I'm an "upbeat"?

I noticed some blogs were talking about a new Pew Political Typology, and I decided to take their survey to see where I fit in. It said I was an Upbeat, which seemed wrong to me as I'm not that partisan (I voted for Kerry though my registration is Republican). So I took the Political Compass test, and I got my usual result:

Economic Left/Right: 2.13 (I'm fiscally conservative)
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -3.38 (I'm socially liberal)

I'm a moderate libertarian who leans toward the slightly more liberal side. My political intensity has been decreasing over the years, and I've probably gotten a bit more liberal, so the non-trivially partisan "Upbeat" result took me by surprise. Anyone else have a weird result from the Pew Survey? The questions seemed a bit too black & white for me. Not a big deal, but people talk about it as if the categories are meaningful.

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By John Emerson (not verified) on 30 Aug 2006 #permalink

Thanks for the links; I didn't know that Political Compass test. I seem to be a bit extreme (arond -7 in both axes) but at least the other people in the quadrant are nice chaps like Mandela, Gandhi and the Dalai Lama. I guess I'd be a radical leftist in the US, though in my home country (Chile) and current country (France) I pass as moderate left. The compass seems to be quite universal, only the location of the "center" is country-dependent, imho.

By Irrelephant (not verified) on 30 Aug 2006 #permalink

"Economic Left/Right: 2.13 (I'm fiscally conservative)
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -3.38 (I'm socially liberal)"

So, you want the social programs, but don't want to pay for 'em?

By dcmichelle (not verified) on 30 Aug 2006 #permalink

if you are joking, use a smiley face, and if you aren't, read a bit more outside politics outside your own ghetto, since the "socially liberal & fiscally conservative" combo isn't that exotic.

I was joking -- sheesh... :) :) :) :) :) :)

By dcmichelle (not verified) on 30 Aug 2006 #permalink

The Political Compass test has some questions to which the answers might be influenced by recent events; i.e. scores might vary over time. For example: Our civil liberties are being excessively curbed in the name of counter-terrorism. I certainly agree with that much more than I would have 7 years ago.

Economic Left/Right: -3.25
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -5.03
Nearest neighbor: Gandhi

I don't understand what the astrology question was doing in there.

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Pew test: Most elected officials don't care what people like me think - I'm an atheist. I believe that most politicians do not care what atheists think, and there is plenty of actual data to back that up.

I'm a "Liberal." Whoop-a-dee.

By somnilista, FCD (not verified) on 31 Aug 2006 #permalink