RE: Political Compass

From: Lee Corbin (lcorbin@tsoft.com)
Date: Tue Aug 28 2001 - 00:23:47 MDT


E. Shawn Russell wrote

> I liked this test much more that the WSPQ, as it is much more
> comprehensive. I am a: Economic Left/Right: 2.50
> Authoritarian/Libertarian: -5.49; in other words, I am (as I knew) a
> slightly right-wing libertarian --two points to the right, and five up from
> the bottom.

I couldn't take this test! I had to give up after only four questions!
Here they are: (for each, your only choices are strongly agree, agree,
disagree, and strongly disagree)

1. If globalisation is inevitable, it should primarily serve humanity
rather than the interests of trans-national corporations.

Well, Jesus! The assumption is that the interests of the trans-national
corporations are antithetical to those of humanity! Good grief! Was
the WSPQ (World's Shortest Political Quiz) this loaded, and I simply
couldn't recognize it because I'm a libertarian? This is scary!

2. I'd always support my country, whether it was right or wrong.

And what does **support** mean? Defend physically, or refuse to
criticize? Clearly the answer that the test tries very, very hard
to get out of one is "disagree", or "disagree strongly".

3. No one chooses their country of birth, so it's absurd to be
proud of it.

Absurd? While this question isn't as absurd as the first two,
this is hardly the right word here.

4. Our nation has many unique virtues.

Perhaps not such a bad question.

5. The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

Okay

6. Jews surely have to take some of the responsibility for
their persecution over the past 2000 years.

So how can one possibly answer that if he or she believes
that Jews must take a small share of the responsibility,
say five or ten percent? Why, one must then *agree*, because
that's what the word "some" means. But then one is immediately
implicated, (or self-implicated, depending on one's temperament)
as an anti-Semite.

6. The growing fusion between information and entertainment
is a worrying contribution to the public's shrinking attention span.

So does "worrying" mean that one wishes to regulate it? Luckily,
I gave up on this quiz two questions back, and don't have to think
about it.

Seriously: I do *not* remember anyone complaining about the
tendentiousness of the questions on the former quizzes. PLEASE
say so if you *did* have any problem with those earlier quizzes.

Lee



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