DETERMINING YOUR POLITICAL IDEOLOGY & BELIEFS

No single test can thoroughly assess your political ideology or party affiliation. However, the following fun three games  offer a rudimentary profile of your ideology.

Admittedly, many of the political issues of the day might seem to us to have no simple either-or  answer. That is because they rarely do. For instance, this is true for the gun control and abortion debates. Few people support a ban on any gun ownership or having absolutely no controls. Most of us are somewhere in the middle. But, in order to get a sense of your ideology, try to answer the questions from the following three games from the perspective of your basic philosophical position on the issue. For example, are you conceptually opposed to gun controls? Or, are you fundamentally in favor of such actions?

Source for the political ideology games: Robert P. Watson, Debating the Issues: American Government and Politics (Kendall-Hunt Publishing Co., 2004)

GAME 1. CURRENT CONTROVERSIES

In general, do you agree or disagree with the following statements?

Statement	Agree	Disagree
1. Abortion is a woman's right
2. Flag burning is a form of political speech
3. Gun control laws are needed
4. Prayer in school violates the church/state separation
5. The death penalty should be ended
6. Obscene  art should be free from censorship
7. Gay marriages should be recognized by government
8. Women in the military should serve in combat
9. Students should not have to say the Pledge of Allegiance
10. Racial profiling is discrimination
11. Antidiscrimination laws are needed
12. Strong environmental protections are necessary
13. Government should assist the poor
14. The minimum wage should be increased
15. Government should provide universal health care
16. Taxes on the wealthy should be increased
17. Bilingual education programs help immigrants
18. More economic regulation by government is needed
19. Military spending should be cut
20. The U.S. should provide aid to poor nations

Score: Add the total number of times you listed AGREE

0 - 3 = Very conservative

4 - 7 = Conservative

8 - 12 = Moderate

13 - 16 = Liberal

17 - 20 = Very liberal

GAME 2. IDEOLOGY MATRIX

It is problematic to assess ideology on a linear scale. As such, it helps to further explore your ideology by examining your views on two basic sets of issues: social/moral issues and economic/societal issues. This test considers whether you favor freedoms (from government) or regulations (restrictions or interventions by government) pertaining to various social/moral and economic issues. When answering the following questions, consider that the freedom or regulation pertains to the role of government and not, for example, your personal practices (one can favor decriminalization of marijuana yet not use the product, just as one can oppose gun controls yet not own a gun) or the role of institutions such as a church/temple/synagogue, the community, and so on.

SOCIAL/MORAL ISSUES (Freedom) (Regulation)	Agree	Disagree
1. Abortion is a woman s right
2. Flag burning is a form of political speech
3. Gun control laws are unnecessary
4. Prayer in school violates church/state separation
5. The death penalty should be ended
6. Obscene  art should be free from censorship
7. Government should recognize gay marriage
8. Women in the military should serve in combat
9. Students shouldn t have to say the Pledge
10. Racial profiling is discrimination

ECONOMIC/SOCIETAL ISSUES (Freedom) (Regulation)	Agree	Disagree
11. Antidiscrimination laws are needed
12. Strong environmental protections are needed
13. Government should do more for the poor
14. The minimum wage should be increased
15. Government should provide health care to all
16. Taxes on the wealthy should be increased
17. Bilingual education programs help immigrants
18. We need more government economic regulation
19 .Military spending should be cut
20. The U.S. should provide aid to poor nations

Score: You advocate the following:

SOC/MORAL FREEDOMS : If you listed agree more than 5 times for #1-10

SOC/MORAL REGULATIONS : If you listed disagree more than 5 times for #1-10

ECON/SOCIETAL FREEDOMS : If you listed disagree more than 5 times for #11-20

ECON/SOC REGULATIONS : If you listed agree more than 5 times for #11-20

ECONOMIC/SOCIETAL ISSUES

Freedom Regulation

Libertarian	Liberal
Conservative	Populist

Using the two sets of issues (Social/Moral and Economic/Societal), determine whether you support freedoms (from government) or regulations (by government) for both sets of issues, as demonstrated above. If you support social/moral freedoms and economic/societal freedoms, then you are a libertarian. If you support social/moral freedoms but economic/societal regulations, then you are a liberal. If you support social/moral regulations but economic/societal freedoms, then you are a conservative. If you support social/moral regulations and economic/societal regulations, then you are a populist.

GAME 3. POLICY CHOICES

Our beliefs and values influence our position on the issues. As such, individuals of different political ideologies tend to advocate different solutions to public problems. With which of the following options ( a  or b ) do you most agree?

Which would do more to help the economy?

1. (a) Increase taxes on the wealthy or (b) cut taxes for the wealthy

2. (a) Increase government regulation of the economy or (b) reduce such regulation

3. (a) Invest in public infrastructure or (b) provide capital gains tax cuts

Which would do more to prevent crime?

4. (a) Target educational programs to at-risk children or (b) build more prisons

5. (a) Expand social programs in urban areas or (b) have mandatory jail sentences

6. (a) Strict controls on gun ownership or (b) reducing criminal rights (i.e., Miranda)

Which would do more for national security?

7. (a) Promoting human rights abroad or (b) strict immigration controls at home

8. (a) Increasing U.S. foreign aid programs or (b) increasing U.S. military spending

9. (a) Enhancing homeland security or (b) continuing military involvement in Iraq

Which would do more for education?

10. (a) Bilingual education programs or (b) permitting prayer in school

11. (a) Expanding early childhood education or (b) standardizing testing in schools

12. (a) Increasing teacher pay or (b) providing school vouchers

Which would do more to improve society?

13. (a) Assuring minority employment opportunity or (b) eliminating any preferences 

14. (a) Reducing the political influence of the religious right  or (b) reducing the political influence of union

15. (a) Reducing poverty or (b) reducing divorce rates

Score: Add the total number of times you listed the a  option.

0 - 2 = Very conservative

3 - 5 = Conservative

6 - 9 = Moderate

10 - 12 = Liberal

13 - 15 = Very liberal