Pew's new political typology quiz! (2021)

 So, it's that time of the 4 year cycle again, Pew introduced a new political typology quiz/analysis to discuss the political factions in American politics. They do this every 4 years, normally the year after the presidential election, with the factions being based off of how people voted in this election. The quiz isn't the best, but the analysis is interesting and worth looking into. For reference in the 2013 version I was often split between a "hard pressed skeptic", which was a form of economically distressed democratically leaning independent, and a "strong progressive" due to my sanders support. In 2017, I was split between strong progressive again and a "disaffected democrat", which was, once again, economically distressed person pissed off with the parties. Given that I had a strong dislike for the democrats and had strong progressive views it made sense. Depending on how I answered I would get one or the other. So it would be good to take the 2021 version and see how it goes.

That being said, let's take the quiz. It's short, so I'll copy and paste the questions and give my responses here.

If you had to choose, would you rather have…

A smaller government providing fewer services

A bigger government providing more services 

Big government with more services, given the current political environment. Of course, ideally I prefer more efficient government, with a big government with a few key services, rather than a large bureaucracy, but given I assume this is measuring the moderate vs progressive divide, yeah I'm a progressive and believe in expanding government services compared to what we have.

When you say you favor a bigger government providing more services, do you think it would be better to...

Modestly expand on current government services

Greatly expand on current government services

 Greatly expand. We need a complete overhaul of our systems, not incrementalism. 

Which of the following statements come closest to your view?

America’s openness to people from all over the world is essential to who we are as a nation

If America is too open to people from all over the world, we risk losing our identity as a nation 

Ugh, neither. Like, I'm actually completely neutral on this. I can't stand democratic circlejerking about "diversity" and how "we're a nation of immigrants" as it does the idpol circlejerk,. At the same time I don't feel anxious about immigrants either. Like I don't worry that much about losing our identity as a nation either. 

Honestly, I ended up going with the more conservative option as I tend to be somewhat conservative on immigration, believing we need to restrict who we let in in order to maintain the social welfare programs I support (since I explicitly support unconditional safety nets, not the neoliberal garbage that's compatible with open borders democrats are for). And I do believe excessive immigration could change our culture, but generally speaking it doesn't matter either way. Like, that's the thing. I just don't care about this issue much, and don't have strong opinions either way. I GUESS I lean slightly toward the right at this point, but really, I could've gone either way on this one.

In general, would you say experts who study a subject for many years are… 

Usually BETTER at making good policy decisions about that subject than other people

Usually WORSE at making good policy decisions about that subject than other people 

NEITHER BETTER NOR WORSE at making good policy decisions about that subject than other people

As an educated person who understands how specialists work and how most people in society have dunning kruger, uh, better, much better. How can you make decisions on a subject if you haven't studied it sufficiently? 

Thinking about increased trade of goods and services between the U.S. and other nations in recent decades, would you say that the U.S. has...

Gained more than it has lost because increased trade has helped lower prices and increased the competitiveness of some U.S. businesses

Lost more than it has gained because increased trade has cost jobs in manufacturing and other industries and lowered wages for some U.S. workers

 Eh, this is where I put my money where my mouth is on the expert thing. Experts generally agree free trade is a NET POSITIVE. However, I'll be the first to agree that it has downsides neoliberals don't wanna talk about. Still, given I'm not a jobist, I don't really care if they eliminate jobs. I wanna give people a UBI anyway. So that said, I do lean a bit toward free trade here. I do admit that there are negatives and the anxiety over wages and jobs is real. But I don't exactly idolize manufacturing jobs either.

 

How much more, if anything, needs to be done to ensure equal rights for all Americans regardless of their racial or ethnic backgrounds?

A lot

A little

Nothing at all

 A little. I am not an idpol person. I recognize issues exist, but believe they're secondary and believe in fiddling around the edges. Most of my solutions are universal and colorblind, impacting all Americans. Underprivileged should benefit more than others simply by being worse off, but yeah, ultimately I'm fairly moderate on this issue.

Which of the following statements comes closest to your view?

Business corporations make too much profit

Most corporations make a fair and reasonable amount of profit

 Too much, is this even disputable given my ideology?

How much, if at all, would it bother you to regularly hear people speak a language other than English in public places in your community?

A lot

Some

Not much

Not at all

 Eh, this is gonna piss some people off, but being raised conservative, in a family that is bothered by this A LOT, I still instinctively think in my head when I hear people speaking other languages "speak English." I mean, I'm kind of ashamed of this, but I'm honest about it. Given intellectually it doesn't bother me as much though, I'll just say "some." Like it's mostly instinctive for me, and it's largely beyond my conscious control, but it exists. I can't say it DOESN'T bother me, if I'm being honest.

On a scale of 0 to 100, where 0 means you feel as cold and negative as possible and 100 means you feel as warm and positive as possible, how do you feel toward... 

How do you feel toward Democrats?

How do you feel toward Republicans?

 I voted 30 for democrats and 0 for republicans. I was initially going to vote 50 for democrats, but 50 assumes lukewarm/neutral and I'm not really. I hate the democrats. But I hate the GOP far more. I have zero respect for the GOP while for the dems, eh, I just think they're worthless and/or corrupt.

Which of these statements best describes your opinion about the United States?

The U.S. stands above all other countries in the world

The U.S. is one of the greatest countries in the world, along with some others

There are other countries that are better than the U.S.

 

 Honestly, we're a joke among first world countries. I'll say other countries are better. We're not the worst by any means, we're probably ranked, idk, 20-30th out of like 200 or something, but yeah. I'm not an America worshipper. Call me back when we achieve social democracy and don't have an major party full of theocrats and fascists. 

How much of a problem, if any, would you say each of the following are in the country today? 

People being too easily offended by things others say 

Major problem

Minor problem

Not a problem

People saying things that are very offensive to others

Major problem

Minor problem

Not a problem

 People being offended: minor problem. I ain't gonna act like it's issue #1, but I despise the PC police regardless, and do think people get way too offended. Still, I can't say cultural issues are important. 

People saying things that are offensive, well, I think people need to suck it up more, and given I grew up in the wild west days of the internet where you couldn't go 5 seconds without someone saying "kill yourself (slur)", uh, I'm actually nostalgic for those days. Part of this is because of autism, and the fact that I literally like being able to say what I want and not be censored, but yeah. I hate the idea of censorship. I really don't see mean language as a problem at all. Most of it is just baseless trash talk and kind of the way to say "hi how are you?" in the 2000s. 

Which comes closer to your view of candidates for political office, even if neither is exactly right? I usually feel like...

There is at least one candidate who shares most of my views 

None of the candidates represent my views well 

This question is open to interpretation, but generally speaking, it depends. If you mean "candidates who can win", no I hate both parties for a reason. Still, I tend to be attracted to relatively fringe candidates at times like Bernie and Andrew Yang. If those guys were mainstream, I'd be happier, but I'm just not happy with milquetoast democrats or ANY REPUBLICAN AT ALL just about. You might get a weird one like Curtis Sliwa I might start supporting, but other than that, no.

In general, how much do White people benefit from advantages in society that Black people do not have? 

A great deal

A fair amount

Not too much

Not at all

 I'm split between not too much and a fair amount. I mean, privilege exists. But to me, privilege doesn't exactly mean you're set. It tends to make you more or less advantaged relative to others, but it doesn't mean the system is good regardless. I'd rather focus less on privilege and more on ensuring the system is fair where no one is treated poorly even if underprivileged. 

Idk, i guess based on my language "not too much" is a valid response, but still, I could argue "a fair amount" too. I mean those differences aren't insignificant when looked at from a wealth perspective and a local government services perspective and the like. Still, they aren't the big deciding factor in my ideology, as other forces are overwhelmingly more important and actually play into the privilege divide in the first place. Still, I can't deny there are problems, so I'm gonna say a fair amount.

Do you think greater social acceptance of people who are transgender (people who identify as a gender that is different from the sex they were assigned at birth) is…

Very good for society

Somewhat good for society

Neither good nor bad for society

Somewhat bad for society

Very bad for society

 Somewhat good. I mean, I'm not a circlejerker who's like YES, THIS IS THE BEST THING FOR SOCIETY EVER. I kinda lean toward being neutral and not caring, but I do recognize it as a net positive, so....somewhat good is the best option.

Overall, would you say people who are convicted of crimes in this country serve…

Too much time in prison 

Too little time in prison

About the right amount of time in prison

 Too much, for the most part. Insane prison sentences for minor offenses or even victimless crimes? Yeah, it's insane. 

Which of the following statements comes closest to your view?

Religion should be kept separate from government policies

Government policies should support religious values and beliefs

 Keep that crap as far from my government as possible.

In the future, do you think...

U.S. policies should try to keep it so America is the only military superpower

It would be acceptable if another country became as militarily powerful as the U.S.

 We should try to remain the sole superpower. We have nothing to gain and a lot to lose from China becoming as powerful as us or more powerful. 

Results

Your best fit is…

Outsider Left

… along with 10% of the public

Read more in the full report: Beyond Red vs. Blue: The Political Typology

Read more about Outsider Left

View interactive charts to see how the Political Typology groups compare.

 

Outsider Left are the youngest typology group. They hold liberal views on most issues, particularly on issues of racial equality and immigration, and overwhelmingly vote Democratic. They are more skeptical of government performance than other Democratic-oriented groups, though far less so than those in GOP-oriented groups. While they aren’t particularly happy with the Democratic Party, they also have deeply negative views of the GOP.
Though nearly half of Outsider Left describe their own political views as liberal, only about three-in-ten identify as Democrats; about half say they are independents who lean toward the Democratic Party.

This is, accurate. Although I would say I don't place tons of emphasis on racial equality and immigration. As you can see I have mixed views, with my attitudes on immigration leaning center right if anything and my views on racial justice leaning clearly center left. On economics I'd say my views were consistently left. Still, essentially disaffected democrat. Let's look at the overall typology.

Progressive Left and Establishment Liberals. Progressive Left, the only majority White, non-Hispanic group of Democrats, have very liberal views on virtually every issue and support far-reaching changes to address racial injustice and expand the social safety net. Establishment Liberals, while just as liberal in many ways as Progressive Left, are far less persuaded of the need for sweeping change.

  So these are considered the core of the democratic party. It isn't any surprise I didn't score progressive left this time. While they're generally considered to be the sanders supporters, they're heavily left on social issues, much more than me. And given how much emphasis is focused on race and immigration, which are not my strong suits as far as being left on social issues, yeah, it's not surprise I ended up being more moderate. I'm still further left on economics but I'm more a mixed bag socially, especially as I begin to get frustrated with the extremeness of the democrats on social issues and how racial and cultural issues seem to dominate everything. I'm more left by 2000s/early 2010s standards, where the big issues of the day were issues regarding civil liberties, terrorism, religion, etc. I've never been big on the woke stuff and it's the one area of politics I still retain some relatively conservative views. Still much further left than the modern GOP which seems to stick its head in the sand and be outwardly racist, but we can still see my republican roots in how I answered some questions here. 

Establishment liberals are, well, establishment liberals. They're more moderate on issues and less convinced that major changes are needed. And given this is what makes up the democrats it's no wonder I don't fit. Progressive leftists are too left for me. Not just on social issues, but in practice on economics too. A lot of them are the type these days to identify as "socialists" and scream about how UBI is a neoliberal plot to destroy welfare. But then establishment libs are just too moderate and useless.

Two other Democratic-aligned groups could not be more different from each other, both demographically and in their relationship to the party. Democratic Mainstays, the largest Democratic-oriented group, as well as the oldest on average, are unshakeable Democratic loyalists and have a moderate tilt on some issues.

  This is essentially what I call the "idpol group" in previous analyses, since this is essentially the group most racial minorities fall into. Still, the analysis is weird, they're generally speaking more socially conservative but very economically liberal. Still, they end up, in practice, being democratic loyalists and falling in behind establishment dems. This is the voting bloc most responsible for tipping the scales toward the moderates I think. They didn't like Nina Turner for instance because she called Biden "half a bowl of ****" and they didn't like, say, Yang and fell in behind establishment Eric Adams. Despite having progressive economic views, their identities and loyalty to the democratic party poses problems for progressives. 

Still, I find it weird how the white dominated progressive left is more obsessed with idpol than these guys, but that's apparently a thing. 

I find it good that they largely came to the same three major players within the democratic party that I did. You have the progressives, the moderates, and then the mainstays who actually end up voting for centrists due to loyalty to the party and its establishment. This is why progressives and outsiders like me can't really make ground in the party. Between the three groups, despite attitudes leaning more toward the left, people end up voting more conservatively due to the political engagement being weird. I don't think POC are a lost cause for progressives btw, but as long as they vote based on identity and loyalty to moderates they're not allies. They actually aren't a monolith and many have progressive attitudes. But they just tend to like democrats too much.

 Outsider Left, the youngest typology group, voted overwhelmingly for Joe Biden a year ago and are very liberal in most of their views, but they are deeply frustrated with the political system – including the Democratic Party and its leaders.

 And this is where I am. This looks like a weird mix of disaffected democrats, including some of the less pure Bernie Bros with more socially conservative attitudes, Yang Gangers, etc. I mean these guys have strangely liberal attitudes on a lot of stuff despite being considered moderate. I would argue some are left of the democratic party on stuff but right on others. But yeah, I feel like I fit in well here. I think they focus too much on social issues, which I was more moderate on, but yeah I got it regardless.

The four Republican-oriented groups include three groups of conservatives: Faith and Flag Conservatives are intensely conservative in all realms; they are far more likely than all other typology groups to say government policies should support religious values and that compromise in politics is just “selling out on what you believe in.”

 yeah this seems to be your tea partiers. Uncompromising right wingers.

 

 Committed Conservatives also express conservative views across the board, but with a somewhat softer edge, particularly on issues of immigration and America’s place in the world. 

 This is more establishment conservatives a la George W. Bush. 

Populist Right, who have less formal education than most other typology groups and are among the most likely to live in rural areas, are highly critical of both immigrants and major U.S. corporations.

 This seems to be Trumpers. As the name suggest, they're populist, and they have socially conservative views, but economically progressive views. These are the guys that before 2016 I believed we could win over to the democrats, but then things snowballed into culture war nonsense instead. I still think Yang could likely court some of these guys in his forward party.

Ambivalent Right, the youngest and least conservative GOP-aligned group, hold conservative views about the size of government, the economic system and issues of race and gender. But they are the only group on the political right in which majorities favor legal abortion and say marijuana should be legal for recreational and medical use. They are also distinct in their views about Donald Trump – while a majority voted for him in 2020, most say they would prefer he not continue to be a major political figure.

 This is the right wing version of an outsider leftie or disaffected democrat. They tend to be more liberal on social issues, hate Trump, but are more economically conservative. These are the group the democrats like to court over to the left, pushing moderates who have cross party appeal. 

The only typology group without a clear partisan orientation – Stressed Sideliners – also is the group with the lowest level of political engagement. Stressed Sideliners, who make up 15% of the public but constituted just 10% of voters in 2020, have a mix of conservative and liberal views but are largely defined by their minimal interest in politics.

 And of course these are the bystanders and the true moderates.

Honestly, I can say that this seems to be at least somewhat accurate with politics. The divide on the democrats at minimum somewhat accurate and actually quite similar to the divide's I've been talking about all year. I ain't a conservative who I have less first hand experience on that side, but it seems like it could be accurate. You can see factions like the hardcore tea partiers, establishment republicans, populist trumpers, and more disaffected moderates playing out a role here. And then in the middle, you get the disaffected moderates. 

I'm obviously an outsider leftie here, or what was, in 2017, a disaffected democrat. I clearly lean left, but I ain't orthodox left, and I tend to have anti establishment opinions and hate the democratic party. It seems obvious I am a fit there. 

As far as the forward party, since this is the last thing I want to touch on. It seems obvious his core demographic is the same as mine, the outsider left. I'm not sure how well he will do with the other three democratic groups as all three are democratic loyalists. Moderates hate yang because hes too radical and inexperienced, progressives hate him for being too moderate. And the mainstays seem completely uninterested in his policies despite being an obvious ideological match. This is why he left the party. he himself is outsider left and doesn't fit in the party. He could potentially gain ground among the stressed sideliners and even some populist rightists, but the populists seem happy with trump, buying his MAGA crap despite having a glimmer of economic progressivism in there. Sideliners are a possibility though. 

Honestly, it's hard for the forward party to grow. While Yang can likely get great ideological consensus overall with a lot of people, those people are too polarized into the democratic and republican party coalitions. And outside of the 25% or so that make up the sideliners and the outsider left, most seem happy where they're at. I think that ambivalent righters are a poor match for yang's politics, for reference. It's a shame. Yang, if a full realignment happened, could likely capture much of the left, and even some of the right. But because he's an outsider, and because enough people seem happy where they're at, he has trouble growing. It's obvious why he couldn't win within the democratic party. But he could likely have some success as a third party I guess. i don't think he would win, but he could shift narratives a lot, which is the point of third parties in the first place. 

I do, for reference, think if things weren't so polarized that the coalitions could break up. Democrats are a mess of contradictions at the moment. The right seems split between trump and someone else. But ultimately, party loyalty and a dislike of the other side seems to largely hold the system together.

Hopefully that will change in the next few years. We've seen a shift somewhat since 2016, and things will likely continue to shift. All in all, it's a good quiz, not the best, but I like it. I do think that there was too much of a focus on cultural issues like race and immigration, but those are the issues of the day, so that is to be expected.