Again, not scientific, proves nothing, but still something I found interesting considering all the bullshit “statist” crap I have hurled at me like so much monkey feces on here.
Oh, also: I love the 4 Star and 1 Star ratings you guys give me on my posts the most. To me, 1 star indicates I’m actually right, and 4 star ratings usually mean you hate me so much, you’re loathe to admit you liked the post.
The five star ratings get to me a little, and cause me to sit in a dark room lightly brushing a razor blade up and down the inside of my forearm, praying for the courage to press down. The 1 stars, however, remind me I’m the smartest man who ever lived… smarter than Einstein if he were tutored by Socrates.
Actually… Einstein probably never would have come up with his theory of relativity had this anachronistic scenario occurred, since I imagine he would have left us with, “The only thing we can know about E is that we don’t know anything about what it equals.” Then again, a world without the atom bomb wouldn’t be half bad. I’m betting Japan is working on a time machine right now to make this happen…
if any of you fascist, anarcho-wannabes managed to score less authoritarian than I did, let me know.
ReplyDeleteWhat are you talking about? Oh, yeah, in your fantasy world if you don't seek to impose your values by force on anyone, you're a fascist, but if you use the force of the state to do your dirty work (instead of doing the hard work of persuading and building) you can call yourself some kind of a "libertarian".
And no one can possibly "score" less authoritarian than you based on that chart because you're already at the bottom of the libertarian side.
No, someone can't be more left than me, but there must have been one question I was a statist on. Either that, or astrologers are less authoritarian than I am, because they put more faith in the stars.
ReplyDeleteif you use the force of the state to do your dirty work (instead of doing the hard work of persuading and building) you can call yourself some kind of a "libertarian".
What does this even mean? If I understand the concept of "division of labor," I'm not a libertarian?
I'm also a little confused by "hard work of persuading and building." Are you trying to suggest we need 100% of the population to agree to something in order to do anything? Do you honestly think every single person (including those who would have people like us killed for being traitors for our beliefs) has to be on board, otherwise it's tyranny?
Some people are just fucking wrong, and it's okay to ignore them.
For the fuck of it I rated this post a one-star; to piss you off.
ReplyDeleteI fall in the libertarian/left quadrant but to be honest, I can easily sometimes fall in the Friedman area.
ReplyDeleteThere are always some questions in these things that strike me as false dichotomies. Not a big fan of the 'this or that' question.
Nonetheless, I'm cool with being a lib/left. I'm left-handed.
Not sure, Bret, if these things can ever be "scientific."
I'd like to believe it's possible to get pretty accurate results from certain surveys, but perhaps the biggest problem isn't just the poorly worded questions, but the false assumptions regarding the political spectrum.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting when people get results that go against what they believe themselves to be, however. I know this is on facebook, and more than one Republican I know landed left of the middle. I suspect it's because most Republicans are too stupid to even understand what it means to be conservative.
Also, I wonder how many people taking the test don't understand basic political ideas, like "protectionism." I'm imagining a conservative being like, "I think it's important to defend the US..." and then saying a free market is ideal.
Ok. I just did it with my wife. She's literally smack in the middle of the chart. A true centrist.
ReplyDeleteI also amended a couple of questions since I misread them the first time around (watching the Pats-Bears as I do this) and come two diagonal squares away from the center lying in the lib/left camp.
I'll post my result later (maybe tonight- hey stay up with me) and I too landed in the middle of the left/right divide, but definitely down on the libertarian side.
ReplyDeleteI agree the questions leave a lot to be desired, so I don't put much stock in the "no thinking outside the box" assumptions of the choices.
Glad though that Bret seems to be a left-libertarian. When this blog started it was pretty much right libertarian, but firmly on the left now, I think.
Good (non-existant) lord!
ReplyDeleteThe questions were leading, stupid, and, well, just pathetic... all of them would have the effect of hiding statist thought to some extent.
None of the leading questions were detailed enough for the politically aware, anyone familiar with simple concepts from Marx, Austrian School, Friedman, or Chomsky would skew the results.
And worst of all I am at the bottom (all the way) and to the left only a few spots from Bret! (at least what he claims).
I come out more left than the Dali Lama and Nelson Mandela - something is fucking wrong...
Shoot me now!
Yours is the best comment on this yet, Radio!
ReplyDeleteYou think you have it bad? A picture of Castro and Gandhi keeps creeping up on me!
ReplyDeleteCastro!
Bunch of commies!
ReplyDeleteat least what he claims
ReplyDeleteAre you implying I would skew my results?
"Are you implying I would skew my results?”
ReplyDeleteI am keeping my options open if this is all some elaborate joke...
It does sound like one of my jokes... since I don't hear anyone laughing.
ReplyDeleteThat particular set of questions sure looks like some attempt at humor...
ReplyDelete