So, another popular political test as of late is the 8values test. Which scores people on 4 axes (equality vs markets, nation vs globe, liberty vs authority, and traditional vs progress). Without further ado, I will start answering questions.
Oppression by corporations is more of a concern than oppression by governments.
I mean, we can't discount oppression by governments, but oppression by corporations I feel like goes under the radar and is underappreciated by Americans. I would, generally speaking, in my daily life, fear oppression by corporations more than government. I mean, in America people scream about the government taking their freedom, but they then ignore these mini dictatorships we call workplaces that wield insane control over our lives.
I won't say that oppression by governments isnt a concern, but in a uniquely American context, I have to agree with this. So agree.
It is necessary for the government to intervene in the economy to protect consumers.
Strongly agree. This is what I'm talking about. People scream that government regs are tyranny and people should be free to choose...bad jobs with bad pay or something. But, government has to step in to protect consumers. And workers. And everyone. Sometimes government gives people more freedom by doing this.
The freer the markets, the freer the people.
As expressed in other tests, I disagree with this statement. While I aint a socialist who wants no markets at all, i generally support the idea of a tightly regulated market.
It is better to maintain a balanced budget than to ensure welfare for all citizens.
I mean, you need both right? Hence why I support safety nets with a relative balanced budget. HOWEVER, i do think that the right tends to concern troll on the subject and that that's problematic. They often call for cutting safety nets out of concern for the national debt, and it's always hacky and dishonest. Besides, not all debt and deficits are bad and some help the economy. See modern monetary theory for instance. What matters more is debt to GDP ratio.
So disagree.
Publicly-funded research is more beneficial to the people than leaving it to the market.
A lot of public research led to major market breakthroughs.I think public research touches things a lot of people in the private sector wont touch because they wont research stuff unless they can make money off of it. Still, I value both. I really dont think it's either or. But I will say without public research we wouldn't have a lot of modern tech like we have today, like the internet.
Eh, im mixed but im gonna trend toward agree here.
Tariffs on international trade are important to encourage local production.
I mean, Im not really that kind of economic nationalist where we have to have the jobs here, whatever. And tariffs can cause issues and reduce the economic pie if implemented. I would mainly focus on putting tariffs on countries with lax labor laws, wages, and taxes, as to discourage a race to the bottom, but I'm not just pro tariff because i think everything should be produced here. I do believe in some protectionism, but this specifically, no. Disagree.
From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.
We've discussed this statement before, disagree.
It would be best if social programs were abolished in favor of private charity.
Strongly disagree, for obvious reasons.
Taxes should be increased on the rich to provide for the poor.
Heck yeah, tax the rich at laffer curve peak rates. Fund a UBI and universal healthcare.
Strongly agree.
Inheritance is a legitimate form of wealth.
I mean, to some extent, yeah. i'm not one of those gung ho marxists or meritocrats who are like RAH THIS PERSON DIDN'T EARN THEIR WEALTH, WE SHOULD TAKE IT FROM THEM AND FORCE THEM TO WORK. No, that's deranged to me. BUT....I would still have an inheritance tax on the wealthy to avoid them from just hoarding for generations and generations.
So...agree but not strongly agree.
Basic utilities like roads and electricity should be publicly owned.
Yeah I can see arguments for that. It actually makes little sense for such industries to be privatized as it just leads to monopoliies and consumer exploitation. Strongly agree.
Government intervention is a threat to the economy.
Generally speaking, no. I don't support intervention for its own sake and do think its' possible to overdo it, but I generally believe intervention leads to better outcomes regardless of what it does to GDP growth. Disagree.
Those with a greater ability to pay should receive better healthcare.
I mean I know we kind of addressed this in political compass, but I could see some people MAYBE getting better healthcare if they're wealthy, but only in a limited fashion. We should have a robust public option at the very least making private healthcare optional. I ideally support single payer, but not because I believe rich people SHOULDNT be able to afford expensive experimental treatments or whatever, but because it would guarantee everyone a solid standard of healthcare, and cut down on bureaucracy, means testing, and make it more affordable for everyone. I wouldnt be opposed to some level of supplementary insurance for the rich or whatever if they want it. It doesn't have to be 100% socialized honestly.
So...im gonna go with..mixed? I mean, it's complicated. I feel like it's possible to go too far with the government stuff. What if theres new treatments out that the government doesnt wanna afford for whatever reason, should people be denied those because it would be unfair to everyone? Even a lot of single payer systems have SOME private supplementary insurance. But at the same time I do ideally support single payer and everyone having roughly the same level of care with the rich only doing better in extremely niche and hypothetical situations.
Quality education is a right of all people.
Strongly agree, seems like a no brainer in the 21st century.
The means of production should belong to the workers who use them.
Socialist statement. Don't necessarily agree with it. i'm not opposed to market socialism or some softer forms of socialism within a capitalist/market economy, but it's not a hill I'll die on either. I lean capitalist but i really am someone who doesn't care, as long as we keep something similar to a market system like we have now. So...neutral.
The United Nations should be abolished.
This is a dumb idea. Anyone ever learn from the league of nations? Disagree.
Military action by our nation is often necessary to protect it.
Sometimes, although we often go way too far with it. Another neutral/mixed one for me.
I support regional unions, such as the European Union.
Strongly disagree. These lead to lack of economic sovereignty and would greatly hinder my ability to pass a UBI and the like. Basically, they're peak neoliberalism and look at how the EU screwed over countries like Spain, Greece, and Italy post 2008. We were able to brute force our way out of it through massive spending, but those countries had no sovereignty over their economies and floundered as they were forced to cut safety nets to stay fiscally solvent. So no, screw that noise.
It is important to maintain our national sovereignty.
To some extent yes. Agree. I am not a fan of neoliberalism and unhindered global markets. I support tightly regulated markets with high tax rates and generous safety nets. This leads to a more nationalist mindset for me.
A united world government would be beneficial to mankind.
Strongly disagree. Not a fan of being tyrannized by the rest of the world. No. I'm happy with the US, surrounded by two oceans, with a massive navy protecting us. I support national sovereignty.
It is more important to retain peaceful relations than to further our strength.
Agree. I believe in Theodore Roosevelt's policy of speak softly and carry a big stick. We have the biggest stick on the block already. We need to do more with soft power than hard power. Remember Bush? He whipped around the stick without using diplomacy and made a joke out of us for it.
Wars do not need to be justified to other countries.
Disagree. I won't say some actions might be unpopular to other countries, so I'm not a die hard on this, but without justification other countries have reasons to question your intentions and whether you come for them next.
Look at Ukraine. Does Putin's lack of justification matter? Absolutely. So disagree.
Military spending is a waste of money.
I mean to some extent it is. More on military is less on other stuff we could be spending stuff on. BUT...we need to protect ourselves. The US might spend a bit too much, but it's kind of needed to protect us from geopolitical rivals. I just wish we'd encourage other countries to spend more so we can spend less. Trump's sentiment here, for example, wasn't bad, he just went about it in a really stupid way.
Anyway, mixed.
International aid is a waste of money.
It helps keep stability and sometimes has humanitarian purpose. Disagree.
My nation is great.
I mean to some extent it is, biggest economy and military on the planet. Values are..okay, but need improvement. While we need to improve, we're still better than most countries around the world IMO.
Agree.
Research should be conducted on an international scale.
To some extent, yeah. Agree.
Governments should be accountable to the international community.
Agree. It's needed to keep the peace and prevent unjust invasions and war crimes and the like.
Even when protesting an authoritarian government, violence is not acceptable.
I mean, if it's really tyrannical and unjust, sure, it is acceptable. it's contextual, and I ain't gonna really lay down exactly where the criteria should be, but generally speaking, disagree to some extent.
My religious values should be spread as much as possible.
Strongly disagree. Spiritual beliefs should be kept separate from politics, and honestly, im a fan of NOT being evangelical with them.
Our nation's values should be spread as much as possible.
Im mixed on this one. On the one hand, spreading them means less conflict with other countries to some extent as we all live in the same shared ethos. But at the same time, look at like iraq and afghanistan. We wanted to bring the middle east democracy...and that was a failure. And that really shook my faith in the idea we should spread our values.
Mixed.
It is very important to maintain law and order.
I mean to some extent, but the concept gets WAY too emphasized by the authoritarians. Trump and Nixon spoke in those terms. It's cringe. But do I disagree with the idea conceptually? Not necessarily. I mean im not for anarchy and vigilantism and the like. So...agree.
The general populace makes poor decisions.
I technically agree with this. While im pro democracy, I'm so because it's the "least bad of all systems" if that makes sense. But GOSH people are dumb. I mean, half the country likes trump. Over half the dems voted for biden over much better candidates. Most people are stupid.
So....strongly agree.
Physician-assisted suicide should be legal.
After the Terri Schaivo thing...strongly agree. Not doing so is feeding the same energy as the people trying to ban abortion.
The sacrifice of some civil liberties is necessary to protect us from acts of terrorism.
We shouldn't have to give up our civil liberties to stop terrorism, strongly disagree.
Government surveillance is necessary in the modern world.
I mean to some extent yeah, but it should be tightly controlled with civil liberties and a right to privacy. No spying on people without a warrant and the like. Still, in a vague sense...agree.
The very existence of the state is a threat to our liberty.
To some extent but as evidenced earlier sometimes it gives us more liberty. So...mixed.
Regardless of political opinions, it is important to side with your country
no, I find statements like this stupid. Disagree.
All authority should be questioned.
I generally agree with this.
A hierarchical state is best.
Strongly disagree. I like branches of government, separation of powers, and strong checks and balances from the people too.
It is important that the government follows the majority opinion, even if it is wrong.
Despite what i said above about people being stupid, yes. I would strongly agree with this. because I trust would be oligarchs and tyrants even less.
The stronger the leadership, the better.
Eh, sometimes. We need people to have more backbone on the left for example. But I dont exactly glorify authoritarianism either. Like to some extent this question was the mentality behind trump. So...mixed, but leaning toward disagree. So I'll put disagree.
Democracy is more than a decision-making process.
These questions come off as kind of silly to me, like weird democratic virtue signalling. But uh...i guess? I'll put agree.
Environmental regulations are essential.
Strongly agree. Unless you like rivers on fire.
A better world will come from automation, science, and technology.
Strongly agree, but we need our social structures to reflect those advances. What do you think my entire platform is advocating for?
Children should be educated in religious or traditional values.
Strongly disagree. Kids should be educated, not brainwashed.
Traditions are of no value on their own.
Yeah, basically this. All social structures, attitudes, what have you, should be justified by reason and evidence.
Strongly agree.
Religion should play a role in government.
Strongly disagree. Religion should stay as far from government as possible.
Churches should be taxed the same way other institutions are taxed.
Eh, not taxing churches is intended as an incentive to keep them out of politics so I say disagree here.
Climate change is currently one of the greatest threats to our way of life.
Yes, it is. If we dont sort this crap the world will be screwed in a couple hundred years.
Strongly agree.
It is important that we work as a united world to combat climate change.
Strongly agree. We only account for 15% of the problem.
Society was better many years ago than it is now.
in some ways yes, in some ways no. Socially...no, hell no. Economically, well, yeah. I kind of think the 1945-1970 era was the best in capitalism and neoliberalism has ruined us. So...yeah. Mixed.
It is important that we maintain the traditions of our past.
Strongly disagree. Traditions have no value on their own.
It is important that we think in the long term, beyond our lifespans.
To some extent yeah. I generally don't think more than 50 years ahead in political terms though. Too hard to predict beyond that. But in terms of stuff like climate change, sure.
Agree I guess.
Reason is more important than maintaining our culture.
Strongly agree. Reason is all that matters to me.
Drug use should be legalized or decriminalized.
Since they included decriminalized, strongly agree. Im not a fan of hard legalization of all drugs, but the war on drugs should definitely be stopped and they should be decriminalized at least.
Same-sex marriage should be legal.
Strongly agree.
No cultures are superior to others.
Disagree. Some cultures wanna throw gay people off of roofs in reference to the last question.
Sex outside marriage is immoral.
Generally disagree. Do what you want.
If we accept migrants at all, it is important that they assimilate into our culture.
To some extent, yeah. I think they should at least speak English and be able to exist in our society without being a burden. Agree.
Abortion should be prohibited in most or all cases.
Strongly disagree. I'm as pro choice as they come.
Gun ownership should be prohibited for those without a valid reason.
Disagree. I support the second amendment, although I support some restrictions on gun ownership.
I support single-payer, universal healthcare.
Strongly agree. Even my backup public option was stronger than most 2020 candidates on this subject.
Prostitution should be illegal.
Disagree. It should be regulated to prevent abuse, but not made illegal.
Maintaining family values is essential.
I dont care about "family values". Disagree.
To chase progress at all costs is dangerous.
I mean i guess? Kind of a vague statement but yes, we could go too far if we dont know what we're doing. I'm gonna go neutral/unsure.
Genetic modification is a force for good, even on humans.
it can be, yes. Agree. Although I do think there are some ethical questions to consider. Dont wanna end up like gattaca.
We should open our borders to immigration.
Eh, im not opposed to all immigration, but im not huge on it either. I'm mixed.
Governments should be as concerned about foreigners as they are about their own citizens.
Strongly disagree. Citizens come first.
All people - regardless of factors like culture or sexuality - should be treated equally.
Sure, strongly agree.
It is important that we further my group's goals above all others.
Eh, kind of a vague statement. Anyway I kind of agree with it, but there are obvious limitations and context matters. So...unsure?
Results
Economic Axis: Social
Diplomatic Axis: Balanced
Civil Axis: Liberal
Societal Axis: Very Progressive
Closest Match: Social Liberalism
Yeah that's about right I guess. More economically left than right, more libertarian than authoritarian, mixed on the nation/globe axis, and generally very progressive.
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