Can everyone just stop the name calling already? The political compass doesn't generate those labels.
In order to emphasise that the political compass was strangely calibrated (as in a compass that would only have "North", "Norther" "West" and "Wester as directions), I deliberately used extreme words, without implying that they were actually justified, since the compass does not make anyone anything in actual life. Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's need, but not every man's greed. Gandhi
But, I am not sure US calibration alone can be the cause... especially considering their placement of British parties on their compass. There can be false assumptions on how people view the test questions. Behind many, there seems to be a naive leftist assumption of the universiality of right-wing views. Whereas, a conservative or even a moderate may fully endorse a high-flying idea -- as long as we are speaking about the in-group. What this naive leftist assumption sees as right-of-center view will only come forward against some appropiately antagonised outside group (immigrants, people with different-coloured skins, felons, welfare recipients, 'privileged' public workers). *Lunatic*, n. One whose delusions are out of fashion.
BTW? Cyrille, I don't remember if you took the test and where it placed you -- which would be interesting inasmuch as IIRC you're a MoDem/Bayrou supporter, and thus probably as close to the center as possible in a French political context. *Lunatic*, n. One whose delusions are out of fashion.
I did take the test but did not then asked to be placed because I found it a caricature -I was so far to the left despite answering a straight centrist ticket (actually, when I was unsure of my opinion, I simply entered the MoDem one).
I remember being very close to Jérôme, somewhat more liberal in social terms and maybe a shade more conservative in economics, although I may have been slightly to the left in that one as well. It made ET look like a group of crazy leftist extremists that found Pol Pot Reaganian and that's unfair when only half of us are ;-) Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's need, but not every man's greed. Gandhi
Why, wasn't he? Same hostility to intellectuals, same abandonment of inner cities :-) *Lunatic*, n. One whose delusions are out of fashion.
That places him about where Gandhi is--somewhat left-libertarian.
My own numbers:Economic Left/Right: -6.62 Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -5.90
That places me between Mandela and the Dalai Lama but further towards the lower left corner. Almost all active political figures in "the west" are in the upper right quadrant, with Romano Prodi being the closest to the left-right axis. As the Dutch said while fighting the Spanish: "It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."
