What Is Your Political Typology?

[BrainGlutton]

@njtt

I got Solid Liberal, though I echo the objections of others to many aspects of this quiz. My being British makes much of it even less applicable than it might be otherwise. Actually, I do not think of myself as a liberal (even in the American sense of that word) but as a democratic socialist, a perfectly respectable, mainstream political option in most of the world, but not, it seems, even an imaginable possibility for the American creators of this poll.

Well, I should think such socialists as we have in America form a subset of the “Solid Liberal” category.

And, that real LP-activist ideological Libertarians form a (small) subset of the “Libertarian” category.

[larryg]

Strong Liberal. How could anyone have possibly responded any differently to the questioned asked?

[Really_Not_All_That_Bright]

Eh. I responded negatively to the one about affirmative action because I think the current level of affirmative action is about right.

[SmartAlecCat]

@RTFirefly

For instance, #4: “The best way to ensure peace is through military strength” v. “Good diplomacy is the best way to ensure peace.” Gimme both, please. I’d rather not use military strength unless there’s no way to avoid it, but I’d like to have it in my back pocket.

The “best way” – would you use pre-emptive war first and foremost, then try diplomacy if that doesn’t work out for you or would you try diplomacy first, then go to war?

[Pleonast]

I came in at Post-Modern, but it’s a loose fit at best. On the “How this group compares to the rest of the country on key issues” table, my answer disagreed with the majority of Post-Moderns on 3 of the 8 issues listed.

Typology like this is like looking for shapes in the clouds.

[Lungfish]

Solid liberal. I am also British so it doesn’t matter.

While fellow Brit, (and Solid Liberal), njtt call themselves a “Democratic Socialist” I call myself Social Democrat.

[BrainGlutton]

@Lungfish

Solid liberal. I am also British so it doesn’t matter.

While fellow Brit, (and Solid Liberal), njtt call themselves a “Democratic Socialist” I call myself Social Democrat.

And American social democrats (or, “progressives”) would be one more subset of the “Solid Liberals.”

[BrainGlutton]

@Pleonast

Typology like this is like looking for shapes in the clouds.

Look, a lot of people in this thread seem to be saying the methodology is amateurish. I don’t think it could be. The Pew Research Center is a highly respected think-tank and has been doing these political-typology studies every few years since 1987. They’ve had plenty of time to refine the methodology. If you want to know more about it, see here and here.

[elucidator]

On the conservative wing of the extreme left. No longer want to burn it all down and start over. Most days, anyway.

[Pleonast]

@BrainGlutton

Look, a lot of people in this thread seem to be saying the methodology is amateurish. I don’t think it could be. The Pew Research Center is a highly respected think-tank and has been doing these political-typology studies every few years since 1987. They’ve had plenty of time to refine the methodology. If you want to know more about it, see here and here.

It’s not amateurish. But the nature of what they’re trying to measure is amorphous. They’ve chosen the boundaries of the shapes they see a certain way. It’s not wrong. But someone else could find different shapes that are just as defensible.

@Pew Research: How We Identified Your Group

Most people, but not all, are good fits for their group. Some patterns of responses to the value questions and party affiliation just do not match up well with any of the groups. The procedure will assign everyone to the group that fits them best, even if they are not a very good fit with any of the groups. And some people may actually be good fits for more than one group, since some of the groups are quite similar in many of their views.

[Gagundathar]

I suppose being a solid liberal is better than being a gaseous one.
I was much more libertarian in my younger years.
I think.

[BrainGlutton]

@Gagundathar

I suppose being a solid liberal is better than being a gaseous one.
I was much more libertarian in my younger years.
I think.

It’s like the '60s – if you can remember being a Libertarian, you never were one.

[pulykamell]

Huh. I got “Solid Liberal”, 14% of the public. I am somewhat surprised, as I feel like I’m more a combination of liberal and libertarian to be considered a “solid liberal,” but I’ll take it.

[Skammer]

Solid Liberal, like 14% of the public and 66.7% of the SDMB.

[magellan01]

I came out Staunch Conservative, but I was unhappy with having to choose between the answers in some questions. I think I’m a little more Libertarian and less Republican.

[Roderick_Femm]

I would call myself libertarian except that now that seems to be a code word for nut job tea-bagger.

I am a social liberal (i.e. keep the government out of my bedroom) and a fiscal conservative (i.e. keep the government out of my wallet, as much as is practicable). I don’t seem to see many others like me, and there doesn’t seem to be any place for us in the current political spectrum.

So I guess I call myself disaffected. Unless that means something completely different from what I think it means.
Roddy

[randompattern]

Disaffected.

[BrainGlutton]

@randompattern

Disaffected.

Now that’s an interesting typology! Interesting strategically because the Disaffecteds and the Bystanders (those Bystanders eligible to vote, that is) are uncommitted voters waiting to be recruited by either or any party, but also interesting sociologically.

Disaffecteds

11% OF ADULT POPULATION /11% OF REGISTERED VOTERS

Basic Description: The most financially stressed of the eight typology groups, Disaffecteds are very critical of both business and government. They are sympathetic to the poor and supportive of social welfare programs. Most are skeptical about immigrants and doubtful that the U.S. can solve its current problems. They are pessimistic about their own financial future.

Defining values: A majority believe that the government is wasteful and inefficient and that regulation does more harm than good. But nearly all say too much power is concentrated in a few companies. Religious and socially conservative.

Who they are: About three-quarters (77%) are non-Hispanic white and two-thirds (66%) have only a high school education or less. Compared with the national average, more are parents (44%). Fully 71% have experienced unemployment in their household in the past 12 months. About half (48%) describe their household as “struggling.”

Lifestyle notes: Only 26% have a U.S. passport. 23% follow NASCAR. 41% did not vote in 2010.

[insert your own Jeff Foxworthy joke here]

[elfkin477]

Libertarian. No big shock there.

[River_Hippie]

Post Modern. According to the survey it’s the youngest leaning of the categories but I’m 56.