What is your Political Ideology?

[GenSeneca]

Every individual fits into one (or more) ideological category, its just a matter of taking an honest, introspective view of your beliefs to figure out which ideologies best reflect your beliefs. While some run from the idea of being tagged with a political label, such fears are completely irrational.

Why would anyone want to label themselves with an ideology? If you want to participate in political discussions, it is in your own best interest to identify your political beliefs. Declaring your ideology aids in identifying friends and allies, people with whom you share similar beliefs, it also helps where you might not expect, dealing with people who disagree. If both parties understand where the other is coming from, they are much more likely to have an amicable disagreement. When one party doesn't understand where the other is coming from, they most often resort to ad hominem character attacks and the conversation devolves accordingly.

Think of ideology as a collection of beliefs, why would anyone refuse to make public what it is they believe? The only rational answer is, they are ashamed to admit their beliefs. Now there are some people who genuinely don't know what they believe or which ideology would suit their beliefs, likely because they've never taken the time to sift through the myriad of ideologies while juxtaposing their beliefs to find matches. Luckily for anyone in that category, I'm not from the government but I am here to help.

If you have beliefs, you have an ideology. To find your ideology, you need only express your beliefs on a handful of individual issues. This of course will only be a cursory examination, so the result will likely be broad, but the more specific and in depth we get, the more specific the result. For example, I refer to myself as being CaLiCo, Capitalist, Libertarian, Conservative. I didn't just pick random ideologies, I applied my beliefs to the spectrum of ideologies, those are the ones best suited to me, and they are in order of importance. I am first and foremost a Capitalist, I also have some Libertarian and Conservative views but for the most part, wherever there is a conflict between the philosophies, Capitalism wins.

I don't expect many people to take me up on the offer but anyone with a genuine interest in ascertaining the political ideology (or ideologies) best suited to their beliefs is welcome to participate.

 

[Pandora]

You should do some yes/no questions so people can figure out what they are.


I used to think I was a social conservative but really I am not. I think prostitution should be legal and I dont care if people want to marry a tree frog. Social conservatives are "one man one woman" marriage and would never agree its ok to legalize prostitution. So I feel I am a fiscal conservative, but even there I believe in a few programs that others might not call conservative like foster care and "most parts" of the NASA program. So, I cant be a total fiscal conservative.

 

[ASPCA4EVER]

Why don't we/you Gen Seneca make up a list of issues and have people mark them accordingly:
Taxes > more taxes/less taxes/no taxes/straight across the board fair based taxes
Gay Marriage > no/yes/don't care

Abortion > no categorically/yes pro-choice

Health Care > no government/ yes government / fix what we currently have

Voting > optional/mandatory for anyone over 18 or no drivers license will be issued annually

Just some issues/ideas that might make this more interesting and open for all to participate! We definitely are not a group of one size fits all type of classification!

 

[dogtowner]

I'm a conservative libertarian.

 

[GenSeneca]

You should do some yes/no questions so people can figure out what they are.

If you're willing to participate, I might be able to formulate such a questionnaire... lets see what we can come up with.

The first category deals with your concept of mans relation to society.

1. Are you an Individualist or a Collectivist?

Individualism:The individual is sovereign, rights of the individual should be protected and individuals should be left free to act in any way that does not infringe on the rights of others.

Collectivism: The interests of Individuals should be subordinated to the interests of society, every individual has a duty, or moral obligation, to work for the greater good and the rights of society as a whole take precedent over the rights of individuals.

All ideologies fall within one of those two categories, none can share both.

-----

The next category is Metaphysics and deals with your concept of reality.

2. Which statement most closely parallels your concept of reality?

a. Reality exists independent of my ability to understand, comprehend, or know of its existence. Example, a speck of dust in space exists whether or not I know of its existence and regardless of my ability to understand or comprehend its nature.

b. Nothing exists outside the minds ability to conceptualize its existence. Example, a speck of dust in space only exists once I know its there and I have the capacity to comprehend and understand its nature.

c. Nothing exists. Example, a speck of dust in space is merely an illusion.

d. None of the above (please give an explanation)

-----

This next category is epistemology, your concept of knowledge.

3. Which of the following statements most closely parallels your concept of knowledge formulation?

a. Knowledge can be gained by mystical means. Example, you can learn by osmosis (fall asleep on a book and wake up knowing its contents).

b. Knowledge is subjective, there are no absolutes, and nothing can be known for certain. Example, what you perceive as a blue triangle may actually be a green square to someone else.

c. There are absolutes. Knowledge is gained by applying logic, i.e., through inductive and/or deductive reasoning, by using a premise, or premises, to formulate a conclusion. Example, all men are mortal, I am a man, therefore I am mortal.

d. None of the above (please give an explanation).

-----

This last category deals with ethics, your concept of morality.

4. Which statements most closely parallels your concept of morality?

a. The concepts of good and evil, right and wrong, justice and virtue are subjective to the individual. Example, what you consider good may actually be evil to another.

b. The concepts of good and evil, right and wrong, justice and virtue are illusions created to control individuals. Example, nothing can be either good or evil.

c. The concepts of good and evil, right and wrong, justice and virtue are absolutes and applicable only to living entities. Example, that which allows an entity to perpetuate its existence through self sustaining and self generated actions is good, that which threatens or extinguishes its life is evil.

d. None of the above (please give an explanation).

-----

As you can see, with just those few necessary questions, putting together a questionnaire that would cover every possible ideology would fill a book. Those are an excellent starting point that will include, or rule out, many possibilities and allow someone to find their ideology by answering a minimum number of questions.

Again, anyone with a genuine interest is welcome to participate, just start by providing answers to those questions and we will go on from there.

 

[GenSeneca]

Why don't we/you Gen Seneca make up a list of issues and have people mark them accordingly:

Your ideology determines the answers to those questions. I can say with a great degree of certainty which issues a fellow Capitalist would agree and which ones they would disagree.

Just some issues/ideas that might make this more interesting and open for all to participate!

I had considered doing that but determined it would be entirely to complicated. To explain it another way, your philosophy is the trunk of a tree and the issues are its leaves. If I can determine what type of tree you have, I won't have to see the leaves to have a good idea of what they look like.

And... Everyone with a genuine interest is welcome to participate.

We definitely are not a group of one size fits all type of classification!

I entirely agree, that is why I have decided to go the direction I have. I doubt that any two of us on this board agree with each other on every single issue, but we do agree on a set of core principles, so I'm looking for haystacks rather than the needles contained in them.

 

[Pandora]

If you're willing to participate, I might be able to formulate such a questionnaire... lets see what we can come up with.

The first category deals with your concept of mans relation to society.

1. Are you an Individualist or a Collectivist? an Individualist

Individualism:The individual is sovereign, rights of the individual should be protected and individuals should be left free to act in any way that does not infringe on the rights of others.

Collectivism: The interests of Individuals should be subordinated to the interests of society, every individual has a duty, or moral obligation, to work for the greater good and the rights of society as a whole take precedent over the rights of individuals.

All ideologies fall within one of those two categories, none can share both.

-----

The next category is Metaphysics and deals with your concept of reality.

2. Which statement most closely parallels your concept of reality?

a. Reality exists independent of my ability to understand, comprehend, or know of its existence. Example, a speck of dust in space exists whether or not I know of its existence and regardless of my ability to understand or comprehend its nature.

b. Nothing exists outside the minds ability to conceptualize its existence. Example, a speck of dust in space only exists once I know its there and I have the capacity to comprehend and understand its nature.

c. Nothing exists. Example, a speck of dust in space is merely an illusion.

d. None of the above (please give an explanation)

A

This next category is epistemology, your concept of knowledge.

3. Which of the following statements most closely parallels your concept of knowledge formulation?

a. Knowledge can be gained by mystical means. Example, you can learn by osmosis (fall asleep on a book and wake up knowing its contents).

b. Knowledge is subjective, there are no absolutes, and nothing can be known for certain. Example, what you perceive as a blue triangle may actually be a green square to someone else.

c. There are absolutes. Knowledge is gained by applying logic, i.e., through inductive and/or deductive reasoning, by using a premise, or premises, to formulate a conclusion. Example, all men are mortal, I am a man, therefore I am mortal.

d. None of the above (please give an explanation).

C


This last category deals with ethics, your concept of morality.

4. Which statements most closely parallels your concept of morality?

a. The concepts of good and evil, right and wrong, justice and virtue are subjective to the individual. Example, what you consider good may actually be evil to another.

b. The concepts of good and evil, right and wrong, justice and virtue are illusions created to control individuals. Example, nothing can be either good or evil.

c. The concepts of good and evil, right and wrong, justice and virtue are absolutes and applicable only to living entities. Example, that which allows an entity to perpetuate its existence through self sustaining and self generated actions is good, that which threatens or extinguishes its life is evil.

d. None of the above (please give an explanation).

I liked C to a point

As you can see, with just those few necessary questions, putting together a questionnaire that would cover every possible ideology would fill a book. Those are an excellent starting point that will include, or rule out, many possibilities and allow someone to find their ideology by answering a minimum number of questions.

Again, anyone with a genuine interest is welcome to participate, just start by providing answers to those questions and we will go on from there.

 

[GenSeneca]

I liked C to a point

Please explain what you mean by "to a point".

 

[Pandora]

Please explain what you mean by "to a point".

c. The concepts of good and evil, right and wrong, justice and virtue are absolutes and applicable only to living entities. Example, that which allows an entity to perpetuate its existence through self sustaining and self generated actions is good, that which threatens or extinguishes its life is evil.

Well I think absolutes apply to non living things too.

Assuming a rock is non living or a mountian. Absolutes apply to all things living and non living.

But I also think there are exeptions.

Someone tries to hurt my family, I would feel justified in killing them, even though C says extinguishing life is evil. If I need to get warm I feel justified in cutting and burning a tree and I would feel justified in killing a deer to feed my family. Though I think it would be horrible to kill a deer for target practice, or burn a forest to for fun. Or shoot a person just to see what it felt like to do so or for money exc.

So its not exactly absolutes But generally for the most part I agree with C

 

[GenSeneca]

Well I think absolutes apply to non living things too.

I see. The absolutes in question were the concepts of good and evil, right and wrong etc. I don't know that these concepts would apply to a rock or a mountain because they are simply inanimate matter. Matter cannot be made or destroyed, only transformed from one form to another, it faces no alternative. Living entities do face an alternative, they either continue to live or they die. So being tossed in a fire won't make a difference to the rock, but it would make a difference to a living entity.

As for the issue of self defense, someone attacking you or your family, they are evil in threatening your life, the actions you take to defend yourself and family are good because they are necessary for you to perpetuate your life.

I'll have to leave it there for now and pick up tomorrow. Thanks for participating.

 

[Bunz]

I dont know if anyone cares, but here is the link to the worlds smallest political quiz.
http://www.theadvocates.org/quizp/index.html
Back when the internet was new to the mainstream a professor had his students check it out. I am sure my scores have changed since then, but after taking the quiz again.....
Says now I am a left leaning centrist.

 

[ASPCA4EVER]

Your PERSONAL issues Score is 50%.
Your ECONOMIC issues Score is 50%.

According to your answers, the political group that agrees with you most is
[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]

[/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]CENTRISTS espouse a "middle ground" regarding government control of the economy and personal behavior. Depending on the issue, they sometimes favor government intervention and sometimes support individual freedom of choice [/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Centrists pride themselves on keeping an open mind[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]tend to oppose "political extremes," and [/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]emphasize what [/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]they describe as "practical" solutions to problems[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]......................................................................[/FONT][/FONT]​

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]14,202,178[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]HAS BEEN TAKEN SO FAR SINCE 1995[/FONT]​

***************************************
Thanks BUNZ...that was really telling! Found out that I'm more dead center then I ever thought/felt that I was for being such a hard headed registered INDEPENDENT...LOL
Of course there wasn't any questions about the: Death Penalty/Abortion/or Health Care specifically so those would have put me into the left category 4 sure!. ​

Next - any one else want to step up and take the 'quick quiz' http://www.theadvocates.org/quizp/quiz.php​

 

[GenSeneca]

I dont know if anyone cares, but here is the link to the worlds smallest political quiz.

For me, 100% Libertarian but those types of issue based quizzes are deeply flawed and for entertainment purposes only.

One major flaw is trying to separate personal and economic freedom, they are inseperable. If I can control your wallet, I can control your behavior, and vice versa.

According to the quiz, Statists want 100% control of both, Centrists want 50% control of both, Left wants 100% control of economic and Right wants 100% control of personal. Because control of one gives you control of the other, Left and Right are both Statist while the Centrist is a "moderate" Statist.

I think its much more accurate to look at someones ethical and moral foundation of principles to find their correct ideology, which you can then use with a high degree of accuracy to determine their position on any given issue.

 

[flaja]

For me, 100% Libertarian but those types of issue based quizzes are deeply flawed and for entertainment purposes only.

Which means it is perfectly suited to the net where most people have the attention span of a gnat. I have designed a rather detailed 10 question quiz to determine people’s political ideology, but I have yet to run across a single person on the net who is willing to take it seriously- and I have had only 2 people bother to even answer it.

 

[GenSeneca]

I have designed a rather detailed 10 question quiz to determine people’s political ideology

Feel free to share.