. Abolish private ownership of income-generating property
    DISAGREE
  3. Most prisons should be closed; give the inmates jobs and counseling
    DISAGREE
  4. Armies should be replaced by lightly armed border guards
    DISAGREE
  5. Fortunes over a million dollars should be confiscated
    DISAGREE
  6. National forests should be offlimits to logging
    AGREE
  7. Move to a hydrogen economy
    I don’t know what this is. Exchanging hydrogen for goods and services?
  8. People should be allowed to bill companies for time spent on hold
    DISAGREE
  9. Kids of convicts should receive mentoring, tutoring, scholarships, etc
    DISAGREE
  10. Low income seniors should get free drugs
    AGREE (with qualifiers - not all drugs)
  11. The world’s institutions are patriarchal (based on male authority)
    DISAGREE (not all of them)
  12. There is no such thing as “mental illness”
    DISAGREE
  13. There’s no need for a hierarchy of people having authority over others
    DISAGREE
  14. We are weakening our species by allowing defective specimens to survive
    DISAGREE
  15. Spend $ on expansion (into space, oceans) not internal problems
    DISAGREE
  16. Reach out toward the stars before the earth is rendered unlivable
    AGREE
  17. Guns should be encouraged, and shooting skills should be taught in schools
    DISAGREE
  18. Property tax should be abolished
    DISAGREE
  19. Intellectual property laws hurt humanity as a whole
    DISAGREE
  20. I enjoy riding on public transportation
    DISAGREE
  21. It’s valid to not want to work
    AGREE
  22. God exists
    AGREE
  23. Homosexual behavior is a sin
    AGREE
  24. Heaven and Hell exist
    AGREE
  25. Underage drinking is wrong
    AGREE
  26. Prisons are too luxurious - make them do more hard labor
    DISAGREE
  27. Affirmative Action is racist
    AGREE
  28. There is no place for guns in a civilized society
    AGREE
  29. Communism has some promise with a few tweaks here and there
    DISAGREE
  30. Socialism has some promise with a few tweaks here and there
    AGREE
  31. Ararchism has some promise with a few tweaks here and there
    DISAGREE
  32. Libertarianism has some promise with a few tweaks here and there
    DISAGREE
  33. There should be one world government
    DISAGREE
  34. The government shouldn’t mess with the market
    DISAGREE
  35. Industrial development, oil rigs, highways, etc aren’t ugly
    DISAGREE
  36. We should exploit energy reserves in the ANWR
    DISAGREE
  37. No cause justifies violence
    DISAGREE
  38. No cause justifies vandalism
    AGREE
  39. We should all leave each other completely alone as much as possible
    DISAGREE
  40. Limiting our individual freedoms will not stop terrorism
    AGREE
  41. Laisse-faire capitalism is the most efficient possible economic system
    DISAGREE
  42. Society shouldn’t starve people into productivity
    AGREE
92

I agree with:
1, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 17, 22, 28, 31, 34, 41, 43

For most of these questions, of course, a great deal more needs to be said than yes or no.

Hope you’ll post any findings.

93

Cart in the UK does not understand the term “property tax”. Does the UK not have property taxes? (Apologies for the off topic question.)

94
  1. D
  2. D
  3. D
  4. D
  5. D
  6. A
  7. A insofar as this is a technological/economic question - this shouldn’t be a political goal
  8. D
  9. D
  10. D
  11. Depends - many specific ones are, but generally democracies aren’t, and gov’ts aren’t inherently so
  12. D
  13. Depends how you define “authority”, but in general D
  14. D
  15. D
  16. A
  17. D
  18. Depends what it’s being used for, and what other taxes exist - I’d rather have a property tax than an income tax, for instance
  19. D
  20. D - uh, who does?
  21. in theory A, but don’t expect any money (or respect) from me (or anyone else)
  22. A
  23. D
  24. D
  25. D
  26. D to the first, A to the second (i.e. I support prisoners having to labor, whether manually or intellectually if they can, but there should, e.g, be stronger controls against rape)
  27. A
  28. D
  29. D
  30. D
  31. D
  32. A
  33. D
  34. A
  35. D - of course they’re ugly, but what does this have to do with politics?
  36. D
  37. D
  38. A
  39. A, if it’s what I think you’re getting at here (a libertarian angle)
  40. A
  41. A
  42. D, though the phrasing of this question is way too loaded

BTW, ray20, are you coming at this from a scientific perspective and/or background? I find your use of the phrase “opinion space” interesting, as I rarely hear people who aren’t scientists or mathematicians refer to “____ space”, where “____” is a word that doesn’t commonly come before “space”.

95
  1. Seems tempting at times, but disagree
  2. Disagree
  3. Disagree
  4. Disagree
  5. Disagree
  6. Agree
  7. I don’t know what this means.
  8. I like the idea, but it seems impractical. I have to disagree.
  9. Disagree
  10. Disagree
  11. Disagree
  12. Disagree
  13. Disagree
  14. Disagree
  15. Disagree
  16. Agree
  17. Disagree
  18. Disagree
  19. Disagree
  20. Disagree
  21. Disagree
  22. Agree
  23. Disagree
  25. Disagree
  26. Disagree
  27. Disagree
  28. Agree
  29. Strongly Disagree
  30. Strongly Disagree
  31. Strongly Disagree
  32. Strongly Disagree
  33. Disagree
  34. Disagree
  35. Disagree
  37. Disagree
  38. Agree
  39. Agree
  40. Agree
  41. Disagree
  42. Agree
96

I just want to clarify that this excludes the police and army. So if the question means they shouldn’t have guns either, then I disagree.

97
  1. D
  2. D
  3. D
  4. D
  5. D
  6. D
  7. A
  8. D
  9. D
  10. A
  11. A
  12. D
  13. D
  14. D
  15. D
  16. D
  17. D
  18. A
  19. A
  20. A
  21. A
  22. D
  23. D
  24. D
  25. A
  26. A
  27. A
  28. D
  29. A
  30. A
  31. D
  32. A
  33. D
  34. A
  35. D
  36. D
  37. D
  38. A
  39. D
  40. A
  42. A
98

1)D
2) D
3) D
4) D
5) D
7) D
8) D
9) A
10) A
11) A
12) D
13) D
14) D
15) D
16) A
17) A
18) A
19) D
20) D
21) A
22) A
23) A (but this one, I think more than any other, is just a rough opinion)
24) D
25) D
26) D
27) D
28) A
29) D
30) A
31) A
32) A
33) A
34) D
35) D
36) A
37) D
38) D
39) D
40) D
41) A
42) D
43) D

Of what use this is to you, I have absolutely no idea. My only half guess is that you might be trying the equivalent of a double-blind survey here. Bad Idea. Anyway, have fun making sense of all this:)

99
  1. Disagree
  2. Disagree
  3. Disagree
  4. Disagree
  5. Disagree
  6. Disagree
  7. Disagree
  8. Agree
  9. Disagree
  10. Agree
  11. Disagree
  12. Disagree
  13. Disagree
  14. Disagree
  15. Disagree
  16. Disagree
  17. Agree
  18. Agree
  19. Agree
  20. Disagree
  21. Disagree
  22. Agree
  23. Agree
  24. Agree
  25. Agree
  26. Agree
  27. Agree
  28. Disagree
  29. Disagree
  30. Disagree
  31. Disagree
  32. Agree
  33. Disagree
  34. Agree
  35. Agree
  36. Agree
  37. Disagree
  38. Agree
  39. Agree
  40. Agree
  41. Agree
  42. Disagree
100

I’ll chime in as well:

  1. Disagree
  2. Disagree
  3. Disagree
  4. Disagree
  5. Disagree
  6. Disagree
  7. Disagree
  8. Agree I am assuming we use less oil.
  9. Disagree
  10. Agree
  11. Agree
  12. Agree
  13. Disagree
  14. Disagree
  15. Disagree
  16. Disagree Not to the determent of society.
  17. Agree
  18. Disagree
  19. Disagree
  20. Disagree
  21. Disagree
  22. Disagree You just got to work, nothing is free.
  23. Disagree
  24. Disagree
  25. Disagree I wish I knew.
  26. Disagree
  27. Disagree
  28. Disagree
  29. Disagree
  30. Disagree
  31. Disagree
  32. Disagree
  33. Disagree
  34. Disagree
  35. Disagree
  36. Agree They are needed.
  37. Disagree
  38. Disagree
  39. Disagree
  40. Agree
  41. Agree
  42. Disagree You have to watch them so they are honest.
  43. ??? Not sure what this means.