Take Political Ideology Quiz - Isolationist, Liberal, Realist, Neoconservative

[SOS2008]

This link to a quiz was provided by another PF member in another thread, however I thought it might be interesting to do our own PF version of this.

www.csmonitor.com/specials/neocon/quiz/neoconQuiz.html[/URL]

This is not to imply that the CS Monitor is the authority on the matter, and though the intention of the Monitor quiz is to determine if you are a neocon, the scope is larger per the result definitions provided on the site as follows:

Quiz Results (definitions)

Isolationist

The term isolationist is most often used negatively; few people who share its beliefs use it to describe their own foreign policy perspective. They believe in "America first." For them, national sovereignty trumps international relations. Many unions, libertarians, and anti-globalization protesters share isolationist tenets.

Isolationists…

Are wary of US involvement in the United Nations
Oppose international law, alliances, and agreements
Believe the US should not act as a global cop
Support trade practices that protect American workers
Oppose liberal immigration
Oppose American imperialism
Desire to preserve what they see as America's national identity and character

Historical isolationist: President Calvin Coolidge
Modern isolationist: Author/Commentator Pat Buchanan

Liberals…

Are wary of American arrogance and hypocrisy
Trace much of today's anti-American hatred to previous US foreign policies.
Believe political solutions are inherently superior to military solutions
Believe the US is morally bound to intervene in humanitarian crises
Oppose American imperialism
Support international law, alliances, and agreements
Encourage US participation in the UN
Believe US economic policies must help lift up the world's poor

Historical liberal: President Woodrow Wilson
Modern liberal: President Jimmy Carter

Realists…

Are guided more by practical considerations than ideological vision
Believe US power is crucial to successful diplomacy - and vice versa
Don't want US policy options unduly limited by world opinion or ethical considerations
Believe strong alliances are important to US interests
Weigh the political costs of foreign action
Believe foreign intervention must be dictated by compelling national interest

Historical realist: President Dwight D. Eisenhower
Modern realist: Secretary of State Colin Powell

Neoconservatives…

Want the US to be the world's unchallenged superpower
Share unwavering support for Israel
Support American unilateral action
Support preemptive strikes to remove perceived threats to US security
Promote the development of an American empire
Equate American power with the potential for world peace
Seek to democratize the Arab world
Push regime change in states deemed threats to the US or its allies

Historical neoconservative: President Teddy Roosevelt
Modern neoconservative: President Ronald Reagan

In view of debate in various threads, I've added other systems of belief, and for those who may select any of these (or other), please feel free to provide a similar summary of what you selected.

 

[Townsend]

Neocon quiz results
Based on your answers, you are most likely a realist. Read below to learn more about each foreign policy perspective.

 

[wasteofo2]

Historical neoconservative: President Teddy Roosevelt
Modern neoconservative: President Ronald Reagan

TR was NOT a goddamned Neocon, he was a Progressive Imperialist Conservationist.

 

[Dooga Blackrazor]

TR was NOT a goddamned Neocon, he was a Progressive Imperialist Conservationist.

Why not just label him conservative? Surely we can throw all the fools into one category?

I'm Liberal - no surprise there.

 

[selfAdjoint]

Why not just label him conservative? Surely we can throw all the fools into one category?

I'm Liberal - no surprise there.

Because he wasn't a conservative in any sense of that much abused word. He fought the "malefactors of great wealth", organized the National Park system that the Bushies are now trying to tear down, and generally had an agenda quite different from the GOP either of his time or of this.

BTW I voted liberal too. Liberal doesn't NECESSARILY mean ignorant of history.

 

[Informal Logic]

True about varying definitions. I was googling and couldn't believe all the sites about neoconservatives--one I think was saying Stalin was a neocon. Anyway, my results were liberal.

 

[Dooga Blackrazor]

Because he wasn't a conservative in any sense of that much abused word. He fought the "malefactors of great wealth", organized the National Park system that the Bushies are now trying to tear down, and generally had an agenda quite different from the GOP either of his time or of this.

BTW I voted liberal too. Liberal doesn't NECESSARILY mean ignorant of history.

My statement was a joke about conservatives and, yes, I don't know much about Roosevelt; however, I thought you were Liberal so, since I'm Canadian, shouldn't I have been given some leeway? If your country wasn't falling apart, maybe I'd be more interested in American history.

 

[kyleb]

It gave me liberal, but I don't see what is libreral about these points:

Are wary of American arrogance and hypocrisy
Trace much of today's anti-American hatred to previous US foreign policies.
Believe political solutions are inherently superior to military solutions
Oppose American imperialism
Support international law, alliances, and agreements
Encourage US participation in the UN

There is nothing inherently liberal about those points as far as I can see. However, few of my answers supported this:

Believe the US is morally bound to intervene in humanitarian crises
Believe US economic policies must help lift up the world's poor

Those I do consider liberal in nature, but then I don't feel those things accurately discribe my perspective; I simple chose answers which reflected those ideals because they were less opposed to my my personal perspective that the other options.

For the poll I voted other, as I consider myself a libertarian.

 

[Smurf]

The test was incompetent of prosessing my views. So I just voted other. I'm a Liberal Anarcho-Nihilist

 

[SOS2008]

I forgot to vote in this until now. In this I selected isolationist, though the quiz results said I'm liberal. But if I look at the definitions the Monitor provided, it seemed I answered isolationist, liberal, and realist. I guess it just "labels" according to the most frequent type of answer...

 

[BobG]

I also thought the quiz results were a little odd. It only dealt with foreign affairs, for one thing. Your stand on one issue doesn't define your political ideology.

Anyway, the quiz said I was a liberal . I picked 'Realist' in the poll, even though I might have just a slight isolationist tendency. I think you have to have close diplomatic ties to other nations, because it has a side effect of increasing economic interaction. When it comes to economic interaction, you don't want to be the wallflower left out of the group (just look at what happened to Argentina post WWII). Outside of those things that encourage economic interaction, we ought to stay out of other people's internal affairs as much as possible.

 

[Informal Logic]

I also thought the quiz results were a little odd. It only dealt with foreign affairs, for one thing. Your stand on one issue doesn't define your political ideology.

Probably due to the neocon slant to it--With regard to economics, that is where the neocon philosophy fails the most.

 

[BobG]

Probably due to the neocon slant to it--With regard to economics, that is where the neocon philosophy fails the most.

How so? Is that a reference to the New Republican philosophy of big deficits or the Old Republican ideal of balanced budgets? (Or did the deficit/surplus ever really matter - is it just an argument over increase services/decrease taxes?)

By the way - how does a converted Democrat (Ronald Reagan) wind up being the neo-con poster boy?

 

[Informal Logic]

How so? Is that a reference to the New Republican philosophy of big deficits or the Old Republican ideal of balanced budgets? (Or did the deficit/surplus ever really matter - is it just an argument over increase services/decrease taxes?)

This, along with outsourcing of jobs, questionable trade agreements, etc., but neocon specific concepts such as nation building/policing the world via "hot spots," etc.--where are the funds supposed to come from (as well as troops)? When looking at history and the rise and fall of empires, collapse comes from over extension, often combined with poor domestic policies. The qualifications for being a Super Power isn't just military strength but also economic strength.

 

[SOS2008]

By the way - how does a converted Democrat (Ronald Reagan) wind up being the neo-con poster boy?

Yeh, I've questioned this too. It is said that Bush sees himself as another Reagan, but it may just be an attempt at portraying Bush as being a popular president with popular policies.