# What is your political typology? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 10, 2011, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-political-typology/581445 "2011-05-10T22:34:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-political-typology/581445/61 "2011-05-13T17:52:48Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > You actually thought that the real world was based on something that simplistic You must be living in backwards-land. ---
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-political-typology/581445/62 "2011-05-13T18:55:47Z")
I got Solid Liberal, but identify more with the Post-Modern group. Dunno. ---
**Author:** ![soulmurk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b782af/32.png) [@soulmurk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/soulmurk)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-political-typology/581445/63 "2011-05-13T19:10:58Z")
I’m disaffected. According to the test and toward it. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-political-typology/581445/64 "2011-05-13T19:23:53Z")
My results were solid liberal - which comes as no surprise to me or anybody who knows me. I guess they didn’t have the category “screaming, raging, furious liberal” listed yet. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2011, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-political-typology/581445/65 "2011-05-18T12:04:31Z")
The point to question pairs like that is that they force you to make distasteful choices that have the only saving grace of being less wrong than the other choice. That’s a perfectly valid technique for exposing preferences, and has some advantages of trying to provide ‘perfect’ choices which may only be perfect for a subset of the population. By making the questions all ‘wrong’ but clearly biased on one side of the spectrum or the other, it forces you to choose philosophically. I did it, and I came out as a libertarian, which I expected. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_fun_ball/32/17664_2.png) [@Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Fun_Ball)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2011, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-political-typology/581445/66 "2011-05-18T13:19:00Z")
Ah well, what a crappy quiz. I new that this was not the real questionnaire they used to create their typology, but I thought it would be a bit more accurate at placing random people into the groups available. But, let’s face it, this quiz sucked. Thanks all for participating. ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2011, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-political-typology/581445/67 "2011-05-18T14:18:52Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > You people think that the silly internet quiz you’re been responding to was the actual survey. What is your basis for saying this? I see people discussing and complaining about the quiz that the OP invited us to take. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2011, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-political-typology/581445/68 "2011-05-18T14:44:35Z")
I think those choices broke a small blood vessel in my left eye. Apparently I’m a _Solid Liberal._ D’allrighty then. Not much for labels though. Is that liberal of me? ---
**Author:** ![rhubarbarin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eb9ed0/32.png) [@rhubarbarin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rhubarbarin)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2011, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-political-typology/581445/69 "2011-05-18T14:52:49Z")
I got Post-Modern. Questions were far too black and white, mostly neither reflected my actual beliefs, but I picked the option I agreed with a tiny bit more. I’ve never registered or voted, but I said I was Independent. [QUOTE] \*\*\*\*What They Believe [ul] [li]Generally supportive of government, though more conservative on race policies and the safety net[/li][li]Strongly supportive of regulation and environmental protection[/li][li]Most (56%) say Wall Street helps the economy more than it hurts[/li][li]Very liberal on social issues, including same-sex marriage[/li][li]One of the least religious groups: nearly a third are unaffiliated with any religious tradition[/li][li]Favor the use of diplomacy rather than force[/li][/ul] **Who They Are** [ul] [li]The youngest of the typology groups: 32% under age 30[/li][li]A majority are non-Hispanic white and have at least some college experience[/li][li]Half live in either the Northeast or the West[/li][li]A majority (58%) live in the suburbs[/li][li]63% use social networking[/li][li]One-in-five regularly listen to NPR; 14% regularly watch The Daily Show[/li][/QUOTE] [/ul] I wouldn’t say I’m supportive of government, especially this government, but I do think anarchy is dumb. Rest is true. And yes, I’m 25, white as snow (no high school or college though), live in PA suburbs, and love Facebook and NPR (don’t watch The Daily Show). ---
**Author:** ![Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brown_eyed_girl/32/3574_2.png) [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2011, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-political-typology/581445/70 "2011-05-18T20:41:03Z")
> [@Fretful\_Porpentine](#): > > Was anybody else bothered by “Racial discrimination is the main reason why many black people can’t get ahead these days” vs. “Blacks who can’t get ahead in this country are mostly responsible for their own condition”? Strictly speaking, I don’t think _either_ of these statements is true (or rather, both might be true for some individuals, but I think there are other, more complicated factors in play, and a lot of them have to do with class rather than race per se). YES! That’s exactly what I was thinking, too! I believe economic factors have a much greater impact on success than race does at this point in time. I could very well be wrong, but I don’t see a whole lot of options for the poorer strata of society. Post-modern. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2011, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-political-typology/581445/71 "2011-05-18T22:15:27Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > Sounds like your answer to “why are they poor?” is “because they are poor.” Yep. Most poor people are poor today because they were poor yesterday. Poverty is a self-perpetuating cycle. Yeah, plenty of people escape poverty, but if it were easy then everyone would do it. Plenty of people are also born stupid and lazy, which is a tough way to go through life. It’s no use expecting people to improve until you change their circumstances, and it’s no use expecting circumstances to change unless people improve. And so we have the sorry spectacle of the last 3000 years of recorded history. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2011, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-political-typology/581445/72 "2011-05-19T19:07:53Z")
I got Libertarian which isn’t terribly surprising though I generally vote republican; that’s what you get on these quizes when you’re disgusted with big government, big business _and_ the vocally religious… ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2011, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-political-typology/581445/73 "2011-05-20T04:53:18Z")
> [@rhubarbarin](#): > > I’ve never registered or voted… That makes you a “bystander.” ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2011, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-political-typology/581445/74 "2011-05-20T06:02:46Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > I got Libertarian which isn’t terribly surprising though I generally vote republican; that’s what you get on these quizes when you’re disgusted with big government, big business _and_ the vocally religious… This is exactly me. ---
**Author:** ![Roland\_Orzabal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c2a13f/32.png) [@Roland\_Orzabal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roland_Orzabal)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2011, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-political-typology/581445/75 "2011-05-20T18:06:04Z")
**Exapno** , what are you on about? The OP invited people to take a an online quiz and report their results. They did. In doing so, many of them pointed out that the quiz is stupid, because it is. Which of those posters are you proposing “thought that the real world was based on something that simplistic”? Near as I can tell, the only one who assigned any of import to any of it was you, and even then that was only because you thought people were discussing some semi-related PDF of typological survey data…which, as you have now noted, they weren’t. The subject of the thread, as specified in the OP, is the 20-question quiz. Which, in turn, is what people are complaining about. And their complaints about it revolve chiefly around the fact, with which you seem to agree, that said quiz is stupid. Minus your own contributions based on a misunderstanding of the thread topic, that’s about the sum total of the discussion. So now that that misunderstanding is cleared up, what’s got you so upset? (Oh, and for the record, Libertarian, which is close enough for horseshoes, but the quiz is still stupid.) ---
**Author:** ![Cyberhwk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7993a0/32.png) [@Cyberhwk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyberhwk)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2011, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-political-typology/581445/76 "2011-05-21T03:39:12Z")
Solid Democrat. Guilty as charged. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-political-typology/581445/77 "2011-05-23T01:40:05Z")
> [@Rhiannon8404](#): > > > [@elfkin477](#): > > > > I got Libertarian which isn’t terribly surprising though I generally vote republican; that’s what you get on these quizes when you’re disgusted with big government, big business _and_ the vocally religious… > > This is exactly me. Do it. Just become Libertarians. You can still vote Republican in close elections. I’ve just officially made the switch recently\*, for many of the same reasons that you two describe. My Grand Old Party has left me, and isn’t my party any more, and so I’ve left them. - I’ve literally joined the party; not just the proclamation that “I’m a Republican” or “I’m a Democrat,” but “I’ve joined the Libertarian Party.” That’s not a guarantee that I won’t vote Republican if the statistics warrant such, but I just can’t publicly associate with them any more. The most shameful facet of that is that it took me so damned long to accept that the GOP has really and truly become what it is. :..-( ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_Stimulus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Digital\_Stimulus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_Stimulus)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-political-typology/581445/78 "2011-05-23T11:14:08Z")
> [@Balthisar](#): > > Do it. Just become Libertarians. You can still vote Republican in close elections. Not to discourage the sentiment in any way as, IMHO, most anything that weakens the stranglehold of the 2 major parties is good, but… In some/many states, registering with another party excludes one from primary voting. As I’m sure you’re well aware, this is a recently much-wielded tactic used by “righter-than-right” conservatives in Republican races (and encouraged by “lefter-than-left” advocates in Democratic races, although without much effect IMHO). And, if the state in which you live is one with closed primaries, it’s not clear to me which is the best strategy for encouraging a party’s “recovery”. If I were in that position – I’m not; according to the quiz, I’m a solid Liberal – I’d probably take your advice. But I also figured I’d note an issue with doing so, for discussion’s sake… ---
**Author:** ![What\_the](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2012, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-political-typology/581445/79 "2012-01-14T12:03:38Z")
Libertarian as I expected. ---
**Author:** ![C.Montgomery\_Burns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecd19e/32.png) [@C.Montgomery\_Burns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C.Montgomery_Burns)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2012, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-political-typology/581445/80 "2012-01-14T13:42:00Z")
Libertarian. In real life, I used to consider myself staunch conservative. However, I’ve become much more libertarian in my views in the last few years. I now consider myself a conservative leaning libertarian. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-political-typology/581445.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-political-typology/581445.md?page=5)