Political Compass Test

Angstrom · Post by **Angstrom** » Thu Apr 03, 2008 7:33 pm

I agree.
I try to buy stuff from small locally owned stores as much as possible.
It's a better policy to have my cash circulating around the local economy than have it go to "head office" so they can finance another takeover.

It's not a perfect system, but I work with what I have.

doc holiday · Post by **doc holiday** » Thu Apr 03, 2008 8:02 pm

Angstrom wrote: I try to buy stuff from small locally owned stores as much as possible.
It's a better policy to have my cash circulating around the local economy than have it go to "head office" so they can finance another takeover.

It's not a perfect system, but I work with what I have.

+1, in a consumer driven society i feel we have more power by what we choose to use as opposed to voting for a puppet on a string.

micro-jr · Post by **micro-jr** » Thu Apr 03, 2008 8:23 pm

90% " strongly disagree"

smartass303 · Post by **smartass303** » Thu Apr 03, 2008 8:32 pm

@ Angstrom, etc.

Yeah, maybe it makes YOU feel better.
YOU made the difference for YOURSELF, thats good for you but means nothing to society (or the historical process, lol).
I mean, in the end, you are just a small number. The personal impact through consume is near nil... Thats the way it is.
If many people in a society would consume in a different way then i would *maybe* make a difference, who knows?

Societies which are not aware that they consist of Individuals cannot really communicate about whats happening to them.

Thats why communism fucked up eastern europe, and thats why we should start to think about how to rebuild the *ideas* of socialism in the 21. century (not the way chavez or the nationalists does).

thanks, good discussion here,

303

jamester · Post by **jamester** » Thu Apr 03, 2008 8:46 pm

The problem with the "free market" being the best model for consumers is that most people are penny-pinching idiots without a brain or a conscience, so they will gladly support whatever is cheapest/easisest/most popular without any regards for what might be better for the community/environment/local economy.

For every person "doing the right thing" and buying locally, supporting local businesses or what have you, there are thousands more supporting big corporations simply because it saves them a buck or two and is more easily accesible. So the whole notion of "voting with your wallet" is a flawed one, because those without a conscience will always outnumber those with one. Hence when you buy potatoes in supermarkets in Idaho, you can bet they came from China. And Wal-Marts will continue to be packed with customers 24hrs a day, regardless of how often their despicable business practices are exposed because people don't care so long as they can save some money.

Tone Deft · Post by **Tone Deft** » Thu Apr 03, 2008 8:53 pm

OT - U.S. House passes big hike in global AIDS funds

The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a bill to more than triple spending to fight AIDS in Africa and other parts of the world, one of President George W. Bush's foremost foreign aid quests.

http://www.reuters.com/article/homepage ... ._CH_.2400

I've waited almost 8 years for tWat to do something good, fucking-A, he did something good. our economy is going down the shitter, but I'm still for this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZyW2-vSqV8 <--- this kid has Bush's voice down pat.

dm_hawk · Post by **dm_hawk** » Thu Apr 03, 2008 9:35 pm

Timur · Post by **Timur** » Thu Apr 03, 2008 9:42 pm

For everyone posting their personal political compass here: If you are not anonymous aka if your real name/personality can be traced back somehow then keep in mind that these posts could be archived on the web forever (like in Google cache). Anyone (like future employers or the state/goverment that your country may come to be) can check your supposedly political agenda without caring for the context of this survey. This is no private forum, it's as public as can be. Just a reminder.

Angstrom · Post by **Angstrom** » Thu Apr 03, 2008 10:13 pm

smartass303 wrote:@ Angstrom, etc.

Yeah, maybe it makes YOU feel better.
YOU made the difference for YOURSELF, thats good for you but means nothing to society (or the historical process, lol).
I mean, in the end, you are just a small number. The personal impact through consume is near nil... Thats the way it is.
If many people in a society would consume in a different way then i would *maybe* make a difference, who knows?

socialism does not take into account the people who want to be capitalists, the same way that capitalism has little regard for socialist ideals.
The two ideologies hold nothing of interest for the people who are on the opposite side.
You can't just invent a system and then apply it to an imperfect species.
Die hard socialists say "socialism was never really tried", but the truth is - humanity just isn't ready for it. Perhaps some percentage of people like the idea, but Humans are barely domesticated primates with nothing on their minds but "defend tribe against other tribe", "appease the sky god" and "I must mate "

Socialism is as attractive to them as it is to a chimp, these people want $£$ Today !! You won a speedboat !!!!

I'm guessing %80 of the planet thinks like that.

b0unce · Post by **b0unce** » Thu Apr 03, 2008 10:19 pm

smartass303 wrote: In a capitalistic system it doesnt matter if you buy stuff from tesco or from the organic grocer around the corner because the money will reproduce the capitalistic system.

smartass303 wrote:@ Angstrom, etc.

Yeah, maybe it makes YOU feel better.
YOU made the difference for YOURSELF, thats good for you but means nothing to society (or the historical process, lol).
I mean, in the end, you are just a small number. The personal impact through consume is near nil... Thats the way it is.
If many people in a society would consume in a different way then i would *maybe* make a difference, who knows?

This is short sighted bullshit...
We're operating in a capitalist society, period. Not my favourite model but that's the fact.
Living in a capitalist society it is much better to support local business' and producers. That's patently obvious. If you don't support your local green grocer he goes out of business, and has to do something else. Maybe find another job, working in some shitty factory owned by a foreign corporation maybe. Maybe he defaults on his mortgage payments, etc. Maybe he can't help his kids financially with their mortgage. Sure, the capitalist society 'stays the same' but the wealth is given to fewer and fewer people, who may not even live in, or come from your country. They may be given tax breaks too because once you are in control of so much wealth the government rarely likes to see you leave. Until eventually all the shops and business' in europe are the exact same, more or less.
And what happens when a small business person defaults on their payments for long enough ? Not only do they go out of business but the bank will sell the place over their head. Property is wealth and power, the more genuine people who have a right to the land the better. even in a capitalist society. until your socialist revolution happens you would be well advised to keep local people afloat in a capitalist society.

If you're depressed about living in a capitalist society or something, don't fall off the deep end and coin nihilist bullshit on your way home from Tesco
Seriously, did you come up with that philosophical nugget to make yourself feel better about shopping in Tesco or something ? That's what it looks like to me

The Phat Conductor · Post by **The Phat Conductor** » Thu Apr 03, 2008 10:28 pm

Your political compass
Economic Left/Right: -8.38
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -9.28

i dunno how accurately these statistics can reflect reality though. a lot of those questions were just silly...

Angstrom · Post by **Angstrom** » Thu Apr 03, 2008 10:40 pm

I recommend everyone has a go at entering the opposite answer to the one they really believe.

It's a bit of an experiment in seeing how other people think, and how flexible your sense of self is. Being dogmatically 'correct' and never taking a good look around is not usually beneficial, can you think of a dogmatist you like ?

SO, have a go at being a right wing nutcase and see how it feels to be one for 5 minutes. Artists ? less valuable than butlers, that's for sure !

b0unce · Post by **b0unce** » Thu Apr 03, 2008 10:49 pm

Angstrom wrote:can you think of a dogmatist you like ?

In this forum a dogmatist needs only to be well written to be liked

gaijin1717 · Post by **gaijin1717** » Thu Apr 03, 2008 10:57 pm

Here's me:

I have to say this is one of my favorite political threads on this forum. Seems to me that people are really engaged in meaningful discourse, avoiding the use of STFU.

As someone with a Bachelors degree in sociology and anthropology I have to say that, while I agree that the questions come across skewed and wish that there was a "sometimes" option, I'm sure that these questions were formulated with a lot of thought. Whether or not they're successful in their intent, I don't know. But, this test is very similar to one's used in grant-backed psychological studies and ones you might encounter at a career councilor.

In reference to the corporate vendor vs. local organic debate, gotta love the perspective of Michael Pollan. Whether or not you agree, it's interesting. I hate that new health fads come and go daily and yet are taken as gospel, at least for a moment.

In reference capitalism, I'm a firm believer in Audre Lorde's "you can't dismantle the masters house using the master's tools." That said, I have met many of the Weatherman - my girlfriend being related to a few of them - and while I don't necessarily support violence, I respect their strong commitment to a cause they believed in. It's that kind of passion and commitment that's lacking in contemporary america. It's lacking in me...

gaijin1717 · Post by **gaijin1717** » Thu Apr 03, 2008 10:59 pm

Sorry, double post, and I don't know how to simply delete.