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Dissecting the Political Compass

BY NIKKI NADLER


The Political Compass is a frequently used and highly regarded website test that places each user on a political ideology spectrum with two axes of measurement, economic and social where the ranges are from authoritarian to libertarian.


The basic hypothesis of the political model utilized by "The Political Compass" is that political philosophy might be better estimated along two separate dillenations. The financial (left-right) analyzes one's assessment of how the economy ought to be run: "left" is characterized as the desire for the economy to be controlled by an agreeable aggregate office (which can mean the state, however can likewise mean an organization of communities) while "right" is characterized as the longing for the economy to be run by competing people and associations.


The other axis (authoritarian–libertarian) gauges one's political sentiments from a social perspective, with respect to the measure of individual flexibility that one would permit: libertarianism is characterized as the conviction that individual flexibility ought to be boosted while authoritarianism is characterized as the conviction that authority in power is ought to be complied.


For instance, most members of the United States Republican party would likely sit in the upper right segment of the compass as they support market opportunity and a principle of the rule of law with conservative roots and values.


With a series of questions, based on the respondent’s answers they will be categorized into four quadrants: authoritarian left (red and placed in the top left), authoritarian right (blue in the top right), libertarian right (yellow or purple [depending on the test] in the bottom right), and libertarian left (green in the bottom left).


After being sorted on the political spectrum, people can see their relative location similar to that of famous world leaders, dictators, presidents, philanthropists, and activists.


Take the Political Compass test here to see where you stand on the major political affiliations and find politicians, beliefs, and parties that cater to these belief systems.


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