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Comments
humanity rather than the interests of trans-national corporations.
I'd rather it take a comprehensive consideration of how the many parts of our complex multi-faceted civilization fit together, yes. Strongly agree.
> I'd always support my country, whether it was right or wrong.
Not necessarily. But I would not undermine my own country. Even if the government is very bad, I would oppose the government while still supporting the spirit of my country. Disagree.
> No one chooses his or her country of birth, so it's foolish to be proud of it.
Why can't I be proud of it for reasons of my own choosing? Strongly disagree.
> Our race has many superior qualities, compared with other races.
No, having black hair makes it more annoying to be out in the sun. Strongly disagree.
> The enemy of my enemy is my friend.
Not always; multi-way wars can be fun. Disagree.
> Military action that defies international law is sometimes justified.
Yeah, sometimes the law takes too long to deal with. Agree.
> There is now a worrying fusion of information and entertainment.
What the fuck does this mean anyway? I disagree with it, after thinking about it a bit.
> People are ultimately divided more by class than by nationality.
I'm...not really sure. I don't think people are divided by much other than their own perceptions and perspectives. Though these can be both cultural and socioeconomic. So I guess I'll say I disagree.
> Controlling inflation is more important than controlling unemployment.
I think a well-managed economy can do both to reasonable extents, but if I had to choose between the two, I'd choose to control unemployment. Not to the point of doling out handouts by the truckload, but enough to keep the bottom rung of the economy moving to keep the whole economy more productive. Disagree.
> Because corporations cannot be trusted to voluntarily protect the environment, they require regulation.
Well, there's some extent they can be trusted with things like corporate social/environmental governance and "triple bottom line" stuff, but that takes time, and lots of social customs to "shame" companies that don't do it. And it takes a while to come around. So, I agree, though not strongly because people do need a bit of room to make mistakes in order to grow.
> "from each according to his ability, to each according to his need" is a fundamentally good idea.
This would be a very ideal way for society to function, but this unfortunately neglects that there are going to be a lot of people who like to cheat and be selfish. So I'm going to mildly disagree.
> It's a sad reflection on our society that something as basic as drinking water is now a bottled, branded consumer product.
I think it's neither sad nor happy, to be honest. Though I think that drinking water should be provided to everyone, I also think that bottled water is more so the provision of a service of convenience as well as the provision of a bottle (which I gladly reuse many, many times). So, I mildly disagree.
> Land shouldn't be a commodity to be bought and sold.
I don't see why it shouldn't be bought or sold at all, though I don't think it should be done with wild abandon. Mildly disagree.
> It is regrettable that many personal fortunes are made by people who
simply manipulate money and contribute nothing to their society.
I'm not sure how many there are, but some such people do definitely exist. I'm going to mildly agree with this, though I'm sure a subset of such people do also engage in charitable work. That said, not all of them do, and some of them even leave a trail of financial destruction behind them.
> Protectionism is sometimes necessary in trade.
Sometimes. Doesn't make for good economic efficiency, but then again, efficiency itself isn't the be-all-and-end-all all the time anyway. Mildly agree.
> The only social responsibility of a company should be to deliver a profit to its shareholders.
No, it also has a responsibility of, y'know, delivering goods and/or services of reasonable quality to its customers. And also not wrecking the place in the course of it. Strongly disagree.
> The rich are too highly taxed.
This obviously depends on the country, but I still think that the very tip-tops of high incomes should be taxed pretty substantially, since frankly speaking, if you're fabulously wealthy, you don't need those last few dollars to live comfortably, and you ought to help out that same society whose structure let you attain or maintain such fabulous wealth. Though I'm open to rebates, of course--tax breaks for charitable giving are a great idea (in principle at least). So I'm going to strongly disagree.
> Those with the ability to pay should have the right to higher standards of medical care .
Okay, this one is thorny. It depends on what you consider to be "standards". Does this mean that people without the ability to pay should have to receive substandard medication, with less effectiveness or more side-effects? Or does this mean that medical care should be the same but they shouldn't have access to certain subsets of medical care? And what do these subsets include--for example, is life-extending treatment for a terminally-ill patient something that people without the ability to pay should have access to?
That said, the question is probably trying to get me to weigh how much people deserve "inherent" medical care, or how much medical care should be considered a "right". Based on the fact that a healthy society is generally more productive, I'd say I'm going to mildly disagree--people shouldn't be made to not worry at all about their health, but they shouldn't be burdened with undue health problems.
> Governments should penalise businesses that mislead the public.
STRONGLY agree. If you want to do business, that's awesome, as long as you're operating honestly. Same goes with governments and their actions. No cheating!
> A genuine free market requires restrictions on the ability of predator multinationals to create monopolies.
...what is a "predator multinational"? Companies that go to foreign countries and have such a big economic impact that they're basically the backbone of the local economy? I guess I could oppose this on the basis of monopolies or excessively large companies having too much influence or needing more oversight to make sure that the communities that depend on them don't go belly-up if they do. This is a confusing and possibly loaded question, but I guess I'll just mildly agree with it.
> The freer the market, the freer the people.
Loaded question. This seems more like a quick-draw philosophy question than an actual policy question. One could agree to this directly, but one could also observe that people are freer overall when there are more regulations concerning transparency in business practices and understanding of economic and technical processes, leading to a more information-balanced economy.
That said, I think the question they really want is "Does capitalism engender liberty?" To which I'll somewhat agree. Broadly speaking, it probably does.
Oh fuck, i've only gone through 2 of 6 pages.
No, people should have the right to make their own moral decisions in cases like these. Strongly disagree.
> All authority should be questioned.
Yes. Though I strongly caution that "questioned" does not mean "defied". It should mean "checked for competence, and heeded if it's a good idea. That said, that doesn't mean this is possible all the time in real life. So I'm going to strongly agree, albeit with a caveat.
> An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.
No, not a good idea unless you want THE BATTLE TO LAST FOR ALL ETERNITY!!!!111. Good idea to threaten someone with it, though. Mildly disagree.
> Taxpayers should not be expected to prop up any theatres or museums that cannot survive on a commercial basis.
Mildly disagree. The taxpayers should decide whether they want to do this.
> Schools should not make classroom attendance compulsory.
Mildly disagree. Don't throw kids in jail over it, but do teach them some sense of discipline, thank you.
> All people have their rights, but it is better for all of us that different sorts of people should keep to their own kind.
Uh, no. Are you trying to sectionalize society or something? Taken lightly you seem to mean that nerds shouldn't hang out with jocks; taken more seriously you seem to mean that black guys shouldn't be marrying white women. This has disturbing implications. Strongly disagree. Let me add that it is only by different people coming into contact with each other--and being forced by circumstance to work out their differences, in some cases--can they truly come to understand each other.
> Good parents sometimes have to spank their children.
I don't know, but I think I'll mildly agree.
> It's natural for children to keep some secrets from their parents.
I agree with this, acknowledging that this is a fact of life. I'm just not sure whether this counts as mildly or strongly agreeing. If I were a parent I wouldn't want to force these answers out of my children, but I would try to coax them out of them. So I guess this is mildly agreeing.
> Possessing marijuana for personal use should not be a criminal offence.
Based on the assumption (likely true, from what I've read and heard) that cannabis carries less dependence risk and physical harm than alcohol and tobacco, then I would agree with this, that it should be a controlled substance not unlike alcohol or tobacco. That said, I'm not very happy with either of those--well, alcohol might have some beneficial health effects when consumed in moderation but I don't see redemption for tobacco. So...mildly agree I guess?
> The prime function of schooling should be to equip the future generation to find jobs.
Mildly disagree; the prime function of schooling should be to equip the future generation with a better understanding of how our world works. That's not to say that vocational colleges should be discouraged; they have their own merit.
> People with serious inheritable disabilities should not be allowed to reproduce.
I...okay, this is a very sticky issue. That said, what such people are actually interested in reproduction, or able to do so? I'm just going to say mildly disagree just to be safe.
> The most important thing for children to learn is to accept discipline.
No. Just one of the most important things for children to learn is discipline, but discipline only truly works when they generate it on their own, not when they merely accept it. Strongly disagree.
> There are no savage and civilised peoples; there are only different cultures.
No, I'd say there are definitely savage people, just that they are not necessarily the ones that seem savage on first sight. Mildly disagree.
> Those who are able to work, and refuse the opportunity, should not expect society's support.
Agree. However, mildly agree only, because it's hard for a policy to determine what exactly means "able to work"--if you set the bar too high you miss too many needy people and if you set it too low you pick up too many freeloaders. This is a complex problem, indeed.
> When you are troubled, it's better not to think about it, but to keep busy with more cheerful things.
Disagree. When you are troubled, it's best to think about what's troubling you rather than to avoid problems. But then again, don't dwell on them excessively.
> First-generation immigrants can never be fully integrated within their new country.
Strongly disagree. Why the hell not?
> What's good for the most successful corporations is always, ultimately, good for all of us.
No, definitely not. There's lots of perverse incentives that apply to a profit-driven understanding of a situation that frequently are not sustainable or otherwise require balancing forces. Strongly disagree.
> No broadcasting institution, however independent its content, should receive public funding.
I...really am not sure about this, but I see no reason that absolutely no broadcasting institutions should receive public funding. So I'm going to give a weak disagree.
I'm not really sure on this, but I don't think so. Not really at least. Weak disagree.
> A significant advantage of a one-party state is that it avoids all the
arguments that delay progress in a democratic political system.
That's right, but a democratic political system makes for a MUCH, MUCH
happier populace. I'd rather things be slower but I have a stake in it,
especially if I can make it more transparent and make more people aware
of and interested in participating in the process of governing their
own community. So while I technically agree with the premise of the
argument, I strongly disagree with the spirit of the question.
> Although the electronic age makes official surveillance easier, only wrongdoers need to be worried.
First of all, there are questions about what is right and what is wrong,
and second of all, false positives are too easy when we let official
surveillance go unchecked. I won't entertain paranoia about this issue
on the other hand, so I'll just mildly disagree.
> The death penalty should be an option for the most serious crimes.
I agree with this, but this must be done very carefully to weigh the
possible benefits of ridding society of a criminal of irredeemable
stature against the possible detriment in executing someone wrongfully
convicted of a crime. Weak agree.
> In a civilised society, one must always have people above to be obeyed and people below to be commanded.
No, not necessarily. That said, there are always going to be people who try to gain undue power over others. Weak disagree.
> Abstract art that doesn't represent anything shouldn't be considered art at all.
Weak disagree. I personally have a two-tiered standard for art.
Anything is art, or very little is art. I have no idea which is more
correct.
> In criminal justice, punishment should be more important than rehabilitation.
Weak disagree. We need sticks but we also need carrots. Not everyone has Nanoha's miraculous formula of befriending.
> It is a waste of time to try to rehabilitate some criminals.
I definitely agree; some criminals seem to have psychiatric issues
underlying their motives, issues that would take quite a bit of work to
solve, if it's at all possible to solve them, so I'm not sure of the
costs versus benefits. That said, I don't want to give off the
impression that it's a waste of time to try to rehabilitate a damn lot
of criminals, so I'll answer weak agree.
> The businessperson and the manufacturer are more important than the writer and the artist.
Unfortunately, I find some of this perspective in my own life, despite
really appreciating media and being a musician myself. I'd like this
not to be the case but I feel that it's the case in real life. Since
this is a test for the location of my political ideals rather than my
understanding of societal realities, I'm going to answer with a weak
disagree.
> Mothers may have careers, but their first duty is to be homemakers.
Strongly disagree. Fathers have responsibilities to their families and
households too, beyond just garnering income. Couples should find ways
to share the responsibilities of family life and household management.
> Multinational companies are unethically exploiting the plant genetic resources of developing countries.
Not necessarily. They should, though, definitely make sure to be
socially responsible and help develop the communities whose resources
they make use of. Weak disagree.
> Making peace with the establishment is an important aspect of maturity.
Not necessarily. Though learning to accept reality is one. Weak disagree.
Two more freaking pages to go.
Wut no. Most of the explanations are one-size-fits-all commentary anyway. Strongly disagree. That said, if someone wants to prove otherwise, I'm open to it.
> You cannot be moral without being religious.
Strongly disagree. I feel I have a pretty strong understanding of morality despite not being religious, and I feel the same is true for many other people.
> Charity is better than social security as a means of helping the genuinely disadvantaged.
Charity, though voluntary, is unreliable. A good mix of both is needed. Weak disagree.
> Some people are naturally unlucky.
No, the RNG can be equally brutal to everyone. Keyword "can". Strongly disagree.
> It is important that my child's school instills religious values.
No, it is important that my child's school instills moral values. Since religion frequently comes with moral values, and in consideration of the possible spirit of this question, I'm going to weakly disagree.
> Sex outside marriage is usually immoral.
Weakly disagree--it can be okay but it really requires people to be mature and responsible about it--which is very frequently not the case, and when it is not the case, shit happens.
> A same sex couple in a stable, loving relationship, should not be excluded from the possibility of child adoption.
Definitely agree. They could help reduce the number of kids stuck in foster care, heck. It's a great idea.
> Pornography, depicting consenting adults, should be legal for the adult population.
I thought it already is, at least here in the U.S.. Weak agree, because I feel people should be free to do this, I am still not happy about how the Very Intimate Pleasures shop is RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET FROM THE FREEWAY EXIT THAT LEADS TO OUR TOWN. (In other words, don't let it run around willy-nilly.)
> What goes on in a private bedroom between consenting adults is no business of the state.
Unless it causes shit that society has to deal with afterwords. STIs might be one example. So I'll give this a weak agree, though the question seems like my actual position is a strong agree for its intent.
> No one can feel naturally homosexual.
Definitely heard too many stories contradicting this statement, and don't see why it can't happen. Strongly disagree.
> These days openness about sex has gone too far.
No, actually, it's not gone too far; the main problem is that people have this silly taboo about it, which makes people yell angrily while giggling behind their own backs any time sex and sexuality are mentioned. Stop with this stupid taboo, and simply tell the little children who won't get it that this is something that only happens to adults, and they will know in time. Strongly disagree, as there are ways to deal with this issue MATURELY and RESPONSIBLY, rather than simply gag-ordering everyone.
Economic Left/Right: -3.62
Enjoy your silly little numbers.Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -4.05
I'm surprised there weren't even any questions about gun rights, the merits of welfare, state-planned economies, and dinosaurs.
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -5.38
Numbers are often annoyingly misleading.
Economic Left/Right: -5.00
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -1.74
-If economic globalisation is inevitable, it should primarily serve
humanity rather than the interests of trans-national corporations.
--Ideally it should serve both. But I suppose that means Strongly Agree.
-I'd always support my country, whether it was right or wrong.
--No, that's silly. Strongly Disagree.
-No one chooses his or her country of birth, so it's foolish to be proud of it.
--Hmm. I mean I can see the logic here, but it doesn't seem quite relevant. Mild Disagree.
-Our race has many superior qualities, compared with other races.
--No, that's stupid. There's not really even such a thing as "other races" to begin with. Strongly Disagree.
-The enemy of my enemy is my friend.
--Sometimes, I guess. Mild Agree.
-Military action that defies international law is sometimes justified.
--Not usually, that's what international law is for. Mild Disagree.
-There is now a worrying fusion of information and entertainment.
--Why would that ever be worrying? Why do you want to keep your information and entertainment separate? Strongly Disagree.
--People are not really divided much at all, but I would say anyone who says this hasn't ever gone to a really different nation. Maybe a poor American is more different from a rich American than a poor British guy, but not more than a Saudi guy. Mild Disagree.
-Controlling inflation is more important than controlling unemployment.
--No, that's silly. Inflation, at least a little inflation, is good. Even gigantic Zimbabwelike inflation is a preferable way for your economy to tank compared to 90% unemployment or something of that ilk. Strongly Disagree.
-Because corporations cannot be trusted to voluntarily protect the environment, they require regulation.
--I think this should be obvious. Strongly Agree.
-"from each according to his ability, to each according to his need" is a fundamentally good idea.
--The seperate parts are individually good ideas, but they don't work very well together. In fact, scratch that; I'm gonna go Strongly Disagree on this one, I have trouble with the idea we should expect anything from people.
-It's a sad reflection on our society that something as basic as drinking water is now a bottled, branded consumer product.
--What? Why would it be? People wanna buy bottled water for a bunch of totally rational reasons. And some irrational reasons, of course, but same with anything else. Strongly Disagree
-Land shouldn't be a commodity to be bought and sold.
--Now I kind of understand the mindset behind this, but why wouldn't it be? We take unclaimed stuff from "nature" all the time. Mild Disagree
-It is regrettable that many personal fortunes are made by people who
simply manipulate money and contribute nothing to their society.
--Okay, I need an anecdote to explain why I Strongly Disagree with this: A long time ago, I played an MMO called Runescape. One of the best ways to make money in Runescape is called "merchanting". Suppose you want to merchant coal ore. What you do is you go to the bank where all the players who mine coal ore bank it, and you announce that you are buying coal for, let's say totally arbitrarily, 90 GP per coal. A bunch of miners will come up to you over time and sell you their coal for 90 GP. Then, you turn around to some bank in some major city and announce that you're selling that coal, usually all at once, for 110 GP.
--I used to think that this was a manipulative way to make money, but then I realized that merchants were actually providing a service that justified the premium. You see, you the buyer were paying that extra 20 GP to the merchant so you didn't have to spend that time buying from random people. That was the work the merchants did; they made it more convenient to buy things in bulk, by doing the work of assembling their stock themselves and then charging you from it.
--Of course this story has analogies with real merchants all across time. What an ancient merchant traveling the silk road was charging you extra for was not the silk itself; he was charging you extra for the ability to buy silk without going all the way to China for it. Same with all people who "only manipulate money"; they do provide services, they're just difficult to notice ones. If they didn't provide some kind of service, nobody would pay them for it.
-Protectionism is sometimes necessary in trade.
--Sometimes, I suppose, but more often it's a trap that actually hurts your economy more than it helps it. Mild Disagree.
-The only social responsibility of a company should be to deliver a profit to its shareholders.
--The only thing a company will ever naturally pursue is money, because that's what it's set up to do. Anything else is foolish to expect to occur naturally from the company and therefore has to be enforced by regulation, or else at least tied to making money. You can make a company pollute less by either forcing them outright to not pollute, or else by making polluting cost more money than not polluting. If you leave them alone they'll do nothing.
--Ooh, that was quite a tangent. What I think about the original statement really depends on how I read "should", but at a guess I think I'll Disagree with it.
-The rich are too highly taxed.
--HAHAHAHAHAHAno. Strongly Disagree.
-Those with the ability to pay should have the right to higher standards of medical care .
--Everyone should in theory have the right to the highest standard of medical care. Of course we can't actually do that because medical care like everything is scarce, but I think in spirit my answer would be a Mild Disagree.
-Governments should penalise businesses that mislead the public.
--If you don't want businesses to mislead the public, which I would assume nobody wants. Strongly Agree
-A genuine free market requires restrictions on the ability of predator multinationals to create monopolies.
--A genuine free market requires restrictions on the ability of anything to create monopolies. Strongly Agree.
-The freer the market, the freer the people.
--Depends on what you mean by "freer", but I think overall this is true, so Mild Agree.
--Ejecting the baby from the uterus should always be legal for any reason, regardless of whether it will survive or not. Killing the baby outright should be legal when ejecting the baby would kill it or if the mother's health is in danger. And I'd oppose actually making the exceptions I've implied illegal, because nobody really does that. After viability, any woman who wanted an abortion would've gotten it long ago. So all told, Strongly Disagree.
-All authority should be questioned.
--Everything should be questioned. Strongly Agree.
-An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.
--No, that's stupid. Unless you can actually steal their eye instead of just putting it out, then maybe that's not such a bad idea. But in the sense in which it was meant, Strongly Disagree.
-Taxpayers should not be expected to prop up any theatres or museums that cannot survive on a commercial basis.
--Not everything that is worth seeing will make money. Popularity is not an indication of quality. (Only gonna give this one a Mild Disagree, though, because sometimes you do have to account for the fact that only one guy ever goes to this theater that you're spending all this money on.)
-Schools should not make classroom attendance compulsory.
--Though I kind of like this in principle, in practice little kids cannot make a truly informed decision about this because they don't really get the consequences of not attending school. But I do think that for at least all teenagers attendance shouldn't be compulsory; by 13 I think you can understand the consequences in at least a basic way.) So I think that works out to Mild Disagree.
-All people have their rights, but it is better for all of us that different sorts of people should keep to their own kind.
--Absolutely not. "Keeping to your own kind" is the core problem for any trouble that involves "different sorts of people". You don't go near people different from you, you don't develop empathy for them. You don't have empathy for people different from you, that's called racism. Or maybe sexism or classism or a whole bunch of other nasty bigoted -isms. Strongly Disagree.
-Good parents sometimes have to spank their children.
--Good parents should never have to spank their children. Good parents should certainly never actually spank their children even if they feel they have to. Strongly Disagree.
-It's natural for children to keep some secrets from their parents.
--Clearly. Strongly Agree.
-Possessing marijuana for personal use should not be a criminal offence.
--Possessing any drug for personal use should not be a criminal offence. The law should not have any power over your body. You have absolute untouchable sovereignty over your own body and you should be able to do anything you like with it. Strongly Agree.
-The prime function of schooling should be to equip the future generation to find jobs.
--No, that strikes me as a dismal view of education, and too specific besides. The primary function of schooling should be to impart information for any reason you choose to use that information. Strongly Disagree.
-People with serious inheritable disabilities should not be allowed to reproduce.
--There is nobody who should not be allowed to reproduce. Again, sovereignty over your body. Strongly Disagree (Now, if it were to say "should not reproduce" I would agree with that.)
-The most important thing for children to learn is to accept discipline.
--My inclination is to say that the most important thing for children to learn is to not accept discipline. In any case, Strongly Disagree.
-There are no savage and civilised peoples; there are only different cultures.
--I would not call any people "savage", but there are clearly societies with better standards of living than others. Western society is, for all its faults and all the nasty things it's done to other cultures, really and truly better than being a hunter-gatherer. Even culturally we've --well, I wouldn't say we've mostly gotten over our flaws, but we've certainly gotten past them to a much greater extent than most of the rest of the world. Mild Disagree, "mild" only due to that phrasing "savage".
-Those who are able to work, and refuse the opportunity, should not expect society's support.
--Why is that relevant? People are people, no people deserve any kind of pain or suffering no matter what they've did. Abandoning them to that is just callous. Strongly Disagree.
-When you are troubled, it's better not to think about it, but to keep busy with more cheerful things.
--When you are troubled about nothing in particular, maybe. If you are troubled about something, you should try to fix it. Anything you could possibly be troubled about, you can at least help somehow. Ignoring problems just lets them continue. Overall, I think that's more of a Strongly Disagree than a just plain Disagree.
-First-generation immigrants can never be fully integrated within their new country.
--I know first-generation immigrants who are for all intents and purposes fully integrated into this country. Strongly Disagree.
-What's good for the most successful corporations is always, ultimately, good for all of us.
--HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAno. Though maybe I'm not giving this a fair shake; it's true that corporations really do do more good than harm. But I wouldn't say "always good for all of us". I wouldn't even say "most of the time good for some of us". Strongly Disagree.
-No broadcasting institution, however independent its content, should receive public funding.
--I think there ought to be a BBC equivalent with all the authority of the BBC in the US. Like I've said before, popularity is not the same as quality. What the people want they should get, of course, but there should also be a place where good TV that wouldn't make much money should be broadcast, because there is plenty good TV that wouldn't make much money. Strongly Disagree.
--Strongly Agree. My biggest disappointment with Obama is that he seemingly didn't even try to stop this.
-A significant advantage of a one-party state is that it avoids all the
arguments that delay progress in a democratic political system.
--This is not a significant advantage of a one-party state. This is in fact a significant disadvantage of a one party state. Those arguments that "delay progress" are very important to good decision making. Even if one side was somehow always right, it still ought to have to prove it before it can do anything. Strongly Disagree.
-Although the electronic age makes official surveillance easier, only wrongdoers need to be worried.
--So I gather you have nothing at all you wouldn't want people to see? You have no problem whatsoever with bored security officials staring at your junk (or pussy, as the case may be)? More power to you, I guess, but I don't think most people are like you. Strongly Disagree.
-The death penalty should be an option for the most serious crimes.
--No; it's not even a good punishment. It's just vengeance, and that shouldn't have any part in the criminal justice system or anywhere else. Nobody should ever do nasty things to another human being for the sake of doing nasty things to another human being. Period. No exceptions. Even Hitler. Strongly Disagree.
-In a civilised society, one must always have people above to be obeyed and people below to be commanded.
--Ideally not. I don't think it's necessary and I don't think it's a good idea. Collective decisions are perfectly sufficient without having a boss bossing people around. Strongly Disagree.
-Abstract art that doesn't represent anything shouldn't be considered art at all.
--Everything is art, if you think it is. "Art" is a pretty arbitrary term really. You, random statement guy, have no power whatsoever over what I think is art. Strongly Disagree.
-In criminal justice, punishment should be more important than rehabilitation.
--I believe I've already said that punishment should not be a part of the justice system at all. Not that deterrence isn't important, but I think just catching criminals is sufficient deterrant. A criminal doesn't care what the condition of his cell will be or whether he'll get 10 or 20 years before he goes to court. He might not even know anything about the law other than it wants to catch him. All that we should make clear to him is that it will catch him, because he really doesn't care about anything after that until he's already been caught. (Note here: I've been using "he" hypothetically but this of course applies to female criminals too.) Strongly Disagree.
-It is a waste of time to try to rehabilitate some criminals.
--Do you mean "there are some criminals that cannot be rehabilitated" or do you mean "it is a waste of time to try to rehabilitate criminals"? Because I agree with the first one but strongly disagree with the second. Based on the use of "waste of time" I would guess you mean the second, so Strongly Disagree.
-The businessperson and the manufacturer are more important than the writer and the artist.
--Not usually. I suppose for certain writers and artists, but then the opposite would be true for certain businesspeople I could name. So Mild Disagree, because I would think Strongly Disagree would connotate the reverse statement, which I don't agree with either.
-Mothers may have careers, but their first duty is to be homemakers.
--Mothers may do whatever they damn well please, thank you very much. Strongly Disagree.
-Multinational companies are unethically exploiting the plant genetic resources of developing countries.
--To an extent, yes. But I want to point out here that although mutlinational companies are exploiting developing companies, and though that is bad, they are also the reason those are developing companies as opposed to undeveloped companies. So Mild Agree.
-Making peace with the establishment is an important aspect of maturity.
--You should never make peace with the establishment, if you don't think the establishment is worthy of peace. Always fight for what you believe in until somebody's won, and then if it's the other side fight some more. Strongly Disagree.
--Astrology is crap. Not sure why this is relevant. Strongly Disagree.
-You cannot be moral without being religious.
--I am not religious, and I like to think I'm moral. In fact I wonder a little at people who believe this; do they really think they'd go on a killing spree if they didn't believe in God? Strongly Disagree.
-Charity is better than social security as a means of helping the genuinely disadvantaged.
--Charity is unreliable. Strongly Disagree.
-Some people are naturally unlucky.
--There's not really such a thing as "luck" as a metaphysical concept; you can be unlucky now, in the sense that many bad things can happen to you in succession, and you can be unlucky, in the sense that many bad things can happen to you all the time, but you can't be naturally unlucky, because that would imply that you somehow attract bad things to happen to you. Mild Disagree.
-It is important that my child's school instills religious values.
--It is very, very, important that my child's school does not instill religious values. Strongly Disagree.
--Sex, as long as it's consensual, is never immoral, though it can sometimes be stupid. Strongly Disagree.
-A same sex couple in a stable, loving relationship, should not be excluded from the possibility of child adoption.
--Strongly Agree. The wording seems biased to me even though I would agree no matter the wording. Do you have to mention stable and loving? Why is it phrased as if this is the default and disagreeing is abnormal? I really would much prefer the phrasing "Same sex couples should be able to adopt children".
-Pornography, depicting consenting adults, should be legal for the adult population.
--I think obviously it should. Strongly Agree.
-What goes on in a private bedroom between consenting adults is no business of the state.
--Like I've said above, Strongly Agree.
-No one can feel naturally homosexual.
--Obviously, factually not true. Strongly Disagree.
-These days openness about sex has gone too far.
--Are you kidding? We're still much too afraid to talk about sex, with gigantic deleterious effects for at least sexual pleasure if not the happiness of millions of gay couples and many various fetishists besides. Strongly Disagree.
Final Results:
Economic Left/Right: -2.00
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -7.69
Economic Left/Right: -8.62
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -6.46
Well, lookatdis.
"It is surmised that in societies not bound by the rule of law, if a
person was hurt, then the injured person (or their relative) would take vengeful
retribution on the person who caused the injury. The retribution might
be much worse than the crime, perhaps even death. Babylonian law put a
limit on such actions, restricting the retribution to be no worse than
the crime[...]"
Now, Wikipedia's not any too exact of a source, but even so.
Not exactly the same as the modern idiom, but after almost 4000 years, who'd expect it to be?
If they value nothing, then you take everything they have.
If economic globalisation is inevitable, it should primarily serve humanity rather than the interests of trans-national corporations.
Agree. The wording of the question suggests a presupposition that decisions in the interest of the entities driving an economy is somehow harmful to the populace supported by said economy. If we assume that that is established fact, then of course it is better to serve the interests of humanity.
I'd always support my country, whether it was right or wrong.
Disagree. If my country is doing something wrong, then I would support those who would vote to stop the wrong action. But I would (hopefully) do it from the inside, without breaking the law, and I would still supoport those who were only following orders unless they clearly violated military law. If my country was involved in a genocide, and I found out my friend was hiding those who were being exterminated, I'd keep it a secret and smuggle food to help my friend.
No one chooses his or her country of birth, so it's foolish to be proud of it.
Strongly Disagree. Whiole being born is no reason to be proud, if my country does something worthy of pride, whether winning a competition, helping people, etc., why should I not feel pride?
Our race has many superior qualities, compared with other races.
Disagree. The human races are less different than people think. In fact, all of human diversity represents an estimated 20,000 years of evolution. I do believe the groups associated with my prsonal ancestry (English, Scottish, Italian, etc.) made important contributions to human science, technology, culture, etc., and feel some pride in that, but that's not the same thing as "superior qualities".
The enemy of my enemy is my friend.
Disagree. The enemy of my enemy may be my friend, or they might not be. They might ally with my enemy, even though they hate each other, because both see me as the greater threat.
Military action that defies international law is sometimes justified.
Agree. While it might not be most of the time, there are certainly exceptions. What if a country found out that a nuclear attack on a third party was imminent, and launched a premptive strike without approval?
There is now a worrying fusion of information and entertainment.
Agree. I'd strongly prefer to see more separation of science data, business data, advertising, general entertainment, and "adult material" than the internet currently contains, but compared to the economic, environmental, poverty, and sustainability issues facing humanity this pales almost to insignifigance in comparison IMHO.
People are ultimately divided more by class than by nationality.
Strongly Disagree. History shows people of different social classes are usually willing to ally to oppose those of exceptionally differing political or religious ideology, for example.
Controlling inflation is more important than controlling unemployment.
Strongly Agree. Based on anecdotal historical evidence, I strongly suspect it is much easier for governments to control inflation than unemployment, and attempting to control unemployment without controlling other factors can backfire, resulting in a financial crisis.
Because corporations cannot be trusted to voluntarily protect the environment, they require regulation.
Agree. This is certainly true of some corporations, but it is certainly not true of all corporations. Thus regulation is necessary, but the negative impact to the responsible corporations should be kept to a minimum.
"from each according to his ability, to each according to his need" is a fundamentally good idea.
Strongly Disagree. While in theory this is a morally good idea, historically, this has shown to have a negative impact on encouraging innovative entrepreneurial efforts, which in more innovative capitolist economies can account for the majority of new economic growth.
It's a sad reflection on our society that something as basic as drinking water is now a bottled, branded consumer product
Disagree. It's sad that people who live in areas where the quality of tap water or filtered water is just as good and costs 20 times less prefer to drink bottled water, needlessly creating trash, is sad, but the fact that entrepreneurs bottle water to allow people to have (for example) a trusted supply of emergency drinking water? There's noting wrong with that.
Land shouldn't be a commodity to be bought and sold.
Strongly Disagree. Why shouldn't corporations own the land they put their factories and hotels on? Why shouldn't my parents be allowed to own the land their retirement cabin sits on?
It is regrettable that many personal fortunes are made by people who simply manipulate money and contribute nothing to their society.
Disagree. Manipulating money can contribute nothing to society, but if you are investing in a small business that employs workers, that is not nothing.
Protectionism is sometimes necessary in trade.
Agree. If an enemy is actively trying to destroy your economy, it would be foolish to refuse to do anything about it.
The only social responsibility of a company should be to deliver a profit to its shareholders.
Disagree. A company also has a responsability to the law, the local community, its employees, etc., and especially its customers. Not all companies should have the same responsibilities. A chain of restaurants shop has a differet set of responsabilities than an energy company.
The rich are too highly taxed.
Disagree. An "impossible question" as explained above. To me, the chief fiscal problem with the U.S., Japan, and Europe is not taxes or borrowing, it's the culture of frivolous spending. If I were the president of the U.S., I'd ask congress to consider cutting most loopholes for individuals and corporations as well as the Bush tax cuts, and then lower the overall corporate tax rates to encourage companies to hire U.S. workers, and then make it easier for rich people to invest in small, local businesses that employ people.
Those with the ability to pay should have the right to higher standards of medical care.
Strongly Agree. I don't think rich people who are paying every penny for their own medical costs should be forced to use the same services as the poor. In fact I would prefer that the rich be turned away by those who provide subsidized health care.
Governments should penalise businesses that mislead the public.
Disagree. If you hype a meaningless product statistic, I don't see a reason for the government to bother getting involved. If you are lying in a way that is illegal, than the CEO should not be fined, he should be in prison.
A genuine free market requires restrictions on the ability of predator multinationals to create monopolies
Agree. But only to a certain extent. Not all monopolies require restrictions. Only those monopolies that seek to control entire industries in a way that is destructive to competitive innovation.
The freer the market, the freer the people.
Agree. In general, free market societies tend to have more freedom overall than those where the market is very heavily regulated. However, it's certainly not always true.
Abortion, when the woman's life is not threatened, should always be illegal.
Disagree. I suport women who chose life and adoption, but I am not convinced implementing such a strict regulation would be morally beneficial until the culture has changed.
All authority should be questioned.
Agree. There is a time and a place, but the people should have some ability to bring any leadership down if necessary.
An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.
Disagree. The irony of this was that both Hammurabi and the Jewish author of the equivalent biblical phrase were both anti - Disproportionate Retribution. But in today's world, people often misinterpret this attitude as meaning if a criminal tortures his victims, then similar torture is acceptable as punishment.
Taxpayers should not be expected to prop up any theatres or museums that cannot survive on a commercial basis.
Agree. I can understand why government should be actively involved in the preservation of scientific data, priceless artifacts, etc., and I am not opposed to some museums being 100% owned by government, but an actual policy of government taking over a theatre rather than letting it fail is something I would oppose.
Schools should not make classroom attendance compulsory.
Agree. In general, this seems unnecessary. The only penlty should be flunking the students.
All people have their rights, but it is better for all of us that different sorts of people should keep to their own kind.
Strongly Disagree. I don't object to, for example, white guys that prefer to date whitte women, but I do object to people who try to tell other people they shouldn't associate with other groups. It is better for everyone if some of us self - select to actively seek a more integrated society.
Good parents sometimes have to spank their children.
Agree. All things in moderation, of course.
It's natural for children to keep some secrets from their parents.
Agree. It might be wrong, but it is to be expected that this will sometimes occur. That doesn't make it moral, however.
Possessing marijuana for personal use should not be a criminal offence.
Agree. We spend too much imprisoning people for this.
The prime function of schooling should be to equip the future generation to find jobs.
Disagree. In a republic (for example), an even more critical goal of education is to equip the future generation to be responsible, and to learn how to self - educate.
People with serious inheritable disabilities should not be allowed to reproduce.
Disagree. In extreme cases, these people often self - select to not reproduce anyway, but my concern is that "serious" will undergo Flanderization to include disabilities that are less and less harmful, when anecdotal evidence suggests many seemingly serious disabilities can be overcome by courageous individuals.
The most important thing for children to learn is to accept discipline.
Disagree. It is more important (for example) to teach them to accept responsability for their actions.
There are no savage and civilised peoples; there are only different cultures.
Strongly Agree. Many so - called "primitive" cultures have things "civilized" societies would do well to learn from.
Those who are able to work, and refuse the opportunity, should not expect society's support.
Agree. While the citizens of a republic or subjects of a benign monarch should expect their leaders to be charitable, those who freely choose a life of a begger over a life as a productive citizen should not have a moral right to expect to be given both charity and support.
When you are troubled, it's better not to think about it, but to keep busy with more cheerful things.
Disagree. This strategy often works well, but for the truly troubled, this strategy may leave problems undealt with.
First-generation immigrants can never be fully integrated within their new country.
Strongly Disagree. My college advisor arrived in this country with $10 in his pocket.
What's good for the most successful corporations is always, ultimately, good for all of us.
Disagree. Stupid absolute statement. In general it may be true, but certainly there are exceptions.
No broadcasting institution, however independent its content, should receive public funding.
Agree. Again, I am not opposed to 100% government - owned information services, especially printing and website services, but public funding of non - government broadcasting is a bad idea, IMHO.
Our civil liberties are being excessively curbed in the name of counter-terrorism.
Agree. Mind if I grope you? But it's better than refusing to fight our enemies.
A significant advantage of a one-party state is that it avoids all the arguments that delay progress in a democratic political system.
Strongly Disagree. Name one one-party state that has not violated the human rights of its citizens.
Although the electronic age makes official surveillance easier, only wrongdoers need to be worried.
Disagree. There is plenty of opportunity to misuse such information, and information can mislead investigators. However, that doesn't mean surveillance is necessarily wrong.
The death penalty should be an option for the most serious crimes.
Agree. But it should be used very sparingly, particularly in states where death penalty cases cost more than life imprisonment or there is a history of court error.
In a civilised society, one must always have people above to be obeyed and people below to be commanded.
Strongly Disagree. If you want to have a small business with yourself as the one employee, why is that wrong? And representatives in a republic ideally should obey the people, not the other way around.
Abstract art that doesn't represent anything shouldn't be considered art at all.
Strongly Disagree. Art is art, and no one should tell you your art isn't art. But people should not have the "right" to expect to be rewarded for art no one likes.
In criminal justice, punishment should be more important than rehabilitation.
Agree. Even if rehabilitation is not possible, punishment still provides a deterrent. But the goal of punishment should be deterrent, not vengeance.
It is a waste of time to try to rehabilitate some criminals.
Agree. Many, and I would argue most, criminals can be at least partially rehabilitatable. But not all of them are.
The businessperson and the manufacturer are more important than the writer and the artist.
Strongly Disagree. All those who contribute to society are potentially important.
Mothers may have careers, but their first duty is to be homemakers.
Strongly Disagree. Their first duty is to be a mother.
Multinational companies are unethically exploiting the plant genetic resources of developing countries.
Agree. What the hell does "unethically exploiting the plant genetic resources" mean?!? It's not unethical IMHO to discover a cure for a disease from a plant and patent it, IMHO. I suspect some corporations are unethically damaging genetic diversity of environments rather than actively caring for the plants that provide them with raw mterials, however.
Making peace with the establishment is an important aspect of maturity.
Disagree. Not all rebels are immature.
Astrology accurately explains many things.
Disagree. More accurate than flipping a coin? Sure, why not. More accurate than Science? No way. More accurate than informed speculation? I deoubt it.
You cannot be moral without being religious.
Disagree. You can accept the principles without accepting the ideology that developed them.
Charity is better than social security as a means of helping the genuinely disadvantaged.
Agree. This is a tough one. Both can be effective or ineffective. Charity is often more efficient at an individual level, but social security can be more reliable. Where both can be provided efficiently and reliably, I prefer charity.
Some people are naturally unlucky.
Disagree. I don't think luck itself is a trait one can be born with, but I do think some people have the bad luck of being born with a disability, and many more have the bad luck to be born into extreme poverty or a society that does not value them, etc.
It is important that my child's school instills religious values.
Disagree. As I said above, the first responsibility of education in a republic is to equip future citizens with the knowledge needed to behave responsibly. It is the duty of the parents to ensure their children learn values.
Sex outside marriage is usually immoral.
Agree. In the real world as is, more often than not, IMHO.
A same sex couple in a stable, loving relationship, should not be excluded from the possibility of child adoption.
Agree.
Pornography, depicting consenting adults, should be legal for the adult population.
Strongly Agree.
What goes on in a private bedroom between consenting adults is no business of the state.
Strongly Agree.
No one can feel naturally homosexual.
Disagree. I don't know for a fact whether you can be born Homosexual or not, but in such cases I feel the individual should be given the benefit of the doubt.
These days openness about sex has gone too far.
Agree.
Economic Left/Right: 3.25
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -4.36