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You are here: Home / Politics / Just So You Know What You are Getting Here

Just So You Know What You are Getting Here

by John Cole|  September 23, 20051:31 pm| 126 Comments

This post is in: Politics

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Another political test. Another predictable result (take the test yourself and post your results on your site, and put a link in thecomments, and I will post em- if you don’t have a site, try cutting and pasting the code into the comments here):

You are a

Social Liberal
(70% permissive)

and an…

Economic Conservative
(73% permissive)

You are best described as a:

Libertarian

Link: The Politics Test on Ok Cupid

Not surprised at all.

Other results:

Mr. Furious
Oliver Willis
Vista
Masson
Andy at the World Wide Rant
Too Drunk to Fish (which, if my fishing escapades 0f the past are any indication, is damned drunk)
My Life in Heck
Southern Appeal
Reasonably Ascertainable Reality
Crooks and Liars
PsychoPolitik

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Previous Post: « One of Those Days
Next Post: Breached Again »

Reader Interactions

126Comments

  1. 1.

    Rick

    September 23, 2005 at 1:40 pm

    Whoo-hooo! —

    You are a

    Social Conservative
    (38% permissive)

    and an…

    Economic Conservative
    (75% permissive)

    You are best described as a:

    Republican

    You exhibit a very well-developed sense of Right and Wrong and believe in economic fairness. loc: (-44,

    Safe at home!!!

    Cordially…

  2. 2.

    Krista

    September 23, 2005 at 1:48 pm

    You are a

    Social Liberal
    (80% permissive)

    and an…

    Economic Liberal
    (21% permissive)

    You are best described as a:

    Socialist

  3. 3.

    Buckaroo

    September 23, 2005 at 1:51 pm

    Wow, very similar:
    You are a Social Liberal (73% permissive) and an… Economic Conservative (65% permissive) You are best described as a: Libertarian Link: The Politics Test on Ok Cupid

  4. 4.

    Defense Guy

    September 23, 2005 at 1:51 pm

    Social Liberal
    70% Permissive

    Economic Conservative
    68% permissive

    Libertarian

    You exhibit a very well-developed sense of Right and Wrong and believe in economic fairness.

    Frankly, I think I was robbed.

  5. 5.

    Cubs suck, still grateful

    September 23, 2005 at 1:51 pm

    You are a

    Social Liberal
    (78% permissive)

    and an…

    Economic Liberal
    (15% permissive)

    You are best described as a:

    Socialist

    You exhibit a very well-developed sense of Right and Wrong and believe in economic fairness

    OK, the description is dead on; right wrong blah blah. but, i am not a socialist. I am just a realistic idealist that tends to think like a socialist:) i realize that we will always have a class structure and that there will never be a level playing field, I just expect the worst off in our society to have a decent life. I believe in the free market, but I also believe that society (government) needs to practice a little social engineering now and again. The free market is about making money, it needs a counterweight. So, I am not a Socialist, i am more of a socialist.

  6. 6.

    TexasMike

    September 23, 2005 at 1:53 pm

    You are a Social Liberal (80% permissive) and an… Economic Liberal (31% permissive) You are best described as a: Strong Democrat Link: The Politics Test on Ok Cupid

  7. 7.

    Mike S

    September 23, 2005 at 1:57 pm

    Sounds about right.

    You are a

    Social Liberal
    (78% permissive)

    and an…

    Economic Liberal
    (26% permissive)

    You are best described as a:

    Strong Democrat

    You exhibit a very well-developed sense of Right and Wrong and believe in economic fairness. loc: (105, -88)
    modscore: (16, 47)
    raw: (2044)

  8. 8.

    Another Jeff

    September 23, 2005 at 1:57 pm

    There was some radio guy on in PHilly (not just in Philly, i think he was national but you can’t get him here anymore) a few years ago named Phil Henry or something like that, and he used to say that a Libertarian is just a Republican that smokes weed.

  9. 9.

    srv

    September 23, 2005 at 1:58 pm

    Social Liberal (78% permissive)
    Economic Conservative (63% permissive)

    You are best described as a: Libertarian

    Not as close to anarcho-capitalist as I’d want. Will work on that.

  10. 10.

    Steve

    September 23, 2005 at 2:01 pm

    You are a

    Social Liberal
    (66% permissive)

    and an…

    Economic Liberal
    (33% permissive)

    You are best described as a:

    Democrat

    You exhibit a very well-developed sense of Right and Wrong and believe in economic fairness.

  11. 11.

    Buckaroo

    September 23, 2005 at 2:02 pm

    There was some radio guy on in PHilly (not just in Philly, i think he was national but you can’t get him here anymore) a few years ago named Phil Henry or something like that, and he used to say that a Libertarian is just a Republican that smokes weed.

    or a cheap Democrat…

  12. 12.

    Mike S

    September 23, 2005 at 2:09 pm

    Phil Henry is on KFI in Los Angeles now.

  13. 13.

    TallDave

    September 23, 2005 at 2:17 pm

    LOL I just wonder what John Cole answered for:

    It should be legal for two consenting adults to challenge each other to a duel and fight a Death Match.

  14. 14.

    Nick

    September 23, 2005 at 2:18 pm

    http://nickshead.blogspot.com/2005/09/try-this.html

    Socialist, bah. I’m all for what works on paper and is executable in the real world. I’m a pissed off idealist, but if how I answered is the true mark of the definition, than a socialist I must be.

  15. 15.

    KC

    September 23, 2005 at 2:18 pm

    You are a

    Social Liberal
    (68% permissive)

    and an…

    Economic Liberal
    (31% permissive)

    You are best described as a:

    Democrat

    Good thing I switched parties to years ago then.

  16. 16.

    TallDave

    September 23, 2005 at 2:19 pm

    Another Jeff,

    Hehe, that reminds me of the old saw “A Democrat is just a Communist without the courage of his convictions.”

  17. 17.

    metalgrid

    September 23, 2005 at 2:21 pm

    You are a Social Liberal (80% permissive) and an… Economic Conservative (76% permissive) You are best described as a: Libertarian Link: The Politics Test on OkCupid Free Online Dating

  18. 18.

    circlethewagons

    September 23, 2005 at 2:21 pm

    Like srv, shooting for the anarcho-capitalist sweetspot.
    Social Liberal and Economic Moderate instead.

    Bummer.

  19. 19.

    TallDave

    September 23, 2005 at 2:25 pm

    You are a

    Social Liberal
    (65% permissive)
    and an…
    Economic Conservative
    (73% permissive)
    You are best described as a:
    Libertarian
    You exhibit a very well-developed sense of Right and Wrong and believe in economic fairness.

    Not a surprise.

  20. 20.

    jg

    September 23, 2005 at 2:27 pm

    I always said that a democrat is a republican who hasn’t been mugged yet. The test is blocked at work, I’l do it later.

  21. 21.

    Doug

    September 23, 2005 at 2:27 pm

    Results posted at my blog but the short version:

    Social Liberal (78%)/Economic Conservative (81%)

    (Or, to quote Guns ‘N Roses, “You can have anything you want, but you better not take it from me.”)

  22. 22.

    metalgrid

    September 23, 2005 at 2:28 pm

    I don’t particularly know how well the ‘fascist’ part fits in the fringes of Republicanism. Capitalism (in the sense of free-markets) cannot exist in a socially restricted setting, unless they take capitalism to mean crony-capitalism which seems to be predominant force in the current climate.

  23. 23.

    Mr.Ortiz

    September 23, 2005 at 2:37 pm

    Anyone know who’s face that is between Hillary Clinton and MLK Jr.? That’s where I fell (Strong Democrat, 80% Socially Permissive, 35% Economic).

  24. 24.

    Another Jeff

    September 23, 2005 at 2:39 pm

    Some of those questions were bizarre. I mean, i was just thinking the other day how fucking mad it makes me when people name their kid Charm or Sunshine.

    And what about the one “protesters do more harm than good”. Well, it depends on who is protesting, how they’re protesting, and what they’re protesting.

    Besides the four choices, they also need a “this is a stupid fucking question with multiple answers possible” selection.

  25. 25.

    Oh,Boy.Stupidity!

    September 23, 2005 at 2:44 pm

    The test was moronic and vague. (See Another Jeff for reasons why) And why does the famous people part of the grid have Adam Sandler as some rock solid democrat and Bill O’Reilly as a staunch conservative? O’Reilly holds a ton of liberal positions.

    My results: You are a

    Social Liberal
    (66% permissive)

    and an…

    Economic Conservative
    (81% permissive)

    You are best described as a:

    Libertarian

    You exhibit a very well-developed sense of Right and Wrong and believe in economic fairness. loc: (62, 118)
    modscore: (49, 40)

  26. 26.

    TallDave

    September 23, 2005 at 2:45 pm

    Yeah, these tests are always vague.

  27. 27.

    TallDave

    September 23, 2005 at 2:45 pm

    Yeah, these tests are always vague.

  28. 28.

    Clever

    September 23, 2005 at 2:50 pm

    Social Liberal
    (75% permissive)
    and an…
    Economic Liberal
    (18% permissive)
    You are best described as a:
    Socialist

    Eh, I’ve been called worse. I do have a disconnect between ideology and reality, so I’m not sure if I could be considered a purebread socialist…just think tax dollars could be spent on things for the public good instead of “Don Young’s Way”. God that guy is an asshat.

  29. 29.

    Dave Straub

    September 23, 2005 at 2:53 pm

    No shock here:

    You are a Social Liberal (88% permissive)

    and an…

    Economic Conservative (80% permissive)

    You are best described as a: Libertarian

    You exhibit a very well-developed sense of Right and Wrong and believe in economic fairness.

  30. 30.

    Lines

    September 23, 2005 at 2:54 pm

    Social Liberal
    (78% permissive)

    and an…

    Economic Liberal
    (18% permissive)

    You are best described as a:

    Socialist

  31. 31.

    circlethewagons

    September 23, 2005 at 3:05 pm

    It should be legal for two consenting adults to challenge each other to a duel and fight a Death Match

    Hell yes (Strongly agree)!

    Funny how everyone seems to have a “very well-developed sense of right and wrong…” in this test.

    Me, I was hoping to get “you have no moral character whatsoever”.

  32. 32.

    tBone

    September 23, 2005 at 3:10 pm

    Funny how everyone seems to have a “very well-developed sense of right and wrong…” in this test.

    You probably get a different answer if you end up in the centrist circle. Something like “You are a moral coward with no real convictions. Grow a backbone, loser.”

  33. 33.

    Dave Ruddell

    September 23, 2005 at 3:11 pm

    You are a

    Social Liberal
    (65% permissive)
    and an…
    Economic Moderate
    (50% permissive)
    You are best described as a:
    Centrist

    Oh yeah baby, right down the middle! Questuion is, why the hell is Adam Sandler the representative face of my political leanings?

  34. 34.

    Sandi

    September 23, 2005 at 3:15 pm

    Same as Cole… No wonder I agree with you most of the time.

    Social Liberal
    (70% permissive)

    and an…

    Economic Conservative
    (73% permissive)

    You are best described as a:

    Libertarian

  35. 35.

    Sandi

    September 23, 2005 at 3:17 pm

    Oops! the link:
    Vista On Current Events

  36. 36.

    Mr Furious

    September 23, 2005 at 3:18 pm

    You are a
    Social Liberal (76% permissive)

    and an…
    Economic Liberal (13% permissive)

    You are best described as a: Socialist

    Due south of Cole. Frankly, I’m a bit deeper into the socialist area than I anticipated.

    Here’s the pretty colors and charts.

  37. 37.

    John S.

    September 23, 2005 at 3:21 pm

    You are a

    Social Moderate
    (43% permissive)

    and an…

    Economic Liberal
    (25% permissive)

    You are best described as a:

    Democrat

    You exhibit a very well-developed sense of Right and Wrong and believe in economic fairness.

  38. 38.

    summr

    September 23, 2005 at 3:22 pm

    You are a
    Social Liberal
    (83% permissive)

    and an…
    Economic Liberal
    (11% permissive)

    You are best described as a:

    Socialist

    You exhibit a very well-developed sense of Right and Wrong and believe in economic fairness.

    Oh well, ignore my suggestions about taxes from here on in :-).

  39. 39.

    Krista

    September 23, 2005 at 3:29 pm

    Yeah, I’m also of the opinion that a free market is an excellent thing, but that people who aren’t successful shouldn’t just be left to starve and die, either. And I definitely think that if someone needs a life-saving operation, they should have it, regardless of ability to pay.

  40. 40.

    John Cole

    September 23, 2005 at 3:39 pm

    LOL I just wonder what John Cole answered for:

    It should be legal for two consenting adults to challenge each other to a duel and fight a Death Match.

    I just said disagree. Strongly disagree is for letting people kill those who don’t put themselves ina position to end up dead (I think we call them ‘innoncents.’). But if two morons try to off each other, I am hard pressed to get the vapors. Just thinking it is wrong is enough for me.

  41. 41.

    andy

    September 23, 2005 at 3:47 pm

    Here’s mine from a couple of days ago.

    http://www.worldwiderant.com/archives/003452.html

  42. 42.

    M. Scott Eiland

    September 23, 2005 at 3:51 pm

    61% Social, 85% economic–Capitalist.

    No great shock there. . .

  43. 43.

    Mosby

    September 23, 2005 at 3:52 pm

    You are a

    Social Liberal
    (78% permissive)

    and an…

    Economic Liberal
    (21% permissive)

    You are best described as a:

    Socialist

    Never really thought of myself as a socialist. Got to get a friend of mine to try this. He is so far left he has wrapped around to libertarion.

  44. 44.

    ppGaz

    September 23, 2005 at 3:53 pm

    You are a

    Social Liberal
    (76% permissive)

    and an…

    Economic Liberal
    (36% permissive)

    You are best described as a:

    Democrat

    You exhibit a very well-developed sense of Right and Wrong and believe in economic fairness. loc: (99, -50)
    modscore: (22, 46)
    raw: (2643)

  45. 45.

    StupidityRules

    September 23, 2005 at 3:53 pm

    You are a

    Social Conservative
    (10% permissive)

    and an…

    Economic Conservative
    (95% permissive)

    You are best described as a:

    Fascist

    You exhibit a very well-developed sense of Right and Wrong and believe in economic fairness.

    Ooops.

    Actually it’s more like:

    You are a

    Social Liberal
    (75% permissive)

    and an…

    Economic Liberal
    (18% permissive)

    You are best described as a:

    Socialist

    You exhibit a very well-developed sense of Right and Wrong and believe in economic fairness.

    Fascists believe in economic fairness?

    Unlike some commenters here the test actually is able to put facists and anarcist correctly on a political map…

  46. 46.

    Glitch

    September 23, 2005 at 3:54 pm

    Social: 76% permissive
    Economic: 80% permissive

    Not quite as far out in anarcho-capitalist territory as I thought I’d be, but I’m proud of myself nonetheless. As others have stated, some of the questions were rather odd.

    Also, why is Darth Vader down by Stalin? If anything, the Galactic Empire appeared to be business-friendly. Not to be too big a nerd, but in much of the extended universe material I thought the Empire was depicted as being run by a bunch of power-mad, free-trade loving local despots, all being held in line by Palpatine. Also, in the EU material a lot of the lesser tasks in the Galactic military were subcontracted out. After all, since the Empire is modeled after Rome, it stands to reason that the closest analogue for for the auxilia (who were almost universally foreigners) would be private contractors. Maybe my memory is faulty.

  47. 47.

    Tony Alva

    September 23, 2005 at 3:58 pm

    Social Moderate
    (41% premissive)

    Economic Moderate
    (43% permissive)

    You are best described as a:

    CENTRIST

    You exhibit a very well-developed sense of Right and Wrong and believe in economic fairness.

    Glad to get this validation, I can go home now.

  48. 48.

    rayabacus

    September 23, 2005 at 4:01 pm

    Affirms what I thought I was.

    You are a Social Liberal (83% permissive)and an… Economic Conservative (88% permissive)You are best described as a: Libertarian Link: The Politics Test on OkCupid Free Online Dating

  49. 49.

    physics geek

    September 23, 2005 at 4:01 pm

    61% social, 83% economic: Capitalist. I’m shocked. Shocked! I tell you.

  50. 50.

    Buckaroo

    September 23, 2005 at 4:05 pm

    Wow, close to what I imagined…

    You are a Social Moderate (50% permissive) and an… Economic Conservative (66% permissive) You are best described as a: Centrist Link: The Politics Test on Ok Cupid

  51. 51.

    Just Some Guy

    September 23, 2005 at 4:16 pm

    You are a Social Liberal
    (88% permissive)

    and an…

    Economic Conservative
    (60% permissive)

    If Hamilton and Burr can duel to the death, why can’t we?

  52. 52.

    jg

    September 23, 2005 at 4:29 pm

    You are a Social Liberal (61% permissive) and an... Economic Moderate (43% permissive) You are best described as a: Centrist Link: The Politics Test on Ok Cupid

  53. 53.

    Jeff

    September 23, 2005 at 4:38 pm

    Here’s mine:

    http://toodrunktofish.net/?p=5

  54. 54.

    srv

    September 23, 2005 at 4:44 pm

    As many have theorized, the blogosphere is filled with Libertarians. But they all apparently vote Republican.

    I wanted to have a voting station at my place once, but they said I couldn’t have the Twister game out front for them to practice on.

  55. 55.

    Gary

    September 23, 2005 at 5:06 pm

    My Life In Heck

  56. 56.

    Patrick Carver

    September 23, 2005 at 5:09 pm

    Here’s my results

    You are a

    Social Conservative
    (30% permissive)

    and an…

    Economic Conservative
    (95% permissive)

    You are best described as a: Strong Republican

    Me: 30% socially permissive? I’m getting all squishy. My Jerry Falwell mind control device must be malfunctioning.

  57. 57.

    CalDevil

    September 23, 2005 at 5:24 pm

    You are a Social Liberal (73% permissive)and an... Economic Conservative (81% permissive)You are best described as a: Libertarian Link: The Politics Test on OkCupid Free Online Dating

  58. 58.

    CalDevil

    September 23, 2005 at 5:25 pm

    You are a Social Liberal (73% permissive)and an… Economic Conservative (81% permissive)You are best described as a: Libertarian Link: The Politics Test on OkCupid Free Online Dating

  59. 59.

    quackquack

    September 23, 2005 at 5:29 pm

    I do not believe in these tests. How is it that Fascists are almost completely in the Capitalist category? Sure, they may have been Corporatists, but Fascists are more influenced by socialism than capitalism as a central government controls industry (sounds more like communism to me).

    I know that it is all for shits and giggles, but I think that it is a bit skewed. I also remember an OKCupid politics quiz that placed John Kerry as a dead centrist.

  60. 60.

    quackquack

    September 23, 2005 at 5:30 pm

    And since when did socialism become economically “liberal”?

  61. 61.

    JWeidner

    September 23, 2005 at 5:36 pm

    Aparently I’m a socialist. Whatever.

  62. 62.

    quackquack

    September 23, 2005 at 5:46 pm

    You are a Social Conservative (31% permissive) and an… Economic Conservative (85% permissive) You are best described as a: Strong Republican Link: The Politics Test on Ok Cupid

    Alright, I took it, though I do believe that the questions were a bit leading. At least there were no questions like “Do you believe in globalization or workers rights?”. I am a bit more socially permissive than it leads me to be. For example, I am a pornaholic and like to booze heavily.

  63. 63.

    Another Jeff

    September 23, 2005 at 5:51 pm

    srv Says:

    As many have theorized, the blogosphere is filled with Libertarians. But they all apparently vote Republican.

    I wanted to have a voting station at my place once, but they said I couldn’t have the Twister game out front for them to practice on.

    All that was missing from that last paragraph was a “thank you, I’ll be here all week. Try the veal.”

    srv does actually make a good point. Those of us who voted for Bush (i did in 2000, not 2004. I voted for the Libertarian in 2004, even though he was a blithering idiot. I just couldn’t vote for either Bush or Kerry and feel good about it. Not that i felt all that good about voting for Bednarik or whatever the flakes name was) and were rated as socially liberal but fiscally conservative voted for a guy who is the exact opposite.

  64. 64.

    Tim F

    September 23, 2005 at 6:25 pm

    I didn’t keep my numbers, but it surprises me to find myself labeled a ‘socialist’ and then have my data point hover directly over Hillary Clinton. For one thing I’m far from a socialist, and for another so is Hillary.

  65. 65.

    stickler

    September 23, 2005 at 6:29 pm

    The “test” is a disaster. Vague, misleading questions; arbitrary and very suspect categories; questionable judgements about party affiliation. Hell, would Tom DeLay and his spending priorities fit in this test’s vision of “Republican?”

    But I have to go after this:

    How is it that Fascists are almost completely in the Capitalist category? Sure, they may have been Corporatists, but Fascists are more influenced by socialism than capitalism as a central government controls industry (sounds more like communism to me).

    Let’s clear a few things up about Fascism, as it appeared in Europe in the 1930s. Yes, Fascists talked a good game about restricting the capitalist system. Yes, the Nazis were National Socialists. But no, the central government didn’t “control” industry like you saw in Communism — not in Italy and not in Germany. Until the outbreak of war, you might almost say that business and the State had a very cozy Joint Operating Agreement. Taxes on some industries were actually cut under Hitler; big private firms got whopping huge government contracts; labor unions were crushed and strikes abolished. Even after the outbreak of war, private industry marched hand in hand with the State, and profited handsomely from its wartime activities.

  66. 66.

    Katinula

    September 23, 2005 at 6:31 pm

    http://reasonablyascertainablereality.blogspot.com/2005/09/what-are-you.html

    Not too shocking I guess. I always feel so violated after these damn quizzes!

  67. 67.

    Mike S

    September 23, 2005 at 6:36 pm

    Totalitarians are the extreme right, just as communists are the extreme left. I don’t have time to retake the test but I would think that even a mid level econ conservative with a very impermissive social score would be in the totalitarian or fascist area.

  68. 68.

    quackquack

    September 23, 2005 at 6:48 pm

    Totalitarians are the extreme right, just as communists are the extreme left.

    I don’t believe that. You could have a totalitarian state that is communist.

    And I do appreciate your insite stickler, but if you remember correctly, there were also no such things as labor unions or strikes under the Soviet system. And I do not think that you could call the Fascist system free market capitalism, I believe that it would be more on par with the way that things were run in old Rome (Republic and Empire). What do you think?

  69. 69.

    Tim F

    September 23, 2005 at 6:52 pm

    Taxes on some industries were actually cut under Hitler; big private firms got whopping huge government contracts; labor unions were crushed and strikes abolished

    Communists were the deadly enemy of the Nazis. Communists had the power and the muscle to intimidate the early National Socialists, which explains why Hitler went after them before any other faction in Germany. The Nazis used fear of Communist hordes (and, to a comparable degree, fear of the Nazi hordes) as a lever to drive very capitalist-friendly collaborative agreements that solidified the Nazi hold on power. Mussolini was right when he suggested that fascism could equally appropriately be described as corporatism.

  70. 70.

    Tim F

    September 23, 2005 at 6:52 pm

    That is to say, collaborative agreements with German business leaders.

  71. 71.

    jg

    September 23, 2005 at 6:55 pm

    The Nazis used fear of Communist hordes (and, to a comparable degree, fear of the Nazi hordes) as a lever to drive very capitalist-friendly collaborative agreements that solidified the Nazi hold on power.

    Is that where Sen. McCarthy got the idea?

  72. 72.

    quackquack

    September 23, 2005 at 6:57 pm

    Yes Tim, but they were not free market capitalists. I am sure that there were heavy regulations in place to favor big business.

  73. 73.

    RSA

    September 23, 2005 at 6:59 pm

    srv writes:

    As many have theorized, the blogosphere is filled with Libertarians. But they all apparently vote Republican.

    This ironic observation is spot-on. One thing that’s wrong is not necessarily the test itself, but the map that it puts people on. If you’re going to have a test that’s predictive, rather than just entertaining, it might be useful to avoid a relatively arbitrary partitioning of the space that gives as much area, say, to the union of Totalitarians and Libertarians as it does to either Democrats or Republicans.

    (I didn’t realize I was a socialist–I’ll have to switch parties!)

  74. 74.

    Tim F

    September 23, 2005 at 7:13 pm

    Is that where Sen. McCarthy got the idea?

    Sen. McCarthy was friendly with former Nazis, and against US involvement in WWII, to a degree that would make modern Republicans very uncomfortable to acknowledge.

    I am sure that there were heavy regulations in place to favor big business.

    You could say that depends on what you mean by free market. The Nazis didn’t so much abolish communists directlly as kill them softly with a thousand cuts. Friendly local constabulry allowed individual communists to be beated or humiliated, tiny infractions were used as excuses to outlaw this or that local chapter of local communists until you practically couldn’t find an operating chapter anywhere in Germany. Central offices were repeatedly ‘audited’ and investigated to the point that practically every document and available fund was locked up in some evidence locker.

    They supported friendly businesses in more or less the same way. Wheels were greased for the right people and rusted for others.

    Acting all at once would have shocked the cosmopolitan Germans and threatened their hold on power. By doing it piecemeal they kept the frog quiet until it was too boiled to do anything about it.

    Getting back to free enterprise, yes and no. Some enterprises were freer than others if you know what I mean. Given that they also bought off important constituencies with major social programs I’d say that they were very hard to categorize.

  75. 75.

    Pb

    September 23, 2005 at 7:14 pm

    I took that test the other day, came out Democrat/Strong Democrat. Which is interesting because on some other tests like that, I end up on the line that divides Liberal and Libertarian. And yeah, they had some odd questions in that one. Also if you look at Pew’s Typology Groups, they (mis-?)classify Libertarians as ‘Enterprisers’, which actually means ‘rabid Bush supporters’. No, really.

  76. 76.

    b-psycho

    September 23, 2005 at 7:22 pm

    I gave it a whirl…

  77. 77.

    quackquack

    September 23, 2005 at 7:27 pm

    Sen. McCarthy was friendly with former Nazis, and against US involvement in WWII, to a degree that would make modern Republicans very uncomfortable to acknowledge.

    McCarthy was also a friend of the Kennedy’s (especially Joe and John and I believe even employed RFK) and found a strong ally in Barry Goldwater. Which I
    believe would also make many Republicans very uncomfortable to acknowledge.

  78. 78.

    Paul Massey

    September 23, 2005 at 7:34 pm

    You are a Social Liberal (88% permissive)and an… Economic Liberal (11% permissive)You are best described as a: Socialist Link: The Politics Test on Ok Cupid

  79. 79.

    TallDave

    September 23, 2005 at 7:44 pm

    Naziism was a weird mix of fascist socialism and nationalist racism. The party’s actual name was National Socialist German Workers Party, and iirc they were actually very friendly to workers… as long as long they were German workers. They were, obviously, not friendly to Jewish capitalists or Slavic/Polish workers, both of which they murdered in the millions, the latter in brutal working conditions.

    They weren’t stupid enough to have a command economy outside the military, though, so they weren’t remotely Communists.

    Sen. McCarthy was friendly with former Nazis, and against US involvement in WWII, to a degree that would make modern Republicans very uncomfortable to acknowledge.

    Eh? In 1942, shortly after the U.S. entered World War II, McCarthy resigned his judgeship and enlisted as a private in the United States Marine Corps, and later took a commission as a Lieutenant. His judicial office would have exempted him from compulsory service. He was awarded a Distinguished Flying Cross in 1952.

    As for McCarthy’s anti-Communist campaign, the left vilified him fairly for his over-the-top rhetoric, but unfairly for trying run some of their beloved leftist friends who also happened to be Communist spies out of sensitive gov’t positions. He was partially vindicated when the Venona project was declassified in 1995, which proved many of those he tried to have fired were in fact Communist spies.

    McCarthy did make some serious mistakes, such as claiming Truman was protecting Communists. In fact, it’s now clear Truman simply did not know the extent of Communist infiltration in his gov’t.

  80. 80.

    TallDave

    September 23, 2005 at 7:47 pm

    such as claiming Truman was protecting Communists

    s/b

    such as claiming Truman was knowingly protecting Communists

  81. 81.

    demimondian

    September 23, 2005 at 7:50 pm

    I wound up at 83% socially permissive, 43% economically permissive. Smack dab in the middle of Democrat for me.

  82. 82.

    Mark-NC

    September 23, 2005 at 7:59 pm

    You are a

    Social Moderate
    (55% permissive)

    and an…

    Economic Moderate
    (43% permissive)

    You are best described as a:

    Centrist

    You exhibit a very well-developed sense of Right and Wrong and believe in economic fairness. loc: (18, -25)
    modscore: (26, 33)

    Also, not a surprise.

  83. 83.

    Mark-NC

    September 23, 2005 at 8:03 pm

    Funny,

    Looking through the list, I don’t see any Republicans.

    I wonder what you’d have to answer to get that label!

  84. 84.

    The Comish (sic)

    September 23, 2005 at 8:06 pm

    56% Socially Permissive (Moderate) + 88% Economically Permissive (Conservative) = Capitalist.

    I’m a bit surprised I didn’t rate as more socially permissive. I’m libertarian on most issues (gun control, drugs, gay marriage, etc.), so I’m surprised to hear that I’m not as socially permissive as I thought. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that hippy names sort of piss me off.

  85. 85.

    The Comish (sic)

    September 23, 2005 at 8:08 pm

    And by the way, recent test takers whose test results were near mine included this woman/vampiric demon-spawn from Hades:

    http://www.okcupid.com/profile?tuid=1635058203816640925

  86. 86.

    b-psycho

    September 23, 2005 at 8:08 pm

    As for the arguement about where fascism is to be classified:

    I recall a quote by Mussolini about how it should really be called “corporatism”, as it’s a fusion of state & corporate power. In terms of authority there was no difference between it and communism, the key was that fascists coordinated their power through willing existing companies instead of seeking to replace them. Communism used the force of the State to crush the private-sector, whereas fascists sought to use corporate structures as “assistants to the Fatherland” or whatever.

    This is why they have fascism creeping up the economics axis from just under the middle. Fascism was an attempt to use an entity to its own benefit that communism would simply destroy. As such, there’s a range of economic views that can fit in with fascism, from a hard-Keynesian view (Hitler) to a largely deregulated economy (Pinochet). It all depends on how much control they feel is necessary to fund their regime.

  87. 87.

    The Comish (sic)

    September 23, 2005 at 8:10 pm

    Mark-NC:

    Looking through the list, I don’t see any Republicans.

    Pssst! Look at the first comment. By Rick.

  88. 88.

    patriotboy

    September 23, 2005 at 8:24 pm

    You are a Social Liberal(86% permissive)
    Economic Liberal(11% permissive)

  89. 89.

    patriotboy

    September 23, 2005 at 8:26 pm

    You are a Social Liberal(86% permissive)
    Economic Liberal(11% permissive)

    It says I’m a soclialist. Funny, I didn’t see a question about government ownership of the means of production. Are they using the limbaugh definition?

  90. 90.

    David

    September 23, 2005 at 8:31 pm

    Here is another test –

    http://www.theadvocates.org/quiz.html

    Much more comprehensive.

  91. 91.

    slide aka Joe Albanese

    September 23, 2005 at 8:35 pm

    You are a

    Social Liberal (80% permissive)
    and an…
    Economic Liberal (26% permissive)

    You are best described as a:
    Strong Democrat

    You exhibit a very well-developed sense of Right and Wrong and believe in economic fairness.

  92. 92.

    Frank

    September 23, 2005 at 8:59 pm

    You are a Social Liberal (71% permissive)and an… Economic Liberal (38% permissive)You are best described as a: Democrat Link: The Politics Test on Ok Cupid

  93. 93.

    Frank

    September 23, 2005 at 9:02 pm

    I was kinda surprised since previously all these tests claimed I was a libertarian. Maybe some of my opinions have changed since I realized Republicans are scum.

  94. 94.

    Demdude

    September 23, 2005 at 9:35 pm

    No surprise. Glad I don’t have to change my name. (Although not thrilled to placed over Hilary.)

    You are a

    Social Liberal
    (75% permissive)

    and an…

    Economic Liberal
    (28% permissive)

    You are best described as a:

    Democrat

  95. 95.

    Mike

    September 23, 2005 at 9:38 pm

    OK, there are a lot of fascists (judging by their results at the end) out there. They must be afraid to tell anyone.

  96. 96.

    David Moisan

    September 23, 2005 at 9:45 pm

    You are a Social Liberal (78% permissive)and an… Economic Liberal (23% permissive)You are best described as a: Strong Democrat

    Close enough, though I have a strong antiauthoriarian, almost anarchist tendency. I did hold my nose (I vote very begrudgingly and usually against people I don’t like) and vote for Kerry, but as a MA resident, he’s a terrible senator.

  97. 97.

    stickler

    September 23, 2005 at 9:59 pm

    I think there are some problems here with people’s understanding of “capitalism” and the “free market.”

    Capitalism is, essentially, about preservation and acquisition of capital.

    The “free market” may enable this. It might endanger it. Competition sucks if you lose. If you have enough wealth and connections, you might be able to create a market which is not, exactly, “free.” This is why, over and over in human history, people with lots of wealth will do what they can to preserve it. Acquiring a monopoly is an excellent way to do this. Ask the ghost of John D. Rockefeller about how it works. Or ask German industrialists, who had very friendly governments even before Bismarck came on the scene in the 1860s.

    Thus, this:

    And I do not think that you could call the Fascist system free market capitalism, I believe that it would be more on par with the way that things were run in old Rome (Republic and Empire). What do you think?

    The Fascist system was quite compatible with capitalism, but it sure wasn’t the “free market.” The industrialists thought they were buying a sock puppet with a funny mustache; when they discovered they were wrong about that, the profits had become so wonderful — and the unions had been crushed — that they were happy to go along. The extreme example of this, of course, is the cooperation between the SS death camp complex at Auschwitz/Birkenau, and dozens (!) of German industrial concerns. Auschwitz provided a kind of nightmarish capitalist dream: virtually unlimited, government-guaranteed profits, and a workforce that was truly disposable and completely compliant.

    Money has no morality. Even the Romans didn’t go quite that far.

  98. 98.

    a guy called larry

    September 23, 2005 at 10:12 pm

    You are a Social Liberal (66% permissive)
    and an…
    Economic Liberal (26% permissive)
    You are best described as a: Democrat
    The development of my sense of right and wrong and beliefs in economic fairness are none of your damned business.
    Jeesh, they put me between Hillary and Gorby! Glad I didn’t buy this test. And I thought I was a left-leaning Libertarian, after the test I took on the LP website a year or so ago.

  99. 99.

    Northman

    September 23, 2005 at 10:33 pm

    Social Liberal (60% permissive)

    Economic Liberal (33% permissive)

    You are best described as a: Democrat

    I blame Bush.

  100. 100.

    Kevin Menard

    September 23, 2005 at 11:32 pm

    Hmmmph. I ended up a capitalist. Dang I wanted to be a totalitarian.

    social moderate and economic permissive.

    http://www.technogypsy.net/September2005.htm#Gee

    Kevin

  101. 101.

    Mike

    September 23, 2005 at 11:40 pm

    TOTALITARIAN!!!
    Same as Darth Vader!
    YES!!!
    Look out Ghandi, I’m coming for you…

  102. 102.

    DougJ

    September 24, 2005 at 12:26 am

    McCarthy did make some serious mistakes,

    Really? Then why has he become such a hero to so many on the American right?

  103. 103.

    b-psycho

    September 24, 2005 at 2:20 am

    Why is Adam Sandler on the “famous people” chart? Since when did he give a rat’s about politics?

  104. 104.

    Randolph Fritz

    September 24, 2005 at 5:24 am

    So tell me, where do environmentalist views rank on that chart? What about views on the validity of scientific knowlege? What about views on the place of religion in public life? Given that New Orleans is now mostly under water, and we are embarked, willy-nilly, on a crusade, perhaps it is time for a new test?

  105. 105.

    Sal

    September 24, 2005 at 8:11 am

    Socialist, although think of myself as public policy socialist, private policy libertarian (with a couple exceptions – against abortion & (most) gun control, vehemently oppose Kelo).
    I’m down by Gandhi.
    Kudos to John, though. Although I think some of his posts are right wing dumb, he’s not a lockstep Bush worshipper or reality denier like so many voices on the right. This is where I go to get (mostly) reasonable conservative perspectives.

  106. 106.

    Justice Charlie

    September 24, 2005 at 8:37 am

    Yeah, I’m a socialist.

  107. 107.

    Veeshir

    September 24, 2005 at 9:50 am

    I’m

    Social Liberal
    (71% permissive)
    and an…
    Economic Conservative
    (73% permissive)

    You are best described as a:
    Libertarian
    You exhibit a very well-developed sense of Right and Wrong and believe in economic fairness. loc: (81, 87)

    Over at Dean Esmay’s site somebody said they were socially apathetic. I like that better than socially lberal. I just think that what consenting adults do is none of my business.

  108. 108.

    Mike

    September 24, 2005 at 9:54 am

    “DougJ Says:
    McCarthy did make some serious mistakes,
    Really? Then why has he become such a hero to so many on the American right?”

    Dunno.
    Why has Che Guevara become such a hero to so many on the American Left?

  109. 109.

    DougJ

    September 24, 2005 at 10:02 am

    Good question, Mike, on Che Guevara. I was snarking, though — I don’t really think McCarthy is a hero to anyone but Ann Coulter and Tall Dave.

  110. 110.

    The Uncredible Hallq

    September 24, 2005 at 12:11 pm

    I’m just barely on the Democrat side of the Democrat/Libertarian line. BTW, what’s up with the question about the novel-writing computer?

  111. 111.

    Tim F

    September 24, 2005 at 2:01 pm

    Fascism was an attempt to use an entity to its own benefit that communism would simply destroy.

    As good and concise an explanation as any that I’ve seen. Facists preferred co-opting entities to destroying them.

  112. 112.

    Archie

    September 24, 2005 at 3:53 pm

    What a great idea! Make some boxes and get people to voluntarily jump into them.

    Works great if you get to define what the boxes mean.

  113. 113.

    =0=

    September 24, 2005 at 5:59 pm

    Social Liberal
    (85% permissive)

    and an…

    Economic Conservative
    (83% permissive)

    You are best described as a:

    Libertarian

    Although I find it odd to see the little indicator floating near the Unabomber pic. He was hardly an anarcho-capitalist.

  114. 114.

    TallDave

    September 24, 2005 at 11:17 pm

    DougJ,

    I don’t know if he’s a hero (as I said, he made some serious mistakes and was over-the-top in rhetoric and methods) but it’s undeniable he did the country a great service and was unfairly demonized, to the point his name is now a malediction. Venona makes it clear that many of the claims he was ridiculed and demonized for were in fact true.

    His crimes have been greatly exaggerated by leftists who quite naturally hated him for exposing their friends as Communist spies. He never tried to have anyone he investigated executed for treason. He never jailed anyone. He never blacklisted anyone. He never did anything but try to get people he thought were Communist spies out of gov’t positions. The worst his victims faced was the horror of the private sector.

  115. 115.

    RangerRick

    September 30, 2005 at 2:29 pm

    You are a Social Liberal (65% permissive)and an… Economic Conservative (66% permissive)You are best described as a: Libertarian Link: The Politics Test on OkCupid Free Online DatingAlso: The OkCupid Dating Persona Test

  116. 116.

    The Wine Commonsewer

    September 30, 2005 at 5:13 pm

    A neat little upscale twist on David Nolan’s libertarian test from a couple of decades back.

    Hey, I’m a libertarian, what a surprise!

Comments are closed.

Trackbacks

  1. Vista On Current Events says:
    September 23, 2005 at 3:13 pm

    So I’m a Social Liberal and Economic Conservative

    Not supprised. Another political test from OK Cupid brought to my attention by John Cole. Strangely I got exactly the same results as him.

  2. Oliver Willis » This Game Again says:
    September 23, 2005 at 3:39 pm

    […] Via John. […]

  3. Too Drunk to Fish » Blog Archive » Go Figure says:
    September 23, 2005 at 4:39 pm

    […] Sounds about right, I guess. Some of the questions were stupid. I basically only took the quiz because John Cole promised a link. That’s better than gold, I tell ya. […]

  4. One Stack Mind » says:
    September 23, 2005 at 11:08 pm

    […] ( þ Balloon Juice ) Filed under: Politics, Personal by Robin S. @ 23: 08 on […]

  5. TalkLeft: The Politics of Crime says:
    September 23, 2005 at 11:34 pm

    Another Politics Test

    Via John Cole , Crooks and Liars and Oliver Willis, Here are my results from the Politics Test: You are a Social Liberal (83% permissive)and an… Economic Liberal (23% permissive)You are best described as a: Strong Democrat Link: The Politics…

  6. The Political Teen » One of Those Quizzes says:
    September 24, 2005 at 12:31 am

    […] (via Balloon Juice) […]

  7. The Modern Guy says:
    September 24, 2005 at 1:34 am

    The Political Quiz

    Here is one of those “tests” that tell you what kind of Political direction you lean… Here is what this thing says about me, The Modern Guy: (Via Centerfield) You are a Social Liberal (71% permissive) and an… Economic Moderate…

  8. Cadillac Tight » Blog Archive » I too, am unsurprised… says:
    September 24, 2005 at 1:52 pm

    […] My results, via Cole: […]

  9. In lieu of posting something substantive… at matthewstinson.net » blog says:
    September 25, 2005 at 1:19 pm

    […] First up, another Internet politics test (h/t Balloon Juice) that says most Republicans — online, at least — are Libertarians. Largely, these tests accomplish the “Libertarian” result by omitting most foreign policy and defense policy questions, which would push me more into the “Republican” column. There’s no trade policy there, either, so a liberal who believes in a strong welfare state and free trade will see his/her economic results skewed farther left. […]

  10. Psychopolitik » Maybe I’m drifting? says:
    October 18, 2005 at 12:56 am

    […] John Cole finds yet another political ideology test, and asks for results from everywhere. Sure John, I trust you… […]

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