I took a test recently to determine my political views. For those who are interested, here is the link:
http://www.politicalcompass.org/test
I have never been too political minded. Current affairs I find boring, except for the main headlines, because some nation is always warring against another nation, or with its own people. The country's heads are always doing a salsa at top speed, while attempting to perform juggler's tricks at the same time, what with international treaties and policies to make, and the snivelling tricks of the opposition at home to deal with. I do not understand the subtle talk and cues that countries have with each other, or the underlying messages and currents of the acts and deeds that happen to or are made to happen by the leaders of the world. I need somebody to explain these things to me.
Economics I don't understand, except that the rich people are trying to get richer by making more profits, and the poorer people trying to get richer by squeezing out as much as they can using any power that they hold (for example, pay the sarkari naukar small bribes every time you want him to do something for you so that he won't make you do garba between all the various departments).
Social problems are a mixed bag of fruit. You have the rich mangoes, who genuinely try to help out the underprivileged; the sour grapes, who keep their position by trodding over the poor; the squashy bananas, who are trying to avoid being squashed and move towards a decent living; and the rotten apples, who want to feed off all the legal privileges they have, without lifting a finger. Somewhere in between you have the firm pears, who have no idea what caste or class mean, and simply want to earn enough to keep happy and comfortable.
But regardless of how much or how little I know, I have an opinion, because I have a brain that can judge the content that enters it. And whatever be your colour in this tapestry and your take on the picture as a whole, there are words to define what you believe, and categories to sort you into, so that you realize you aren't alone in what you believe. This test attempts to give you a broad generalization of what you believe, by asking some 60 odd questions and sorting you into one of four general categories depending on the answers you give: libertarian or authoritarian, leftist or rightist.
There is an economic axis, simply labelled Left to Right, or rather, Communism to Neo-Liberalism. At one extreme, you have the belief that everything to do with the market must be controlled by the state, while the other belief holds that extreme regulation is good. Everybody, depending on their belief of how the economic market should exist, ie to what extent should it be state-controlled and to what extent free, is somewhere along this scale. The other axis is the social axis, which from top to bottom is labelled Authoritarian to Libertarian (or if you like, Fascism to Anarchism). Everyone knows about Fascism, the absolute authority of the government on all social ideas. The extreme opposite is Anarchism, absolute non-interference of all policies relating to society on the part of the government.
And why do these two axes put together determine your political stand? Because, in the end, economy and society are the two single most important factors that influence a person's public life: his ability to live according to his needs and wants. And hence when you choose your government, or as a government official formulate your policy, you will do it according to whether your requirements in these spheres are met. For a more complete explanation/analysis, refer the site. This is simply how I understood the basis of the test.
I turned out to be Libertarian Leftist. What are you?
