Let's divulge into what makes you LEFT or RIGHT wing....

[Bodian]

Right wingers vote for what will benefit themselves.
The Centre Left vote for what will benefit themselves, others, and society as a whole.
Very left wingers vote for what will benefit the poorest.

'What will benefit' is obviously subjective, and in everyone's own minds!

 

[Guinness Boy]

To answer the question though, I've never defined myself as left or right and I've always thought of it in terms of how much you want your economy planned and your government big. Right wing for reliance on the market and small government, left for a planned economy with higher taxes, higher benefits and, therefore, necessarily bigger government.

The reality is, though, that these labels are now being applied across all sorts of other areas socially. Your tolerance of foreigners, homosexuality, drugs and guns. Your attitude to the EU and America. What you eat. And these blur. They're barely ever consistent with your economic values (one VIP on this board appears to be a conservative vegetarian for example, Soulman comes out left wing but is anti EU)..

In no particular order I'm a centerist, social democrat economically (I believe in regulated markets with some trickle down essentially), pro gay marriage, pro choice, would legalise drugs tomorrow, would stay in the EU which you might say were left wing traits. On the other hand I'm an atheist, believe in the rearing and eating of meat, have always worked in the private sector, would never want to join a union and think that having a motor car is pretty much necessary, especially for families, even though I learned to drive late in life and often ride a bike or use public transport. Right wing traits.

I have, however, taken the OP to task in the past over his appalling grammar and stupid generalisions, so I'm sure in his eyes I'm a left wing, educated snob.

 

[heathgate]

Churchill was despised by South Wales miners and generally in South Wales for sending the army in to break up strikes

Not him.... his position on the political scale.

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[heathgate]

I remember my grandad (a bricklayer by trade) explaining why he was a socialist and why his political hero was Ernest Bevin, not Winston Churchill. Socialism was about opening access to the great institutions of the state to working class people like Bevin.

I wonder how they would have responded if you asked them questions about race and diversity..... about the place of women in society and in the workplace, about the disabled and mentally ill, homosexuality.... those areas of society and politics that generally get the emotions going on this site, among others...and generally get a person branded a bigot, racist or fascist if said person offers a slightly politically incorrect view.

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[perseus]

The enduring appeal of The Political Compass lies in its universality, and the fact that it's not a fly-by-night election-time survey, but a continually accessible profile of a political personality applicable to all democracies. Although we'd like the time to develop more updates than we can sometimes offer, we remain a tool for comparing the politics of countries and well-known political figures, past and present. We invite you to check out some of our other features, such as the Iconochasms — a word that we coined in our early life, and one which is now widely used on the internet.

Our essential point is that Left and Right, although far from obsolete, are essentially a measure of economics. As political establishments adopt either enthusiastically or reluctantly the prevailing economic orthodoxy — the neo-liberal strain of capitalism — the Left-Right division between mainstream parties becomes increasingly blurred. Instead, party differences tend to be more about identity issues. In the narrowing debate, our social scale is more crucial than ever.


https://www.politicalcompass.org/


https://www.politicalcompass.org/test

 

[heathgate]

Right wingers vote for what will benefit themselves.
The Centre Left vote for what will benefit themselves, others, and society as a whole.
Very left wingers vote for what will benefit the poorest.

'What will benefit' is obviously subjective, and in everyone's own minds!

Very left wingers vote for what will benefit the state/system.... that's the definition of communism... but they wouldn't get the vote... because it wouldn't be allowed under the 'fascist' style control of the masses.

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[Thunder Bolt]

Like Guiness Boy, I am a mixture of left & right. When it comes to voting, I have to weigh up the most important issues of the day, because whatever government gets in, there is something of their policies that I don't like.
I have voted for all three main parties (as they were) at some time in my life.

 

[pb21]

IMO it comes down to your personality type, which IMO is largely shaped by genetics (nature), more so than your environment (nurture).

Researchers at UofT have shown that the psychological concern for compassion and equality is associated with a liberal mindset, while the concern for order and respect of social norms is associated with a conservative mindset.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/06/100609111312.htm

 

[beorhthelm]

I am all for tougher sentencing if I thought it would work and not be unfair on the poorer in society. For instance your point on making £1000 fine for those texting whilst driving. That would work for sure. The rich would possibly pay the fine and never do it again. The poor couldn't afford the fine and would then be jailed for not paying the fine and you would have kids whos mothers and fathers end up in jail because they were poor. Those children then have periods in their lives with no mother or father to keep them on the straight and narrow, possibly then resulting in them following into other crimes.

I don't have a solution.

in this scenario, how about not texting while driving?

 

[NooBHA]

in this scenario, how about not texting while driving?

I was more referring to the punishment or the rehabilitation of someone who had already committed such a crime when I said it was difficult to solve

 

[beorhthelm]

I was more referring to the punishment or the rehabilitation of someone who had already committed such a crime when I said it was difficult to solve

i know. its interesting you completely overlook the deterent effect. that is usually the motivation for harsh penalties, not desire to punish more for the sake of it.

 

[NooBHA]

i know. its interesting you completely overlook the deterent effect. that is usually the motivation for harsh penalties, not desire to punish more for the sake of it.

Perhaps I did overlook it initially, my apologies, so to now address it. Who would be more likely to be undeterred by a large fine ?

Probably the wealthy who could easily afford the fine, thus undeterred. That would be the ones driving their kids to school in large 4x4s - Those being the vehicles more likely to kill other children stone dead if they were to hit them whilst the driver is texting

 

[perseus]

IMO it comes down to your personality type, which IMO is largely shaped by genetics (nature), more so than your environment (nurture).



https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/06/100609111312.htm

I am beginning to have mys suspicions that the psychological type of a person makes a big difference.

However, some things are not genetic but learned. e.g. nationalism, liberalism.

Personality type tests: Paragon Learning Style Inventory http://web.calstatela.edu/faculty/jshindl/plsi/

The public can listen to rhetoric. Some personality types do. See original post. Stupid people may be taken in by rhetoric.

 

[perseus]

IMO it comes down to your personality type, which IMO is largely shaped by genetics (nature), more so than your environment (nurture).



https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/06/100609111312.htm

There is a strong relationship between a voter's politics and his personality, according to new research from the University of Toronto.

Researchers at UofT have shown that the psychological concern for compassion and equality is associated with a liberal mindset, while the concern for order and respect of social norms is associated with a conservative mindset.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/06/100609111312.htm

This is too simple and very questionable. e.g. think of a shop steward. He might be conservative just with a small c.

 

[symyjym]

There is a test here:

https://www.politicalcompass.org/test

It gives you a chart and where you fit at the end.

I come close to Gandhi.

 

[Two Professors]

There is a test here:

https://www.politicalcompass.org/test

It gives you a chart and where you fit at the end.

I come close to Gandhi.

View attachment 76282

I'm a slightly left wing Bremainer?

 

[blue'n'white]

The biggest problem these days is the rise of the political class on both sides - people used to go into politics because they thought they could change things either for the better good or for their better good. Now it is a career choice made at university. Many of today's politicians have never actually had a real job (as Farage said in the EU the other day) and don't know what it's like to go out and earn money.
I despise the extreme left and the extreme right equally and, in my view, no good can come of either

 

[pb21]

There is a strong relationship between a voter's politics and his personality, according to new research from the University of Toronto.

Researchers at UofT have shown that the psychological concern for compassion and equality is associated with a liberal mindset, while the concern for order and respect of social norms is associated with a conservative mindset.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/06/100609111312.htm

This is too simple and very questionable. e.g. think of a shop steward. He might be conservative just with a small c.

Obviously this isn't binary, you aren't either compassionate with no regard for social order and vice versa, but I think these types of characteristics, which are due to genetics, are distributed along a spectrum.

In addition, IMO, aspects such as agreableness and openness are correlated with someone's political outlook. Those people with higher openness and agreableness would tend to be more 'left wing' than those who would score lower.

In addition I would describe things like nationalism as a social neurosis and not as a particular characteristic or inclination.

 

[symyjym]

I'm a slightly left wing Bremainer?

There were two questions that made me think I would be closer to Stalin than Gandhi:

A significant advantage of a one-party state is that it avoids all the arguments that delay progress in a democratic political system. (I agreed)

The death penalty should be an option for the most serious crimes. (I agreed) in principle but understand it's problematic

 

[pb21]

There were two questions that made me think I would be closer to Stalin than Gandhi:

A significant advantage of a one-party state is that it avoids all the arguments that delay progress in a democratic political system. (I agreed)

The death penalty should be an option for the most serious crimes. (I agreed) in principle but understand it's problematic

That one party question is loaded as it assumes that there is one correct way to progress, which obviously isn't the case. If there was, and it was apparent a one party state would be a significant advantage, but there isnt so it's a stupid question!