I am, probably more so than most people, very self-aware of my political leanings. I “get” most of the labels (often poorly used) and understand usually how to apply them to myself. I also score high (usually perfect, not to brag) on political knowledge surveys. I always have an opinion to offer. Etc, etc, ad nauseum.

So I did a little experiment and I took the four most popular (well…seemingly popular. I didn’t research that too much) political quizzes on the interwebs.

First up, The World’s Smallest Political Quiz. As we all know, size matters so I’m interested to see how this one stacks up against the rest. Generally I’ve found that the smaller ones are lacking but I’m going into it with an open mind.

ACCORDING TO YOUR ANSWERS,

The political group that
agrees with you most is….

LIBERAL

LIBERALS usually embrace freedom of choice in personal

matters, but tend to support significant government control of the

economy. They generally support a government-funded “safety net”
to help the disadvantaged, and advocate strict regulation

of business. Liberals tend to favor environmental regulations,

defend civil liberties and free expression, support government action

to promote equality, and tolerate diverse lifestyles.

I’m a liberal. Unsurprising. Pretty much what I expect ed, very socially liberal (100% actually) and economically centrist but left leaning. I disagree with a few of the questions, specifically the one asking about “corporate welfare.” That can be interpreted in a number of ways and fundamentally that’s my problem. Tax cuts for oil companies I disagree with, but funding for R&D for new fuel technologies I agree with. However, it is the world’s smallest political quiz so I suppose the devil is in the details.

Next we have The Political Compass. Right off the bat, I am annoyed. The first question asks “If economic globalization is inevitable, it should primarily serve humanity rather than the interests of trans-national corporations.” If? WTF is if? Was this written in 1963? It’s not a matter of IF, it’s a matter of it-already-fucking-is.

This one continues to annoy me. A bunch of questions are poorly worded and intentionally vague. However, there is one which states that “those with the ability to pay should have the right to higher standards of medical care.” If the question was worded to say a higher “quality” of care, I would agree, but standard implies a “floor” of care and that I have to disagree with.

There is a question about whether or not astrology accurately explains many things. I can only guess that they are trying to weed out stupid people.

Unsurprisingly, I am again on the left although less so on this quiz than on the first one socially, however. And about midrange economically, which is the same as the first one.

Third on the chopping block is the Political Quiz.

Click the Calculate Results button to receive your score. Respondents with the most points (40) are 100 percent conservative; those with the least (0) are 100 percent liberal. See where you fall on the chart below:

I am a 12. Great. Slightly between Bill and Hilliary. Not exactly a fun spot to be in, especially these days. This quiz fails due to its lack of multidimensionality. The entire notion you can boil political leanings down to one line is one of the fundamental problems with our political system today. Epic fail.

Finally, we have The Quiz. I think the questions in this one are the best worded and seem to reflect the broadest political issues with the most brevity.

The Quiz

The following are your scores. They are based on a gradual range of 0 to 12. For instance, a Conservative/Progressive score of 3 and 0 will both yield a result of social conservative, yet 0 would be an extreme conservative and 3 a moderate conservative.

Conservative/Progressive score: 10
You are a social progressive. You generally consider yourself a humanist first. You probably think that religion and patriotism go too far in society. You probably consider yourself to be a citizen of Earth first rather than a citizen of your country.

Capitalist Purist/Social Capitalist score: 10

You’re a Social Capitalist, you think that, left to its own, Capitalism leaves a lot of people behind. You think that Health Care should be free to all, that the minimum wage should be raised, and that the government should provide jobs to all that are capable of having them. You likely hated the Bush tax cuts, and believe that the middle class has gotten poorer, and the rich have gotten richer over the past several years. The far extreme of social capitalism is socialism.

Libertarian/Authoritarian score: 2
You are libertarian. You think that the government is making way too many unnecessary laws that are taking away our innate rights. You believe that the government’s job is primarily to protect people from harming other people, but after that they should mind their own business, and if we give the government too much power in controlling our lives, it can lead to fascism.

Pacifist/Militarist score: 3
You’re a Pacifist. You are angered that the United States thinks it should dominate the world through its military force. You think that the only time war is necessary is when we are in direct danger of being attacked. You also believe the US spends way too much of its money on defense, as we can practically cut it in half and still easily defend ourselves, and use that money to fix all our economic problems.

Overall, you would most likely fit into the category of Hardcore Democrat

This one is, by far, the most in depth. However it isn’t as long as some of the others and, like I said, in my humble opinion, asks the best questions. I enjoy the break down and agree with most of the blurbs.

The four quizzes are:

The World’s Smallest Political Quiz – Has me at the most socially liberal. Acceptable

The Political Compass – The questions annoyed me unbelievably but basically matches how I would describe myself. Also, acceptable.

Political Quiz – Single dimension. Fails.

The Quiz – I think this has the best questions and certainly gives the best feedback. My favorite.