Conservatism Test

[GO-NAD!]

Conservatism Test (idrlabs.com)

While I don't think the questions are sufficiently nuanced to get a true indication of a persons political leanings, it's good enough for shits and giggles. I scored 24%, but I don't think I'm that progressive. YMMV.

 

[Trell]

Conservatism Test (idrlabs.com)

While I don't think the questions are sufficiently nuanced to get a true indication of a persons political leanings, it's good enough for shits and giggles. I scored 24%, but I don't think I'm that progressive. YMMV.

The test seems to be very USA oriented and not really that relevant in other parts of the world, I guess. It’s a narrow view what a conservative is, like the Christian nationalistic right.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

This is bs "test"
"All drugs should be allowed" - what kind of stupid question is that? Some medications/drugs can be harmful. Is Mary Jane should be allowed - sure, should every kid could easily buy H on the next corner - No.
There could not be 100% yes or 100% no answer that could possibly be reasonable here.
The same goes for many other questions.
Just because I think military vets and our flag deserve respect, doesn't make me any conservative.

 

[Trell]

This is bs "test"
"All drugs should be allowed" - what kind of stupid question is that? Some medications/drugs can be harmful. Is Mary Jane should be allowed - sure, should every kid could easily buy H on the next corner - No.
There could not be 100% yes or 100% no answer that could possibly be reasonable here.
The same goes for many other questions.
Just because I think military vets and our flag deserve respect, doesn't make me any conservative.

Agree, and funny enough just selecting the neutral answer in every question will give you a score of “33% Not Conservative”.

 

[GO-NAD!]

This is bs "test"
"All drugs should be allowed" - what kind of stupid question is that? Some medications/drugs can be harmful. Is Mary Jane should be allowed - sure, should every kid could easily buy H on the next corner - No.
There could not be 100% yes or 100% no answer that could possibly be reasonable here.
The same goes for many other questions.

Yep. If one chooses hard disagree as their response, does it mean that all drugs should be illegal? Of course not. If my first post wasn't clear enough - the test is for entertainment purposes only.

Just because I think military vets and our flag deserve respect, doesn't make me any conservative.

As someone who served for 23 years, I don't believe any veteran automatically deserves respect. There are plenty who do, but a not inconsequential number who don't. I wouldn't ask for any more respect than the average person who never served.

 

[its phillip]

Yeah, definitely not a fan of the questions on the test. I know I'm not a conservative though

 

[Trell]

As someone who served for 23 years, I don't believe any veteran automatically deserves respect. There are plenty who do, but a not inconsequential number who don't. I wouldn't ask for any more respect than the average person who never served.

And then there are countries that have conscripted military service. No automatic respect there either.

 

[highfigh]

I just re-tested and got a 0% Conservative rating by strongly agreeing or disagreeing. no middle ground.

Yep. If one chooses hard disagree as their response, does it mean that all drugs should be illegal? Of course not. If my first post wasn't clear enough - the test is for entertainment purposes only.

As someone who served for 23 years, I don't believe any veteran automatically deserves respect. There are plenty who do, but a not inconsequential number who don't. I wouldn't ask for any more respect than the average person who never served.

I just tested at 66% Conservative by picking without any strong agreement or disagreement (not middle) and 16% not Conservative by doing the same, in the opposite direction. I also tested as 0% on each side by strongly agreeing or disagreeing with the appropriate questions.

What's wrong with being tough on crime? Not all crimes deserve the harshest penalties, but a 'no/minor penalty' system doesn't work, either.

WRT the question "Our nation primarily exists for the benefit of its own people"- at some level, if it doesn't, what's the point? People have always banded together for their common good forever- a nation is just on a much larger scale. Many nations were formed as a pretense for maintaining the wealth of the people at the top (kings, dictators, etc) but that's not what's supposed to happen in a Democracy.

Too bad it doesn't always work this way, in practice.

 

[Trell]

I just re-tested and got a 0% Conservative rating by strongly agreeing or disagreeing. no middle ground.



I just tested at 66% Conservative by picking without any strong agreement or disagreement and 16% not Conservative by doing the same, in the opposite direction. I also tested as 0% on each side by strongly agreeing or disagreeing with the appropriate questions.

What's wrong with being tough on crime? Not all crimes deserve the harshest penalties, but a 'no/minor penalty' system doesn't work, either.

WRT the question "Our nation primarily exists for the benefit of its own people"- at some level, if it doesn't, what's the point? People have always banded together for their common good forever- a nation is just on a much larger scale. Many nations were formed as a pretense for maintaining the wealth of the people at the top (kings, dictators, etc) but that's not what's supposed to happen in a Democracy.

Too bad it doesn't always work this way, in practice.

The middle ground will make you only 33% Conservative in this questionnaire.

 

[highfigh]

The middle ground will make you only 33% Conservative in this questionnaire.

I edited the post, to show that I didn't mean using the middle.

 

[GO-NAD!]

I just re-tested and got a 0% Conservative rating by strongly agreeing or disagreeing. no middle ground.



I just tested at 66% Conservative by picking without any strong agreement or disagreement (not middle) and 16% not Conservative by doing the same, in the opposite direction. I also tested as 0% on each side by strongly agreeing or disagreeing with the appropriate questions.

What's wrong with being tough on crime? Not all crimes deserve the harshest penalties, but a 'no/minor penalty' system doesn't work, either.

WRT the question "Our nation primarily exists for the benefit of its own people"- at some level, if it doesn't, what's the point? People have always banded together for their common good forever- a nation is just on a much larger scale. Many nations were formed as a pretense for maintaining the wealth of the people at the top (kings, dictators, etc) but that's not what's supposed to happen in a Democracy.

Too bad it doesn't always work this way, in practice.

I would suggest that the phrase "tough on crime" is simplistic in that such policies don't tend to be applied fairly. White collar criminals get away scot-free and can have a disproportionately negative effect on society than an individual burglar.

In other words it's a poorly phrased question and red meat for conservatives, which is probably why it was included.

 

[Swerd]

I just took that test. I was curious to see what it's about. With only 18 questions, it tended to paint with a broad brush, without allowing for different shades of opinion. Most of the questions were what I call 'loaded questions', because they are currently in the news, but are mostly superficial.

The main reason I'm posting is the use of the word 'conservative'. On our political spectrum, this word is misused if it describes the right-wing GOP we see today. It's not conservative at all. 'Conservatism' advocates non-radical or non-extreme positions and preferences. 'Radicalism' is the opposite, advocating drastic changes. Radicalism can be either on the far left or the far right. For example, it's radical to propose that the First Amendment of the Constitution be overturned or ignored.

I strongly oppose all forms of radicalism in this country.

 

[Mr._Clark]

The two axis "Political Compass" approach has some appeal because it's less simplistic, but the basis for it is not well defined.

>>>The underlying theory of the political model used by The Political Compass is that political ideology may be better measured along two separate, independent axes. The economic (left–right) axis measures one's opinion of how the economy should be run. "Left" is defined as the desire for the economy to be run by a cooperative collective agency, which can mean the state but also a network of communes, while "right" is defined as the desire for the economy to be left to the devices of competing individuals and organizations.[10]

The other axis (authoritarian–libertarian) measures one's political opinions in a social sense, regarding the amount of personal freedom that one would allow. "Libertarianism" is defined as the belief that personal freedom should be maximised, while "authoritarianism" is defined as the belief that authority should be obeyed. This makes it possible to divide people into four quadrants: authoritarian left (marked by red and placed in the top left), authoritarian right (blue in the top right), libertarian right (yellow or purple in the bottom right), and libertarian left (green in the bottom left). The makers of the Political Compass say that the quadrants "are not separate categories, but regions on a continuum".<<<

The Political Compass - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Pew Research has a quiz that puts people into one of nine political typologies.

Political Typology Quiz

Take our quiz to find out which one of our nine political typology groups is your best match.

www.pewresearch.org

I'm sure these types of quizzes provide some information, but (as others have noted) the questions often involve a forced choice between two simplistic alternatives. "Evaluating the evidence and making a rational choice based on the available evidence" is never an answer in the world of putting people into little boxes.

 

[panteragstk]

The two axis "Political Compass" approach has some appeal because it's less simplistic, but the basis for it is not well defined.

>>>The underlying theory of the political model used by The Political Compass is that political ideology may be better measured along two separate, independent axes. The economic (left–right) axis measures one's opinion of how the economy should be run. "Left" is defined as the desire for the economy to be run by a cooperative collective agency, which can mean the state but also a network of communes, while "right" is defined as the desire for the economy to be left to the devices of competing individuals and organizations.[10]

The other axis (authoritarian–libertarian) measures one's political opinions in a social sense, regarding the amount of personal freedom that one would allow. "Libertarianism" is defined as the belief that personal freedom should be maximised, while "authoritarianism" is defined as the belief that authority should be obeyed. This makes it possible to divide people into four quadrants: authoritarian left (marked by red and placed in the top left), authoritarian right (blue in the top right), libertarian right (yellow or purple in the bottom right), and libertarian left (green in the bottom left). The makers of the Political Compass say that the quadrants "are not separate categories, but regions on a continuum".<<<

The Political Compass - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Pew Research has a quiz that puts people into one of nine political typologies.

Political Typology Quiz

Take our quiz to find out which one of our nine political typology groups is your best match.

www.pewresearch.org

I'm sure these types of quizzes provide some information, but (as others have noted) the questions often involve a forced choice between two simplistic alternatives. "Evaluating the evidence and making a rational choice based on the available evidence" is never an answer in the world of putting people into little boxes.

I got outsider left from that quiz. Tracks about right. Some things I'm conservative on, some things I'm not. Just depends on the issue.

 

[GO-NAD!]

I got outsider left from that quiz. Tracks about right. Some things I'm conservative on, some things I'm not. Just depends on the issue.

The PEW Research quiz is tailored for Americans, but I gave it a shot anyway. Again, the questions tend to be too black and white for my liking. For example, the first question:

If you had to choose, would you rather have…
A smaller government providing fewer services.
OR
A larger government providing more services.

I'm not philosophically wedded to small or large government. I just think government should provide the services that private enterprise cannot or will not provide efficiently or fairly, or is simply uninterested in providing. But, forced to choose, I had to go with "larger government".

My answers resulted in me being labeled an "Establishment Liberal" which - as with the quiz I posted - I don't think accurately reflects of my political leanings. But then, the political centre in the US is further to the right than most other liberal* democracies, which can skew the results.

*Liberal in the classic sense.

 

[Trell]

My answers resulted in me being labeled an "Establishment Liberal" which - as with the quiz I posted - I don't think accurately reflects of my political leanings. But then, the political centre in the US is further to the right than most other liberal* democracies, which can skew the results.

Same label for me, and does not reflect my political views accurately as well. The US right is quite to the right of mainstream center-right over here. There is even a sizable minority in GOP I think of as fascist or authoritarian.

 

[highfigh]

I would suggest that the phrase "tough on crime" is simplistic in that such policies don't tend to be applied fairly. White collar criminals get away scot-free and can have a disproportionately negative effect on society than an individual burglar.

In other words it's a poorly phrased question and red meat for conservatives, which is probably why it was included.

It's simplistic AND effective, same as the questions about country, soldiers and flag- you have to know that some people have a visceral reaction when they see comments about caring about those three. Using 'all' in other questions isn't any better but how questions are worded yields the results desired by the creators of these tests and polls.

However, a reasonable person knows that countries and soldiers have done terrible things, and the bad ones deserve neither respect nor veneration. When one country plants a flag in a foreign country, it usually means someone is getting their butt kicked, or worse.

Using "Our country" and "Our nation' in the questions is very polarizing- not saying everyone should be goose-stepping down the street, chanting and singing the praises of their country every time they open their mouths, but having an 'everyone for themselves' attitude doesn't work.

But let me ask this- if they're not trying to detect conservatism, how SHOULD they have asked that question?

Why aim your snide comment at someone on a forum? What would you like me to do about it? Maybe you could look at this from top to bottom- start at the highest levels of government and then consider who's paying the highest price- taxpayers. Huge corporations that need to be bailed out should fail on their own and their victims should be compensated instead of the executives who caused the damage. If they were such impressive managers and executives, none of those failures should have happened but they had friends in high places.

 

[highfigh]

The PEW Research quiz is tailored for Americans, but I gave it a shot anyway. Again, the questions tend to be too black and white for my liking. For example, the first question:



I'm not philosophically wedded to small or large government. I just think government should provide the services that private enterprise cannot or will not provide efficiently or fairly, or is simply uninterested in providing. But, forced to choose, I had to go with "larger government".

My answers resulted in me being labeled an "Establishment Liberal" which - as with the quiz I posted - I don't think accurately reflects of my political leanings. But then, the political centre in the US is further to the right than most other liberal* democracies, which can skew the results.

*Liberal in the classic sense.

I think people should be skeptical of their government, but not to the point of causing stagnation due to opting for resistance over progress.

I watched a show with George Will on Sunday and he was asked what he would do if he were President- his first comment was "I would lower the temperature in the US" regarding politics. I definitely agree with that.

 

[GO-NAD!]

But let me ask this- if they're not trying to detect conservatism, how SHOULD they have asked that question?

Well, if they were interested in accurate/useful responses, they could offer options to choose from. If I completely disagree with the statement, "I prefer a government that is tough on crime", it doesn't mean I think the government shouldn't do anything about crime.

Why aim your snide comment at someone on a forum?

My comment wasn't intended to be snide, but if that's the way you perceived it, I apologize.

What would you like me to do about it?

With reference to...?

 

[GO-NAD!]

I think people should be skeptical of their government, but not to the point of causing stagnation due to opting for resistance over progress.

I watched a show with George Will on Sunday and he was asked what he would do if he were President- his first comment was "I would lower the temperature in the US" regarding politics. I definitely agree with that.

Did George say how he would lower the temperature? I'm curious, because it's getting hotter up here, as well.