Here's a real political compass test

[MERIZoC]

Poverty is getting worse.

Bit ambiguous and it isn't really. Globally speaking most of us are actually getting richer; the divide between rich and poor is growing but that's not the same as increasing poverty.

In the western world most of us have seen our living standards stagnate or go down true but we are still enjoying a standard of living higher than our parents and grandparents.

What I mean to say is that it's getting worse for those in poverty. Pollution, desertification, exploitation—all contributing to lower qualities of life.

[Arkiasis]

This test is trash. Only two options? And the bias between the 2 answers is so damn obvious. How American...

Anyway, I'm apparently "Next Generation Left".

[Ripoll]

This test is trash. Only two options? And the bias between the 2 answers is so damn obvious. How American...

Anyway, I'm apparently "Next Generation Left".

I didn't sense any bias, what bias are you referring to

[Arkiasis]

This test is trash. Only two options? And the bias between the 2 answers is so damn obvious. How American...

Anyway, I'm apparently "Next Generation Left".

I didn't sense any bias, what bias are you referring to

1 answer is insanely Liberal and the other is insanely Conservative. I kept saying "The real answer is somewhere in between".

[Liverte]

I'm a "Business Conservative"

[Cresilia]

Not a very good test I am afraid. There were no shades of grey in answering, of course it will produce strongly partisan results.

I landed Steadfast Conservative for what it means.

[Evil Grantica]

Terrible test. It's only left vs right. There's no statism vs liberty dynamic.

Of course I'm going to be a "steadfast conservative" if all I'm really asked are (often loaded) questions about the economy and vague questions about immigration and war.

Other tests are much better, and place me as a conservative-leaning libertarian. Some go so far as to recognize that much of my conservatism is limited to my personal life - not my political positions.

[Greater-London]

What I mean to say is that it's getting worse for those in poverty. Pollution, desertification, exploitation—all contributing to lower qualities of life.

But globally speaking there are fewer people living in abject poverty than ever before. So for most of us life is getting better, and there hasn't been a point in our entire history where the poorest among us have had a time that wasn't rough.

[Margno]

I've dealt with this one before. It just ranks everyone between democrat and republican, doesn't work for radicals.

[Korintar]

I've dealt with this one before. It just ranks everyone between democrat and republican, doesn't work for radicals.

Judging from your flag and signature, I presume you are a Christian anarchist?

[New Hampshire Republic]

Young Outsider

This relatively young, largely independent group holds a mix of conservative and liberal views. And while more lean toward the Republican Party than the Democratic Party, Young Outsiders generally express unfavorable opinions of both major parties. They are largely skeptical of activist government, as a substantial majority views government as wasteful and inefficient. Yet many diverge from the two conservative typology groups – Steadfast Conservatives and Business Conservatives – in their strong support for the environment and many liberal social policies.

[Alannika]

Third party support is shrinking not growing

Well, someone clearly hasn't been paying attention to electoral trends and polling...

[Stormwind-City]

And those GOP and Democratic voters still only make up a minority of eligible voters and poll after poll suggests the vast majority want something different. Just because the system is rigged to favor the two-party duopoly, other positions do not cease to exist. This test is based on a very narrow view of ideology.

Third party support is shrinking not growing, and once the economy takes off again political support for both parties will increase. However you may be on to something regarding moderates and independents and it will be the party that is less extreme in their ideology that ends up winning the people.

A two party system is good, it makes things easier and makes it harder for socialists to screw us up like they did Europe.

Lol, wut.

[MERIZoC]

Third party support is shrinking not growing

Well, someone clearly hasn't been paying attention to electoral trends and polling...

Or much else.

[Alannika]

This test is trash. Only two options? And the bias between the 2 answers is so damn obvious. How American...

Anyway, I'm apparently "Next Generation Left".

I didn't sense any bias, what bias are you referring to

Really? It's pretty blatant. The options are "you're either A or B" on rather nuanced issues. It's a false dichotomy by forcing opposite positions when clearly there are other options out there.

[Margno]

I've dealt with this one before. It just ranks everyone between democrat and republican, doesn't work for radicals.

Judging from your flag and signature, I presume you are a Christian anarchist?

Yep. Depending how I randomly answer the questions that don't apply on this test I either get Solid Liberal or Disaffected. Never faith and family left, which seemed surprising.

[Lydenburg]

This test is trash. Only two options? And the bias between the 2 answers is so damn obvious. How American...

Anyway, I'm apparently "Next Generation Left".

I didn't sense any bias, what bias are you referring to

American bias.

[Skappola]

I didn't sense any bias, what bias are you referring to

American bias.

So the reality of our political landscape?

[Forsher]

American bias.

So the reality of our political landscape?

What he means is that while the OP describes this test as being a "real political compass" one it's completely irrelevant for anyone who isn't American. In fact, the test is best described as "Where are you in the polarised, backwards two party US political scene?" Which makes sense because it arose from an analysis of said political scene.

I got solid liberal, which is the most extreme left-wing perspective. To put that in context, almost all of these tests put me near the centre with a left skew. For instance, "Economic Left/Right: -2.50 Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -1.54" or this. The party specific ones tend to align me more with Greens-type ones though.

In terms of that result, however, my points of disagreement with the SL were, "We should pay less attention to problems overseas and concentrate on problems here at home," "U.S. efforts to solve problems around the world usually end up making things worse," and "Success in life is pretty much determined by forces outside of our control". I mean, coming from a small, isolated country with no land borders puts the first in a totally different context. The last one more people should be agreeing with (at least, in the US) as social mobility is declining there and, in general, one's ability to succeed depends on where one starts (if you're in the poverty trap, for instance, things are going to be rough). I also found the two questions about the situation of black Americans difficult to answer as everything I know about said situation is second hand.

[Chungking]

This is a simplistic, poorly worded test which employs the one dimensional categories of American party politics. As a result, it paints in extremely broad brush strokes, and is really only interested in filtering people into "Democrat" or "Republican".

It ignores people who vote for third parties or don't vote at all, or who vote for a major party but so holding their nose.

The The Political Compass offers a much more accurate, nuanced take on political positions.

[Chungking]

What he means is that while the OP describes this test as being a "real political compass" one it's completely irrelevant for anyone who isn't American. In fact, the test is best described as "Where are you in the polarised, backwards two party US political scene?" Which makes sense because it arose from an analysis of said political scene.

Yes. I am an American myself and I agree with this.

I got solid liberal, which is the most extreme left-wing perspective.

As did I. Here's what it said:

Generally affluent and highly educated, most Solid Liberals strongly support the social safety net and take very liberal positions on virtually all issues. Most say they always vote Democratic and are unflagging supporters of Barack Obama. Overall, Solid Liberals are very optimistic about the nation’s future and are the most likely to say that America’s success is linked to its ability to change, rather than its reliance on long-standing principles. On foreign policy, Solid Liberals overwhelmingly believe that good diplomacy – rather than military strength – is the best way to ensure peace.

Let's see:

I am not affluent.
I don't know what a "liberal" position is, but I am not economically liberal in the slightest and I do have some socially conservative views which this test did not pick up on.
I don't vote for Democrats and I am highly critical of President Obama.
I am not optimistic about the future of the United States in the slightest.
I don't think the US has the ability to change, nor do I think its political culture has much in the way of "principle" except for doing whatever will profit the most well-connected classes.
I think good diplomacy is important but works best when backed by solid force.

In other words, this test was totally inaccurate.

[Arlenton]

I got a Business Conservative.
It's right and all but the questions were to broad I think.

[Arlenton]

I got a Business Conservative.
It's right and all but the questions were to broad I think.

And having it be more international in the spectrum would be nice.

[Natapoc]

It's not as good as the actual political compass test because it's very US focused and it has a more narrow way of classifying views.

It identifies me as a "strong liberal" and thinks I'm a big Obama supporter. Actually I think Obama is very conservative from my perspective as well as highly authoritarian and imperialist.

The test seems to put democrats at the far end of the "left" but this is silly since on a global scale democrats are centrists. In the united states the green party, the various communist and socialist parties and all anarchists are further left than this scale allows.

[Sereina]

Business Conservatives generally are traditional small-government Republicans. Overwhelming percentages think that government is almost always wasteful and it does too much better left to businesses and individuals. Business Conservatives differ from Steadfast Conservatives in their positive attitudes toward business and in their strong support for Wall Street in particular. Most think that immigrants strengthen the country and take a positive view of U.S. global involvement. As a group, they are less socially conservative than Steadfast Conservatives. Compare groups on key issues.

This actually describes me quite well.