The Political Compass, first seven questions

[lidaker]

Just a few propositions to start with, concerning - no less - how you see the country and the world.

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

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

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

- Our race has many superior qualities, compared to other races.

- The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

- Military action that defies international law is sometimes justified.

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

[lidaker]

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

AGREE. It should, but that's not how capitalism works.


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

STRONGLY DISAGREE. I'd support my country if it was right, not if it was wrong.


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

DISAGREE. It's foolish to be a nationalist, but it's not foolish to be proud of your country.


Our race has many superior qualities, compared to other races.

STRONGLY DISAGREE.


The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

STRONGLY DISAGREE. The enemy of my enemy is still my enemy if it opposes my values.


Military action that defies international law is sometimes justified.

AGREE. If it's needed to prevent humanitarian disasters or genocides.


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

STRONGLY AGREE. It's the biggest problem of our lifetime.

[minionofmidas]

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

STRONGLY AGREE. It should, but that's not how capitalism works.


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

STRONGLY DISAGREE. I'd support my country if it was right, not if it was wrong. Whenever it's wrong, I'll try and help it back on the right track. Anything else is unpatriotic bordering on the treasonable.


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

AGREE. While you should be part of yourself and of your heritage, your citizenship is only a tiny part of that that gets waay overstressed.

Our race has many superior qualities, compared to other races.

STRONGLY DISAGREE.


The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

STRONGLY DISAGREE. The enemy of my enemy is still my enemy if it opposes my values.


Military action that defies international law is sometimes justified.

DISAGREE. If it's needed to prevent humanitarian disasters or genocides, it doesn't - or shouldn't - defy international law. Leaving the determination of whether military action is justified to anybody with a gun opens the door to all kinds of abuses. Of course, that's how it has in practice always been. There was nothing new about the US invasion of Iraq, nor about its better allies' refusal to have a part in that. The only ones you managed to drag into Vietnam were the Australians.


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

AGREE. It's currently growing again, as it is bound to if providers of information are thrown upon the market, but that's nothing new. (Not that a state monopoly on information would be better - it would be worse.)

You must be logged in to read this quote.

[Gabu]

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

Strongly agree.  That would be nice.

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

Strongly disagree.  How much patriotism you feel should be a function of your perception of your country's actions.  Having it the other way around can lead to disasterous results.

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

Disagree.  It shouldn't define your entire life, but if you like what your country has accomplished and what it stands for, there's nothing wrong with being proud of it.

- Our race has many superior qualities, compared to other races.

Strongly disagree.  I'm not Hitler, thank you very much.

- The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

Strongly disagree.  The enemy of your enemy might have it in for you just as much as your enemy does.

- Military action that defies international law is sometimes justified.

Agree.  Defying international law should not be the first option, but if there is a very clear danger, with any action against it technically prohibited by international law, then it should still be an option.

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

Agree.  As an example, news agencies have gotten way too far into the entertainment business.  The news should be for information, not for entertainment.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

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

STRONGLY  AGREE. People over corporations always!

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

STRONG DISAGREE. That sort of attitude is what allows people like Hitler to rise to power.

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

-AGREE. Too much pride is based on citizenship, this leads to nationalism and other such problems.

- Our race has many superior qualities, compared to other races.

STRONGLY DISAGREE. duh.

- The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

DISAGREE. But I would team up with them to defeat the greater enemy for the time being if neccesary. This is often neccesary. See Soviet Union in WWII.

- Military action that defies international law is sometimes justified.

DISAGREE. Humanitarian efforts and ones vital for world security are not in defiance of international law. It's stuff like Vietnam and Iraq that it prevents.

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

DISAGREE. I enjoy The Daily Show. Whatever gets the message across.

[David S]

-If economic globalisation is inevitable, it should primarily serve humanity rather than the interests of trans-national corporations.
Neutral- Without corporations no one has a job. Without people there is no one to do the job or buy the products.

- I'd always support my country, whether it was right or wrong.
No - After WWII Hitler's officers were executed for that.

- No one chooses their country of birth, so it's foolish to be proud of it.
I'm proud to be an American

- Our race has many superior qualities, compared to other races.
No comment

- The enemy of my enemy is my friend.
Silliness

- Military action that defies international law is sometimes justified.
Agreed

- The growing fusion between information and entertainment is a worrying contribution to the public's shrinking attention span.
Agreed -but I wouldn't propose any radical solutions like banning TV. An inspiring leader who can refocus the public's attention away from "Sex in the City" and toward more important things would be good.

[The Duke]

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

I don't see why it shouldn't be used to benefit all, including corporations.

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

No.

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

Its foolish to be proud of your country if you're Canadian or something.

- Our race has many superior qualities, compared to other races.

Did anyone actually say they agree with this one?

- The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

Yes, until I have defeated my enemy.  Then I turn around and destroy my enemy's enemy.

- Military action that defies international law is sometimes justified.

Its usually the best kind.

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

Yeah.

[Giant Saguaro]

1. Well, in a perfect world it would be nice, but it's far from a perfect world. Besides, "humanity" it a broad term and broad concept. Generally disagree.

2. No, disagree.

3. Strongly disagree.

4. Disagree.

Sometimes I think maybe our understanding of what's going on in the world and maybe our understanding of history are more realistic and less naive or reactionary, make us more apt to lead the world. I think our capitalist system is superior. Are we superior as a race? NO.

5. Depends. Sometimes yes.

6. Absolutely; stongly agree.

7. Agree.

[Jake]

1. Strongly Disagree-Capitalism all the way

2. Agree-You should always support your country, except if you live outside the US

3. Strongly Disagree-Be proud of your country, except if you live in Canada or France. Then be ashamed.

4. No Comment

5. Strongly Agree-Unite to knock of your enemy, then knock off your enemy's enemy

6. Strongly Agree-Look out "Axis of Evil"

7. Strongly Agree

[David S]

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

I don't see why it shouldn't be used to benefit all, including corporations.

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

No.

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

Its foolish to be proud of your country if you're Canadian or something.

- Our race has many superior qualities, compared to other races.

Did anyone actually say they agree with this one?

- The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

Yes, until I have defeated my enemy.  Then I turn around and destroy my enemy's enemy.

- Military action that defies international law is sometimes justified.

Its usually the best kind.

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

Yeah.

John Ford
Regarding your response to the "your enemy's enemy" question; remind me never to form an alliance with you.

[The Duke]

David S,

Don't worry about being my real ally, just about being an ally of convenience.

[Beet]

You must be logged in to read this quote.

STRONGLY AGREE. This question is difficult however, because they are not entirely exclusive! In fact they are probably more mutually inclusive than otherwise. My answer is based on only those issues in which they are mutually exclusive. In all, a loaded question that dislike.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

STRONGLY DISAGREE. Perhaps I might have more tolerance for my country than another country. But I still have some basic sense of decency that wont be crossed.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

DISAGREE. While this is often manifested through people who use it as a substitute for personal self confidence or spiritual growth, and while it often makes people dumb or mean-spirited, and while it creates bad barriers between people... this statement categorically denies the propriety of ever being proud of one's country, even if you have lived there your entire life and grown attached to its idiosyncracies and positive elements. That is a pretty foolish an assertion to make.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

STRONGLY DISAGREE. I have seen enough total losers of EVERY race not to use it as a major factor when looking at a person's qualities.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

AGREE. A friend is someone who I wish well for. There are some friendships based on mutual affection, and some based on mutual interests, especially if those interests are acute.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

AGREE. Its stupid to say that whatever international law says, is always the just thing. However, it probably is ALMOST always the case.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

STRONGLY AGREE. Is it the chicken or the egg? Is the public's attention span really shrinking or are technology and prosperity just bringing out human nature? There should probably be an externally funded prime time or even cable news channel.

[nclib]

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

Agree, though I'd like to think that these are not mutually exclusive.

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

Strongly disagree--my country only deserves my support if/when it's right.

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

Agree--It is fine to identify with or be proud of a particular culture, but the issue should not be where one was born.

- Our race has many superior qualities, compared to other races.

Strongly disagree--I wonder if any Atlas members put anything else.

- The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

Strongly disagree--My enemy's enemy may have very different reasons for disagreeing with my enemy than I do.

- Military action that defies international law is sometimes justified.

Disagree--Although in principle, international law is not absolute, I support military action in very few circumstances...and I'm almost positive that international law would not oppose military action in those cases.

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

Agree.

[12th Doctor]

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

A trick question.  What benifits the global economy does benefit humanity and the companies.

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

Disagree, however, I would always denfend my country whether I supported the policies of it or not.

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

Disagree.  Unless you live in a dictatorship or a corrupt counrty, you should always be proud of your nation.

- Our race has many superior qualities, compared to other races.

Strongly Disagree.  Other than minor biological and sociological differences, nothing makes the individuals of any race different from anyother.

- The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

As long as they don't double cross us, I agree.

- Military action that defies international law is sometimes justified.

Strongly Agree.  International law is set forth by nationas that we cannot trust anyway.  Screw it.  The only law I support is that which is just and right, not one made up by fascists and the French/German alliance.

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

Depends on the individuak, but I agree.

[JohnFKennedy]

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

Agree, though it can easily serve both in my opinion, it is not just the one or the other.

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

Strongly Disagree

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

Disagree, national pride is good in moderation.

- Our race has many superior qualities, compared to other races.

Strongly Disagree

- The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

Politically? Agree probably otherwise Disagree.

- Military action that defies international law is sometimes justified.

Strongly Agree

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

Strongly Agree

[lidaker]

Its foolish to be proud of your country if you're Canadian or something.

[Nym90]

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

Strongly Agree. Hopefully the two will be one and the same, but if they aren't, people should always come before profits.

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

Strongly Disagree. I stand up for what I think is right or wrong, I have no responsibility to support actions that are wrong.

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

Hmm, tough one. I wouldn't go so far as to say it's foolish...but at the same time, it is true that no one chooses where they were born either, so no one should think that they are better than anyone else because of where they were born. At the same time, there is nothing wrong with national pride in moderation. So I guess I'd say Disagree.

- Our race has many superior qualities, compared to other races.

Strongly Disagree. However, one could interpret this many different ways....it's not as racist as it sounds actually. You could think that your race has many superior qualities, but also many inferior qualities as well. Basically this question is not asking "Are you a racist?" as some seem to think...if it was worded to say "Our race is superior to other races" then it would be asking that, but basically this question is actually asking "Is there much of any difference between races, or are all races basically the same?" You could make a scientific argument that there are differences between race that make them better in certain areas, but I would say that those don't have any implications beyond mere science, and shouldn't be used to justify anything politically because it would cause people to be treated unfairly.

- The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

Strongly Disagree, this line of thinking has been getting us into a lot of trouble over the years.

- Military action that defies international law is sometimes justified.

Agree, sometimes it is, but rarely. We shouldn't be absolutely beholden to international law, but at the same time we should respect it and attempt to change it if we feel it is wrong.

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

Strongly Agree. I'm surprised how many conservatives agree here...I'm assuming Agree here would be considered liberal on ecomomics...you are basically saying that it is the fault of the media for people having low attention spans, whereas on the other side you could argue people have to take responsibility for thsmelves and not blame the media, which would be more of a conservative argument I'd think. That being said, I do think the media has tremendous influence over the way people think about things...people really get caught up in "peer pressure" and such quite easily, and want to go along with the crowd.

[7,052,770]

- If economic globalisation is inevitable, it should primarily serve humanity rather than the interests of trans-national corporations.
STONGLY AGREE.  Of course, it's not practical, but the key word is "should."

- I'd always support my country, whether it was right or wrong.
DISAGREE.  I'd never commit treason, but if the country did something wrong I'd supppose it.

- No one chooses their country of birth, so it's foolish to be proud of it.
DISAGREE.  I'm proud to be an American.  There's nothing wrong with that as long as you don't take it too far.

- Our race has many superior qualities, compared to other races.
STRONGLY DISAGREE.  Obviously.

- The enemy of my enemy is my friend.
STRONGLY DISAGREE.  We can see how helping the former enemies of our enemies Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden has come back to haunt us.

- Military action that defies international law is sometimes justified.
AGREE.  Humanitarian causes or anything in our strategic interest is justifiable.

- The growing fusion between information and entertainment is a worrying contribution to the public's shrinking attention span.
AGREE.  It is something to worry about.

[minionofmidas]

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

Strongly Agree. I'm surprised how many conservatives agree here...

You must be logged in to read this quote.

I'd actually consider that a small-c conservative position.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

I tested a lot of questions on the test once, that one gives negative points on the y axis if you disagree, and positive if you agree.

[Gabu]

Its foolish to be proud of your country if you're Canadian or something.

Try as they might to anger me, I continue to find comments like that amusing.

[12th Doctor]

- Our race has many superior qualities, compared to other races.

Strongly Disagree. However, one could interpret this many different ways....it's not as racist as it sounds actually. You could think that your race has many superior qualities, but also many inferior qualities as well. Basically this question is not asking "Are you a racist?" as some seem to think...if it was worded to say "Our race is superior to other races" then it would be asking that, but basically this question is actually asking "Is there much of any difference between races, or are all races basically the same?" You could make a scientific argument that there are differences between race that make them better in certain areas, but I would say that those don't have any implications beyond mere science, and shouldn't be used to justify anything politically because it would cause people to be treated unfairly.

Eric, I noticed this subtle pharsing as well and took the question to mean exactly what it says, I still dissagree however.  Not all Asians are industrius (I know from expireince), just as not all Europeans are greedy, however, these are both predominant sterotypes around the world.  Not only that, but many of these factors (European emphasis on individuality and Commerce and Asian emphasis on Community and industriusness) fall away when these people are brought up in the cultures of one another.  Hence, race is not the deciding factor, rather, culture is.  These two are not directly connected.

[Josh/Devilman88]

Its foolish to be proud of your country if you're Canadian or something.

Try as they might to anger me, I continue to find comments like that amusing.

Do you guys hate america?

[Gabu]

Its foolish to be proud of your country if you're Canadian or something.

Try as they might to anger me, I continue to find comments like that amusing.

Do you guys hate america?

I don't.  I like America.  I'm not so arrogant as to speak for the rest of Canada, but I don't know anybody else who hates America, either.  I know a lot of people who hate Bush, but not America.

- Our race has many superior qualities, compared to other races.

Strongly Disagree. However, one could interpret this many different ways....it's not as racist as it sounds actually. You could think that your race has many superior qualities, but also many inferior qualities as well. Basically this question is not asking "Are you a racist?" as some seem to think...if it was worded to say "Our race is superior to other races" then it would be asking that, but basically this question is actually asking "Is there much of any difference between races, or are all races basically the same?" You could make a scientific argument that there are differences between race that make them better in certain areas, but I would say that those don't have any implications beyond mere science, and shouldn't be used to justify anything politically because it would cause people to be treated unfairly.

There actually have been scientific studies refuting the alleged differences between races.  I don't have any immediately on hand, but I could probably dig some up if you wanted me to.  In the one I most prominently remember, they gave people some bones and asked them to classify them according to race based on what the bones looked like.  The resulting percentage of correct responses that they gave was no higher than what one might expect the outcome to be had the bones been classified in a completely random, detached manner.

Because of this, "race" has been pretty much struck from the list of scientific methods of classification and identification because a quantitative link between race and pretty much anything could not be proven.  It's been replaced with "ethnicity" (or "culture", which is the word Supersoulty uses, which more or less means the same thing), since one's ethnicity can be quantitatively established based on their nationality and other similar grounds.

One's ethnicity may be a factor in determining behaviourial patterns.  Given that different cultures and countries go about life in very different ways than others, that fact is indisputable; one's personality is something like 90% nurture and only 10% nature.  One's race, however, has no evidence behind it whatsoever pointing to its playing a role in much of anything at all.

[Gustaf]

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

Silly question. Never know what to say to this one.

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

STRONGLY DISAGREE. You should all imagine being a German in the early 1940s.

- No one chooses their country of birth, so it's foolish to be proud of it.
DISAGREE/STRONGLY DISAGREE. I'm proud of my country, nothing wrong with that, as long as you consider the above statement.
 
- Our race has many superior qualities, compared to other races.
STRONGLY DISAGREE.  Not much to add here.

- The enemy of my enemy is my friend.
AGREE. Was it correct to ally with Stalin against Hitler? Yep.

- Military action that defies international law is sometimes justified.
STRONGLY AGREE. It says SOMETIMES. Thus strongly.

- The growing fusion between information and entertainment is a worrying contribution to the public's shrinking attention span.
"AGREE.  It is something to worry about."