Political compass: social and economic
These are my latest test results at Political Compass.
"Right" is right on the economic (horizontal) scale.
"Libertarian" is on the social (vertical) scale.
I'm about the same as Milton Friedman, though not quite as right as he. In the Political Compass terminology we are both neo-liberals ("couples social Darwinian right-wing economics with liberal positions on most social issues. Often their libertarian impulses stop short of opposition to strong law and order positions, and are more economic in substance (ie no taxes) so they are not as extremely libertarian as they are extremely right wing.")
One way to put it is that I lean towards freedom for the individual in the social and the economic realm. But that doesn't mean I condone fraud or price manipulation. Rather, I believe the anarchy of the market generally produces the greatest good, that government has a narrow role to play in regulating markets, and we should be as wary of government failure as we are of market failure.
Take the test here.
posted by John B. Chilton at 6/16/2008 08:25:00 PM
7 Comments:
UAE Terror alert is ‘long overdue’ says expert
(16 June 2008)
A Middle East expert and author of new book on Dubai warns that the new terror alert in the United Arab Emirates is likely to lead to a significant downturn in Dubai’s “fragile” tourist and real estate industries.
The Foreign Office has just told British nationals in the United Arab Emirates that there is now a high risk of a terror attack there.
Dr Christopher Davidson, Lecturer in Middle East Politics, Durham University, outlines the terror threat in the final chapter of his new book, called “Dubai: The Vulnerability of Success.” Dubai is one of seven states in the UAE.
Dr Davidson said: “In many ways this terror alert is long overdue, as since summer 2005 there have been a series of significant threats made to the UAE government, most of which have focused on the UAE’s close relationship with the West, in particular its discreet provision of seaport and airport facilities for the US-led coalition’s War on Terror.
“The UAE’s second largest emirate – Dubai - has long been a favoured holiday destination for British and other European nationals, and since the year 2000 it has emerged as an attractive opportunity for overseas property investors.
“These new warnings are likely to lead to a significant downturn in Dubai’s fragile tourist and real estate industries, which it has been building up since its oil reserves began to decline in the mid 1990s.
“In particular, Dubai’s many luxury hotels, most of which are packed with non-Muslim and non-Arab foreigners, provide Al-Qaeda and other groups with very soft targets.”
Further information from the BBC report: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7456547.stm
Funnily, I had a friend suggest I check the application out and filled out the questionnaire a couple days ago.
I was somewhat surprised at the results as it places me away from most (if not all) people I associate with (friends, family, colleagues, etc.).
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Economic Left/Right: 2.88
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -4.72
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Apparently you are as close to me as I can get :)
1) Looks like I come out pretty much at the same point you do.
2) If you look at the site's classification of various political leaders, there is no one in our quadrant.
3) If one were to put a regression line through the data on the political leaders, I suspect it would come out essentially reproducing the traditional right-fascism left-social liberal uni-dimensional continuum.
Should I feel weird about my results? :-)
Economic Left/Right: -3.88
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -2.10
I wouldn't have equated a 'libertarian' outlook with wanting 'no taxes'. Maybe it's just me: tax pays for stuff that the private sector cannot provide at a reasonable price (healthcare, railways, education etc).
Or maybe I have a different understanding of the word 'libertarian' than you do, John.
Keefieboy,
A libtertarian doesn't think it is indeed possible to provide those services at a reasonable price if the market is left to its own devices without government intervention. Hence, taxation should be at an absolute minimum. Providing such services by the government only inflates the government.
Long time reader .. first time poster.
Gosh, I'm a leftist anarchist. (-3.88, -5.28) I wonder if Dubai really is the right place for me?
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