I am interested to see what VGChartz users' political views are. To do this, I have devised a simple quiz: for each of the 16 basic issues, record the letter of the statement that best represents your position. Then post your answers. I will tally them and see what we are on average.
Please spend a few minutes doing it - it may help you to know yourself better.
If you want to see what general category you fit into, write all the ones marked Ec (Economic) and Soc (Social) separately. A and B represent 'liberal' positions; C represents a 'centrist' position; D and E represent 'conservative' positions. See which ones you have the most of to decide your position. So, you now know whether you are economically/socially liberal/conservative.
Economic conservative/Social conservative - Authoritarian/Statist
Economic liberal/Social conservative - Traditional Right (US: Republican UK: Conservative)
Economic conservative/Social liberal - Traditional Left (US: Democrat UK: Labour)
Economic liberal/Social liberal - Libertarian
I have tried to make A and B more liberal than the US/UK norm and D and E more conservative than it, but it's not perfect, just a general guide. If none of the statements represent your view, pick the letter which is on the 'side' you are nearest too.
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Education (Ec)
A. Completely free market – no state funding or direction
B. Mostly free market - with state subsidy for poorer families and a guideline national curriculum
C. Mostly state-operated with private schools funded in part by tax refund vouchers given to parents who opt-out of public schools
D. Mostly state-operated with private schools funded entirely by parents
E. Completely state-operated. Private schools are not allowed by law
Health (Ec)
A. Completely free market – no state funding or drug oversight
B. Mostly free market - with state subsidy for poorer citizens and a drug safety body
C. State-operated facilities exist only for essential care, with private healthcare forming the majority of the system, funded in part by the state for poorer citizens only
D. Mostly state-operated with private healthcare funded entirely by patients
E. Completely state-operated. Private healthcare is not allowed by law
Defence and Military Foreign Policy (Ec)
A. No state military. All functions of military are performed by private defence companies paid for by people directly. No compulsory service.
B. Minimal military, for national defence only. Most defence work is performed by contracted private companies. No compulsory service.
C. Military for national defence and limited overseas peacekeeping deployments in conjunction with legitimate international authorities. No compulsory service.
D. Military for national defence and limited overseas peacekeeping deployments in conjunction with legitimate international authorities. Compulsory service for several years for all able citizens.
E. Military equipped with state-of-the-art technology and able to be deployed for active duty all over the world. Military intervention in foreign countries whenever government deems necessary. Compulsory service for several years for all able citizens.
Taxation and Government Size (Ec)
A. Minimal taxation and minimal government size. Government only exists to defend rights of people; all other functions provided by free market.
B. Taxation is reduced and public spending is limited. Government only provides services which cannot be reasonably provided by the public sector.
C. Taxation is moderate and government provides a lot of services that the public sector could provide in the interests of fairness and consistency
D. Effective socialism - Government provides most services and majority of private income is taken for the primary purpose of redistribution as state services
E. Effective communism - Government provides all services and private income is either extremely limited or nonexistant.
Economics and Economic Foreign Policy (Ec)
A. Completely free market. No restrictions on trade.
B. Free market with limited government intervention for anti-trust and monopoly regulation. Restrictions on trade only with certain countries for political purposes such as human right abuses or authoritarian government
C. Free market with government intervention for anti-trust and monopoly regulation and economic protectionism including subsidies and trade restrictions.
D. Mixed economy – All corporations and trade are heavily regulated by government
E. Planned economy – no private companies are allowed by law and all trade is controlled by the government
Environment (Ec)
A. The environment should be unprotected by the state except where human rights or health are threatened. The free market will decide whether conservation is important.
B. The government should control certain protected areas of land and regulate what can be done within them but private land can be used for whatever purpose by the owner except where human rights or health are threatened.
C. Every action that will change the environment or public or private land must be approved by government experts taking into account social, economic and conservation concerns. All business is regulated to protect the environment.
D. Conservation issues are above other concerns. It is the government's responsibility to protect the environment from all forms of potential damage and may intervene in business and reduce people's rights in order to protect it.
E. Every aspect of the environment and conservation is controlled by the state. Natural resources are tightly controlled with conservation of natural areas being the priority economic and social concerns.
Welfare (Ec):
A. Government welfare should be kept to the absolute minimum necessary to ensure no-one is without basic amenities.
B. Government welfare should be kept to a minimum of making everyone earn a minimum wage and covering additional needs by certain people (disabilities, illness).
C. Government welfare is to the sections of society that need it (state pension, disability benefit, unemployment benefit, child benefit) and to give incentives for nationally-benefiting behaviour.
D. Effective socialism – The majority of income is taken in taxation and redistributed to the less well off.
E. Effective communism - Individual income is not permitted. Every citizen has services provisioned to them according to their need.
Crime and Justice (Soc)
A. The purpose of justice is to rehabilitate criminals. Sentences should be reduced and rewards given for good behaviour and attendance of rehabilitation sessions. Some prison sentences should be converted to community sentences like picking up litter or construction of parks, etc. Death penalty NOT permitted.
B. The purpose of justice is both to rehabilitate criminals where they can be and punish them for their actions. Only some criminals can be rehabilitated; certain crimes are 'irredeemable' and those criminals should never be allowed back into the community. Death penalty NOT permitted.
C. The purpose of justice is both to rehabilitate criminals where they can be and punish them for their actions. Only some criminals can be rehabilitated; certain crimes are 'irredeemable' and those criminals should never be allowed back into the community. Death penalty permitted.
D. The purpose of justice is to punish people to the fullest extent possible and keep criminals away from the public to prevent further crime. Death penalty NOT permitted.
E. The purpose of justice is to punish people to the fullest extent possible and keep criminals away from the public to prevent further crime. Death penalty permitted.
Civil Liberties (Soc)
A. Civil liberties such as freedom of speech and privacy are above all other concerns. The government should protect these rights whenever possible and punish corporations who contravene this.
B. Civil liberties are important, but in some circumstances the government may temporarily reduce them to protect the majority e.g. wire-tapping a suspect when court approval is obtained or detaining terrorists without charge to protect national security. Note: You don't have to agree with the specific examples; you just have to agree with the sentiment that there are some circumstances where civil liberties can be temporarily reduced.
C. Same as B, but the government can also grant temporary approval to corporations to do the same.
D. Civil liberties are secondary to moral and economic concerns. Private enterprise are generally free to make any demands of their employees, while the the government has the right to unconditionally monitor communications for national security or crime concerns.
E. All citizens must follow an absolute moral code. The government has the right to unconditionally monitor communications to prevent crime and moral deviations.
Rights and Discrimination (Soc)
Note: The term 'discrimination' is ill-defined in any legal document. It does not refer to absolute equality, but is along the lines of “refusing someone a job based on qualities that do not affect their ability to do that job”. It doesn't just apply to employment, but that is the most common circumstance. Having better qualifications relevant to the job or being physically more able to do that job are NOT considered discrimination.
A. Discrimination on any grounds is illegal.
B. Discrimination on any grounds except affirmative action (e.g. meeting a quota of women or ethnic minority employees in a business) is illegal.
C. Discrimination on some grounds is not controlled by law, but other grounds are; for example one or several of: age, gender, sexual orientation, religion (or lack of), ethnic group, country of origin, family status, body size/shape.
D. The government should not discriminate against people, but discrimination by private enterprise is unregulated. Note: Unregulated means effectively permitted.
E. Same as D, but the government itself is permitted to discriminate against groups, for example
Political System (Soc)
A. Direct Democracy – Every citizen can vote on every issue with no elected representatives.
B. Proportional representation Democracy – All legislative bodies contain elected representatives directly based on the proportion voting for each party.
C. Plurality-voting Democracy – All legislative bodies contain elected representatives. In each division of a country (e.g. state/county) every citizen votes for a person to get that seat; that person then sits in the legislative body. Note: This is the US system.
D. Mixed System – Two legislative bodies; one elected democratically and one appointed by the head of state or hereditary titles.
E. Non-constitutional Monarchy/Dictatorship/One-party state – No democratic systems; rule either by a single person or a group of unelected people.
Drugs (Soc)
A. Drug use should not be regulated in any way by the government.
B. The use of the most dangerous (as backed up by scientific evidence) drugs should be sold by licensed businesses to adults only. Medical use of these is permitted. All other drugs are unrestricted.
C. Some drugs are chosen to be classified by a government body. Classifications range from “Illegal except for medical use” through to “Unrestricted”, with varying levels of regulation.
D. All drugs are classified by a government body. Classifications range from “Illegal except for medical use” through to “Unrestricted”, with varying levels of regulation. Nicotine-based products are restricted to personal use by adults and only sold through licensed businesses. Note: This is intended to approximate the US or UK system. Option C is intended to be a more liberal version of that system with only specific, nominated drugs being put forward for classification.
E. All drugs are classified as “Illegal except for medical use” to “Unrestricted”, with varying levels of regulation. Nicotine-based products are illegal.
Firearms (Soc)
A. It is the absolute right of any citizen to carry a firearm if they wish, with no restrictions.
B. It is the absolute right of any citizen to carry a firearm if they wish, but it must be concealed in public spaces and certain types of firearm are regulated
C. Citizens may carry firearms as long as they are registered, and they are subject to regulation on sale, concealment, use and types allowed
D. Firearms may only be carried and used for specific purposes like hunting. General use is not permitted, and the sale of firearms is heavily restricted
E. No civilian may carry a firearm for any purpose. Only specifically trained and approved members of the military may use firearms only while on active duty.
Abortion (Soc)
A. Abortion is legal on request, with no government intervention
B. Legal for maternal life or health, cases of rape, incurable foetal health problems, or if the social or financial situation of the mother cannot support the child
C. Illegal with exception for maternal life or health, cases of rape, or incurable foetal health problems
D. Illegal with exception for maternal life or health, or cases of rape
E. Illegal with exception for maternal life or health
Immigration and Border Security (Soc)
A. Immigration is unimpeded in all circumstances except where it poses a threat to security, health or property. Border security is the minimum needed to enforce this.
B. Immigration is unimpeded but must be officially approved at given entry points and is subject to quotas to preserve economic and social stability.
C. Immigration must be officially approved at given entry points and is controlled through work permits and quotas. Immigrants are not given immediate citizenship; one must apply to become a citizen and prove employment and sufficient length of time spent in country.
D. Immigration is subject to strict selection. Immigrants must prove themselves of value to a country before being permitted to live or work there.
E. Immigration is not permitted except in special circumstances.
Sex and Related Issues (Soc)
A. With exceptions for human rights abuses (e.g. torture), the government has no right to interfere in sexual relations between any consenting adults. Pornography of any sort is unrestricted except for when it depicts actual human rights abuses. Note: “Actual” abuses are defined as acts which are actually happening. Material which uses actors, computer graphics or otherwise which only suggests the illegal act is permitted.
B. Sexual relations are forbidden only in certain dangerous or almost-universally rejected paraphilias including incest, necrophilia and zoosexuality, as well as human right abuses. All other relations are permitted between consenting adults. Homosexuality is legal. Pornography depicting legal sexual relations is unrestricted.
C. Sexual relations are limited to heterosexual or homosexual sex of any kind between consenting adults. Pornography depicting legal sexual relations is legal but distribution is limited to licensed businesses and only to adults.
D. Sexual relations are limited to 'standard' heterosexual sex between two consenting adults. Homosexuality and pornography are illegal.
E. Sexual relations are limited to 'standard' heterosexual sex between two consenting adults, only after marriage. Homosexuality and pornography are illegal.
