Political Compass

When I was going to college, I was referred to as "Mister Conservative." The Cold war was at it's Reagan-era heights and I'll admit to being something of a hawk at the time. In one of my political science classes, I didn't do so well as the instructor was a Marxist and I didn't give the writings of Marx and Lenin a whole lot of credit. Those views had me mistaken for a conservative.

I am, in fact, a liberal following a true interpretation of that word (at least in the American political discourse). I believe that people have inherent rights and the government has only limited power to regulate or limit those rights. I believe in a liberal interpretation of the Constitution of the Constitution. I believe that the rights "of the people" are individual rights.

To really pin this all down, I went to the Political Compass website and took the test several times for a good statistical average.


I am a Leftist Libertarian, or perhaps an Anarcho-Collectivist. I am pleased to be in the company of men like Gandhi, Nelson Mandela and the Dalhi Lama. I also note that only two of the presidential candidates even come close to sharing my political beliefs. Most of the so-called liberal Democrats are actually in the authoritarian right.

When asked, I typically represent myself as Politically Non-euclidian because the terms Liberal, Conservative, Democrat and Republican have no real philosophical meaning. My refusal to place myself within the American political spectrum tends to hing on the single issue of gun rights. The Democrats take a decidedly conservative view of the Constitution when they think that the right to keep and bear arms is something that applies to "a well regulated Militia", meaning the National Guard or the police. The Republicans take a decidedly liberal view in saying that the 2nd Amendment guarantees the rights of individuals to arm themselves. Those who claim the mantle of Liberal of Conservative (or try to demonize their opponents by using those terms) don't really know what those words really mean.

And these are the people I need to choose among to lead my nation?

No wonder I'm in the anarchist area of the compass.