29 May '11 17:59>1 edit
When the subject of defining "liberal" and "conservative" came up in another thread, I was reminded of how a one-dimensional line segment is as a model for political, social and economic attitudes. So, with a little searching, I managed to find a site that I encountered in another forum years ago that spreads matters out over a (two-dimensional) plane, and perhaps it has even come up in this forum before: http://www.politicalcompass.org/index
I took the test and came up with these numbers:
Economic Left/Right: -9.50
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -5.95
I'll have to do a little digging to find out how I fared when I last took the test several years ago, but the outcome was similar. It would be interesting to see where others around here turn up. Who are our Stalins, Thatchers and Gandhis?
This is technically not a debate topic as yet, though the merits of the "compass" model versus the more common "spectrum" model could certainly engender debate. Moreover, all of the debate that goes on around here would have to be, I think, a reflection of the varying coordinates of folks on the plane. It's all mathematics, you see!
I took the test and came up with these numbers:
Economic Left/Right: -9.50
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -5.95
I'll have to do a little digging to find out how I fared when I last took the test several years ago, but the outcome was similar. It would be interesting to see where others around here turn up. Who are our Stalins, Thatchers and Gandhis?
This is technically not a debate topic as yet, though the merits of the "compass" model versus the more common "spectrum" model could certainly engender debate. Moreover, all of the debate that goes on around here would have to be, I think, a reflection of the varying coordinates of folks on the plane. It's all mathematics, you see!