Oh no! It's another political quiz!

[WeiWenDi]

Thankfully, though, it's a fairly interesting one since it intersects with demographics. It's primarily aimed at Americans, though, so be forewarned if the results don't make sense...

http://www.people-press.org/quiz/political-typology/

My result was:

Your best fit is...
Hard-Pressed Skeptic
along with 13% of the public.

2012 vote: 62% for Obama | 23% for Romney

Deeply financially-stressed and distrustful of government, Hard-Pressed Skeptics have reservations about both political parties, but more lean toward the Democratic Party. In general, they want government to do more to solve problems, but have doubts about its efficiency. Hard-Pressed Skeptics are among the most cynical about the ability of individuals to improve their lot through hard work. These attitudes may reflect their distressed financial conditions: Hard-Pressed Skeptics have the lowest average family incomes of any of the typology groups.

This pretty much suits me to a T. I voted for Obama once and have been regretting it ever since. I'm sceptical of individualism in all its forms and in favour of an activist government, though I have doubts that such an activist government can do as much good as I want it to. I find myself increasingly politically homeless, with the Democrats drifting further out into the waters of dippy utopian social engineering and with the Republicans as usual somewhere out in Cloud Cuckoo Land clinging to their racism, militarism and laisser-faire. I'm actually kind of honoured to be in political solidarity with the demographic with 'lowest average family incomes of any of the typology groups'.

Where do you guys fit?

And do you think the quiz produces a useful typology or not?

[Sun Fin]

I found it quite a hard quiz to do because there were some answers that I gave which would be different if it was based on the British government. However I think that the results are probably quite close to my current leanings:

2012 vote: 69% for Obama | 19% for Romney

The Faith and Family Left combine strong support for activist government with conservative attitudes on many social issues. They are very racially diverse – this is the only typology group that is “majority-minority.” The Faith and Family Left generally favor increased government aid for the poor even if it adds to the deficit and believe that government should do more to solve national problems. Most oppose same-sex marriage and legalizing marijuana and most say religion and family are at the center of their lives.

[Dong Zhou]

Your best fit is...
Solid Liberal
along with 15% of the public.


2012 vote: 89% for Obama | 3% for Romney

Generally affluent and highly educated, most Solid Liberals strongly support the social safety net and take very liberal positions on virtually all issues. Most say they always vote Democratic and are unflagging supporters of Barack Obama. Overall, Solid Liberals are very optimistic about the nation’s future and are the most likely to say that America’s success is linked to its ability to change, rather than its reliance on long-standing principles. On foreign policy, Solid Liberals overwhelmingly believe that good diplomacy – rather than military strength – is the best way to ensure peace. Compare groups on key issues.

I wouldn't call myself optimistic about America's future, partly because I'm not entirely sure at America's willingness to adapt (or rich but my views tend to go towards the liberal elite's type so fair's fair). I suppose it generally doesn't surprise I got the lefty one though overall

And do you think the quiz produces a useful typology or not?

It is something that more and more pollsters seem to be doing, trying to split society into types and I can see the use for for that. I'm not sure if it needs more questions though?

[Gray Riders]

I got the same result as Dong Zhou, though not being American it's accuracy for me is somewhat suspect. I guess I'm socially left wing but I don't consider myself a "solid liberal"--I haven't always voted that way though I think my country's Right is a bit less Right than the US republican party (I could be off, though--since I don't live in the USA I have incomplete knowledge of how things really work there).

[James]

Your best fit is...
Solid Liberal (toward center of distribution)
along with 15% of the public.

Generally affluent and highly educated, most Solid Liberals strongly support the social safety net and take very liberal positions on virtually all issues. Most say they always vote Democratic and are unflagging supporters of Barack Obama. Overall, Solid Liberals are very optimistic about the nation’s future and are the most likely to say that America’s success is linked to its ability to change, rather than its reliance on long-standing principles. On foreign policy, Solid Liberals overwhelmingly believe that good diplomacy – rather than military strength – is the best way to ensure peace. Compare groups on key issues.

Doesn't feel right for me. I am aligned on a number of the issues but quite opposed on some others. For example, the social welfare questions really fall outside what I believe—that the government should have programs to help in these areas, but those programs should be reformed and made more efficient and certainly not subject to more extensive spending (they already serve as a large portion of the United States' spending). And perhaps more relevant, I am not optimistic about the United States' future. We already trail other countries, not insignificantly, on a range of topics (education, violence, individual prosperity, and more), and our lot is not improving. I could list a fair amount more in this concern. I voted for Obama the first time because I had high hopes for him, and the second time because I think Romney would have been horrible. I am quite upset with him for a range of reasons today. I would love to vote for someone ranging from John Huntsman to Elizabeth Warren over our traditional fare.

Of the categories outlined none really seem like a great fit for me, though. Next generation left, for example, I do not have a positive view of Wall Street. I feel more comfortable with the 'hard-pressed skeptics' being somewhat more aligned outside the income statement.

It just doesn't seem to have a category for me.

[Shikanosuke]

Nx
Your best fit is...
Next Generation Left
along with 12% of the public.
Share your results:
Read more in the full report: Beyond Red vs. Blue: The Political Typology

NEXT GENERATION LEFT
2012 vote: 66% for Obama | 25% for Romney
Generally young, well-educated and financially comfortable, the Next Generation Left have very liberal attitudes on many issues, including homosexuality, abortion, the environment and foreign policy. While overall supportive of an activist government, most are wary of expanding the social safety net. Most also have relatively positive views of Wall Street’s impact on the economy. While most affiliate with the Democratic Party or lean Democratic, few consider themselves strong Democrats. Compare groups on key issues

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So. I guess parts of this description are correct. My biggest problem when taking the quiz is I thought all the answers were wrong. Was that the point ? Force us to choose one ?

[Ayame]

I got Solid Liberal. I think I lean that way, but not so much.


Having only two answers was difficult, as for some things I would have said something in the middle.

[WeiWenDi]

Very interesting results so far. It seems SoSZ leans pretty heavily to the 'left' - interestingly, Sun Fin, even you class as left by American standards!

My biggest problem when taking the quiz is I thought all the answers were wrong. Was that the point ? Force us to choose one ?

Having only two answers was difficult, as for some things I would have said something in the middle.

I agree with that concern. There should have been either an 'undecided / don't care' option, or some kind of scale of importance like they put on the ISideWith quiz; the typology designers probably did have their methodological reasons to force the quiz-takers to choose between one of two options, since that's sort of the way the American political system works and a fairly decent way to predict voting behaviour. Still, I do appreciate the attempts to get away from a one-dimensional political scale.

I'm not sure if it needs more questions though?

Maybe so. I thought it covered a lot of the bases of national political issues - maybe more of a focus on social issues would have been more representative, though?

[Sun Fin]

Very interesting results so far. It seems SoSZ leans pretty heavily to the 'left' - interestingly, Sun Fin, even you class as left by American standards!

It was questions like 'do the benefits system make life easy for the poor?'

Now my answers are far more nuanced then this however when I only had 2 options that I had to pick from when talking about the USA I would say absolutely not. In my opinion your healthcare system is horrific for the poor! Whilst if I was answering the same question about Britain I would lean in the opposite direction.

So I guess its not a surprise I came out as more left wing on an American scale then I would on a British one!

[Boydie]

Thought some of the questions were too extreme, with no option to pick another answer in-between. But here is what I got: Business Conservative.

Personally if I was American I couldn't see myself voting for either Obama or Romney