Your political compass (American, members, quote)

TheBig3 · 04-06-2009, 02:56 PM

I guess my understanding is less than correct then, whats the Y axis stand for?

**Janszoon** · 04-06-2009, 03:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheBig3KilledMyRainDog

I guess my understanding is less than correct then, whats the Y axis stand for?

It's basically the bigger government/smaller government continuum, with bigger government at the top of the chart and smaller government at the bottom. And the x-axis is kind of the progressive values/traditional values continuum, with progressive values on the left and traditional values on the right.

TheBig3 · 04-06-2009, 03:03 PM

oh well in that case i'm a moron.

so the purple grid makes perfect sense then...whats the deal with the blue grid?

TheBig3 · 04-06-2009, 03:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Janszoon

It's basically the bigger government/smaller government continuum, with bigger government at the top of the chart and smaller government at the bottom. And the x-axis is kind of the progressive values/traditional values continuum, with progressive values on the left and traditional values on the right.

I thought X was all economics?

Double X · 04-06-2009, 03:06 PM

I thought x was were all the money was? Whatever..

**Janszoon** · 04-06-2009, 03:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheBig3KilledMyRainDog

I thought X was all economics?

Ah. I guess you're right. I always think it's weird when people turn the left-wing/right-wing thing into simply an economic issue. In reading more of the text on the site the compass comes from they talk about it as if that's the "real" meaning behind the wings but my understanding is that the origins of the terms "left-wing" and "right-wing" have much more to do with progressive values versus traditional values than they have to do with economics.

TheBig3 · 04-06-2009, 04:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Janszoon

Ah. I guess you're right. I always think it's weird when people turn the left-wing/right-wing thing into simply an economic issue. In reading more of the text on the site the compass comes from they talk about it as if that's the "real" meaning behind the wings but my understanding is that the origins of the terms "left-wing" and "right-wing" have much more to do with progressive values versus traditional values than they have to do with economics.

I think thats honestly the best way to deal with "left" and "right" because otherwise their not good indicators of other things.

From my understanding, in the french legislature after the revolution, the members who wanted to remain relativly the same were sitting on the right side of the room, and the progressives were on the left.

As a professor once told me, if the progressives sat up front, and the conservatives up back we'd call them "front loaders and back loaders."

**Janszoon** · 04-06-2009, 04:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheBig3KilledMyRainDog

I think thats honestly the best way to deal with "left" and "right" because otherwise their not good indicators of other things.

From my understanding, in the french legislature after the revolution, the members who wanted to remain relativly the same were sitting on the right side of the room, and the progressives were on the left.

That's my understanding too. I'm not sure how economics got into the mix.

TheBig3 · 04-06-2009, 04:40 PM

well I think its because you tend to be fairly steadfast on economics issue. conservation is conservation.

social issues people get weird on. you know, abortions a mess, but stem cell is less chaotic. *** rights, fury. immigrants, less fury.

Kevorkian Logic · 04-06-2009, 06:12 PM

that seems pretty accurate, I think.

04-06-2009, 02:56 PM	#31 (permalink)
TheBig3 killedmyraindog Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Boston, Massachusetts Posts: 11,172	I guess my understanding is less than correct then, whats the Y axis stand for? __________________ I've moved to a new address

04-06-2009, 03:03 PM	#33 (permalink)
TheBig3 killedmyraindog Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Boston, Massachusetts Posts: 11,172	oh well in that case i'm a moron. so the purple grid makes perfect sense then...whats the deal with the blue grid? __________________ I've moved to a new address

04-06-2009, 04:40 PM	#39 (permalink)
TheBig3 killedmyraindog Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Boston, Massachusetts Posts: 11,172	well I think its because you tend to be fairly steadfast on economics issue. conservation is conservation. social issues people get weird on. you know, abortions a mess, but stem cell is less chaotic. *** rights, fury. immigrants, less fury. __________________ I've moved to a new address

04-06-2009, 06:12 PM	#40 (permalink)
Kevorkian Logic Imperfectly Perfect Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: North Carolina Posts: 1,290	that seems pretty accurate, I think. __________________ "it is only through a limitless accumulation of the imperfect that a certain type of perfection can be attained"

04-06-2009, 03:06 PM	#35 (permalink)
Double X sleepe Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: boston Posts: 1,140	I thought x was were all the money was? Whatever..