The Blue Compass, Take ONE

I heard back from Blue Dog ahead of Spartacus on yesterday's blog:

Subject: Re: A Whole New Dimension

Very interesting. I think one reason the 2007 Candidates all cluster in [one particular area of the chart/compass] is that we judge them by where they are in terms of their votes. While we take the test in terms of our ideals.

Thus, I answered in terms of what I would like society to be, [and Dog gives some examples], etc. But in analyzing what is right for our government, I analyze in terms of what is right given the system of government that we live in.

In other words, I'm not sure how actually useful that test is. Am I really more liberal than [name] and more libertarian than [another name]? Nonsense, if you gave this test to each of those individuals their results would be much different than where these individuals are placed based on their positions.

Let me put it this way, I'm fairly sure that Hitler viewed himself as a moderate. And that [second name] would test out as libertarian as possible if he answered the questions.

We answer the test based on what we feel is the right, the ideal. Then the world judges us on what we do.

On another note, go take the test http://www.politichoice.com. You have to register, but if gives out very interesting information afterward.

Blue Dog

With all due respect sir, and having assured both my infrequent readers quite clearly yesterday that "[t]here are no right or wrong answers" – echoing the authors – I'm sending you back to the other classroom for a couple minutes to retake this test, and return here with your fresh results.

No, your answers (and thus the results) weren't wrong – but inaccurate in their intended design of providing you (quoting the Political Compass website) "a better idea of where [you] stand politically - and the sort of political company [you] keep". Rather than "answer[ing] the test based on what [you] feel is the right, the ideal", let me suggest you give the questions a second shot now, and "choose the response that best describes your feeling" [emphasis mine], and not look for an ideal-world set of answers, not "take the test in terms of [y]our ideals".

You're absolutely right that answering in the fashion you did scuttles the usefulness of the test in actually snapshotting you politically. Your original method, and thus those first-go results, would no doubt describe the world (or/and Blue Dog in it) as it ought to be for you. Now, how about re-answering by instead giving each statement/question a "response that best describes your feeling" (as the authors appear to have had in mind), and in such a way that your check-marks aren't rose colored.

Again, Mr. Blue, I ask this with no disrespect or disappointment whatsoever! I'm really curious to have your read on how much more true-to-life a set of fresh results would paint you. But – and thanks – I do want to also tackle here what the tool/concept might suggest an ideal world would be like (heavy subjectivity here!) as you see it, using that original method of yours. First, though, I'm going to put up Spartacus's paint-by-number portrait, as his responses drew and oiled it. Stand by, gents!

(Sparky, you're welcome to weigh in here anytime; you know more about that Compass than I do.)