My friend and writing partner, Jamil, just published a piece about where he sits on the political spectrum. He came out as pretty far left-libertarian according to The Political Compass. He talked for a bit about how he doesn’t see himself as libertarian, but it’s good food for thought.
Naturally, his piece got me thinking about my own place on the political spectrum. I often comment that I don’t feel really comfortable anywhere in the standard discussions of politics. When I vote, I virtually always vote Democrat, which would put me kind of center/left. But, I don’t vote Democrat because I agree with all, or even a majority, of their positions. I vote Democrat because it’s the only pragmatic, and ethical, option.
I decided to take the same Political Compass test that Jamil took. I got
Economic Left/Right: -5.63
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -6.82
I don’t know how I feel about that. It’s probably true that I’m economically left, but I don’t blame capitalism for all of life’s woes. In fact, I think actual socialism is silly at best, so I’m probably close to OK on the left/right ranking. But, this scale put me at way more libertarian than I think of myself.
I know it’s not talking about the Libertarian political party, or even the libertarian ideas that have taken hold in the main-stream Republican party, but, in general, I’m not a big freedom guy. I’m all for big government and strong regulations. I think governments are the only way to tackle issues like the environment, public health, transportation, and education. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think of myself as authoritarian either. I just thought I’d be a lot closer to center on the vertical line of the chart.
Jamil said that his piece was an exercise in self-understanding. That’s certainly a worthy goal. I just don’t think this particular exercise helped me that much. It does suggest a project for me, though. I can try to explore the political terrain more and see if there’s anywhere I feel comfortable. Kind of an, “If I got to design a political party, what would it look like?” type of exercise. I think I could really learn something from that.
youre definately not in libertarian camp if you think a state is needed – your poistion is getting close to communism marxism or anarchist depending on its type . collective anarchists are further left and down
Ah yes, the “Trumpites” right next to the nazis, which are next to kings, even though this is in total willful ignorance of actual history.
I’d love to know who made that chart so I can laugh in their face.
I am on the furthest right. I will be voting for Trump.
Call me a nazi if it makes you feel less inadequate.