Political quiz

[Sava]

Is there a parallel thread where you've apparently done this? Because all I've seen you do here is point to the extremist BNP party being right wing supposedly meaning that the UK as a whole is far right. Which is ridiculous. Try using some specific policies of the mainstream parties if you want to refute what I've said.

Yes. This one. I've responded to everything you've said.

Maybe reread the posts more closely if there's some confusion.

[regexcellent]

First of all, Ben, you're Canadian. Second, you're an extreme outlier even for US conservatives.

I only scored higher on UKIP (a party only really relevant in the MEP elections) because I put foreign policy as a higher priority than everything else since, as an American, it's all I honestly give a **** about in UK politics.

I am a fairly conventional conservative in American terms, and it would seem that is the case in British terms too.

[Sava]

Huh? You were supposed to be taking it as if the issues were American. What does answering as a UKer mean?

We're describing same thing. I just phrased it differently.

Which no-one said ever.

Well, you are trying to have it both ways... read your OP

most Americans

define "most"

And if that's your case, present some evidence comparing the political beliefs of "most" Americans. You have provided absolutely zero evidence as to the political leanings of "most" Americans. Your original position is completely unsubstantiated.

[Lorizael]

On the US test, I'm strongly Democrat and Green with a fair shake of Libertarian thrown in. Republican? What's that?

[Ben Kenobi]

First of all, Ben, you're Canadian. Second, you're an extreme outlier even for US conservatives.

And even then my first two were UKIP and UK conservative party. 90 plus for both. BNP well behind.

I only scored higher on UKIP (a party only really relevant in the MEP elections) because I put foreign policy as a higher priority than everything else since, as an American, it's all I honestly give a **** about in UK politics.

I am a fairly conventional conservative in American terms, and it would seem that is the case in British terms too.

Same. My scores were pretty close to yours. Kentonio says that UK is less conservative? I'm not seeing it.

[kentonio]

We're describing same thing. I just phrased it differently.

Ok.

Well, you are trying to have it both ways... read your OP

The premise is that the political spectrum is tilted much more to the right in the US, in that a good proportion of the UK conservative party would be Democrat in the US (along with obviously all the parties to the left of it). That doesn't mean in any way that 'all Americans are more right wing than the UK' that's a complete strawman. The Republican moderates here would all be Tory, along with a decent proportion of the more right wing Democrats.

define "most"

Fair point, reading it back I shouldn't have used the words 'far more right wing' it was over the top. I'd argue that the spectrum being to the right does mean that a majority of Americans must be somewhat more right wing however.

And if that's your case, present some evidence comparing the political beliefs of "most" Americans. You have provided absolutely zero evidence as to the political leanings of "most" Americans. Your original position is completely unsubstantiated.

The obvious point of reference would be the policies of the two major American parties. In the case of the Republicans those policy positions would be unelectable in the UK. The Democrat positions meanwhile run the whole gamut from Labour to Conservative in UK terms.

[C0ckney]

The SNP results btw will likely be because they're extremely socialist, more so than the Labour party.

they're not socialists, they're social democrats. their programme is comparable with much of the european centre-left. labour's socialism was always more imaginary than real; now (in the last 20 years) even the imaginary part has gone.

[kentonio]

they're not socialists, they're social democrats. their programme is comparable with much of the european centre-left. labour's socialism was always more imaginary than real; now (in the last 20 years) even the imaginary part has gone.

We're clearly using different definitions of socialism then. Obviously they're not by 70's standards, but if they're not at all then basically socialism doesn't exist any more at major party level.

[Sava]

Without directly arguing against your premise, I'll share my thoughts... because there is a significant amount of overlap between our respective opinions on the matter.

Politics is not binary... "left" vs "right". So right away, the premise is flawed because it requires pigeonholing a lot of people who believe a lot of crazy things without regard for what "left" or "right" means. The left/right spectrum is not an accurate means of describing political beliefs.

Direct comparison between the party platforms is probably the most helpful tool we have for this matter. I don't disagree with the party comparisons. And you would most likely know more than me about the specifics of UK parties.

Also, UK and US citizens care about different issues... and to different degrees. Not all American voters fit neatly into the binary spectrum. Two people could care about completely different issues, yet still find themselves grouped identically. Neo-cons, for instance, don't share much in common with paleo-cons.

There's also a lot of hypocrisy in politics... e.g. a pro-life supporter who doesn't believe in the EPA because of government overreach (despite the overreach involved in locking down a woman's reproductive system)... or liberals who believe in using government to solve problems... just not internationally with the military.

The two countries are politically so different that I don't even think it's possible to accurately compare them within the framework of this discussion.

We need a large dataset to compare the groups... which we don't have.


As for political beliefs in any large group... I tend to think certain political stances (or attitudes/responses to issues) has to do with inherent qualities in people. There's already evidence that some aspects of conservatism have to do with brain wiring. I suspect this can be narrowed down and measured... with the results showing political divisions to be largely uniform when comparing large population groups.

That's my initial impression.

However, aside from just alleviating some boredom, I really don't care either way.

[Ben Kenobi]

a pro-life supporter who doesn't believe in the EPA because of government overreach

Or an anti-death penalty supporter who supports abortion through all nine months.

[kentonio]

Or an anti-death penalty supporter who supports abortion through all nine months.

The 'all nine months' thing is interesting, and confused me for a long time when it came to US pro-life/pro-choice debates. Here abortion isn't even on the political radar because it's such a done deal, but then again I think you'd struggle to find more than a tiny, tiny number of people who support it past a set point. I wonder how much of the poison surrounding the debate in the US would go away if both sides could put down their rifles and start from a position of something like 28 weeks.

[Jon Miller]

I wonder how much of the poison surrounding the debate in the US would go away if both sides could put down their rifles and start from a position of something like 28 weeks.

Probably 99% of it.

JM

[Bereta_Eder]

I found the american one too
90% green
90% democrats
66% socialist
53% libertarians
36% republicans

[Ben Kenobi]

The 'all nine months' thing is interesting, and confused me for a long time when it came to US pro-life/pro-choice debates. Here abortion isn't even on the political radar because it's such a done deal, but then again I think you'd struggle to find more than a tiny, tiny number of people who support it past a set point. I wonder how much of the poison surrounding the debate in the US would go away if both sides could put down their rifles and start from a position of something like 28 weeks.

Good luck, most folks on the other side are opposed to any regulations on abortion whatsoever, including requiring abortion clinics to meet the same surgical standards as all other ambulatory surgical clinics. We're talking basic things like proper sterilization of equipment, having an actual doctor perform the abortion, etc.

I'd be happy with a nationwide ban on abortion after 28 weeks coupled with regular inspections and the ambulatory surgical clinic requirements. There's no excuse for clinics like Kermit Gosnell's to operate in the 21st century.

[Imran Siddiqui]

UK test again:
I made more of an effort to answer as if I was a UKer


Green 90%
Lib Dem 89%
Labour 88%
Scottish Nationals 81%
Plaid Cymru 71%
BNP 27%
Conservatives 13%
UK Indepedence 10%



It appears as if I'm too liberal/left for the UK.

But all Americans are to the right of the UK, huh?

... Too liberal for the UK? Liberal Dems are in coalition in the government.