A Tale of Two Graphics (Moral Matrix Analysis)

[Laelth]

I find it a bit distressing that we have a couple of threads running in GD in which people are threatening to leave DU and quit the Democratic Party. I find the "only cowards run away from a fight" response threads equally distressing. What needs to be said, perhaps over and over, is that we have all right (even a duty) to criticize the acts of our elected officials, especially when they're from our own political party and we are, therefore, responsible for empowering them and allowing them to act in ways we deplore. We Democrats are somewhat famous for eating our own in this fashion, but what I'd like to suggest is that our party leaders are often responsible for the belligerent responses they evoke from their core constituents.

Consider the following graphics, both culled from the http://www.moral-politics.com/xpolitics.aspx?menu=Home&action=Test&choice=Long">Moral Matrix political test site.



Notice that the height of the bars in the image on the left represents the frequency that a given score has been recorded by people from US internet domains that have taken the test. It's clear, looking at these graphics, that conservatives are more likely to get what they want when they vote. Conservative Presidents fall in or very near the core Republican voting population in the US. Democrats, on the other hand, are often out of luck. Our elected Presidents all fall outside of the ideology of the core voting block of the Democratic Party.

Just more proof that (perhaps since JFK) the Democratic party has been Republican-lite. It's no wonder that those of us in the core Democratic voting constituency (low-end socialism) are dismayed by those elected Democrats who seem to be selling out our values. While I don't intend to abandon the party right now, I would at least like some sympathy from those of you who intend to support it to the bitter end. Can you at least see why we are disgusted by vote after vote for the right-wing agenda? Can you imagine why we might be upset?

We feel like the Democratic Party's leaders don't share our ideals. Perhaps we are right.

-Laelth

[depakid]

1. Clinton a liberal? LOL

The credibility of that analysis just went out the window....

I'd say he's somewhere just around Gerald Ford. Probably a bit to the right, based on his administrative decisions (at the federal agencies).

[Laelth]

2. I hear ya.

Suffice it to say that the names given to the quadrants are subjective and less than accurate, but the data is pretty sound (at least amongst those of us who care enough about politics to take the test). I, for one, consider myself a classic liberal, as opposed to a socialist, but my score falls in the "socialist" quadrant on the chart. I think the people called "socialists" are really liberals, while the people called "liberals" are classic, Eisenhower conservatives. The people over in the "conservative" block, imho, are reactionaries.

-Laelth


Edit:Laelth--spelling.

[arcane1]

3. neo-liberal, at best

[Sheri]

4. cool quiz

says i'm right next to Jimmy Carter--in good company. :)

and i don't buy all the people who say they're going to leave? do they really want to split the party? i doubt it. sadly, the party brass know they can take the base for granted. what are we doing to do?

[newyawker99]

14. Hi Sheri!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[kliljedahl]

5. I can't get the link to work

Keep getting " The page cannot be displayed"



Keith’s Barbeque Central

[Laelth]

6. Hmm ... try this one.

http://www.moral-politics.com/

In the original, I linked to the long quiz directly. Not sure why that didn't work for you.

-Laelth

[kliljedahl]

7. Here's me

Your scored -6.5 on the Moral Order axis and 2.5 on the Moral Rules axis.

Matches

The following items best match your score:

System: Socialism
Variation: Moral Socialism
Ideologies: Activism
US Parties: No match.
Presidents: Jimmy Carter (84.38%)
2004 Election Candidates: Ralph Nader (93.01%), John Kerry (74.81%), George W. Bush (39.32%)
Statistics

Of the 145788 people who took the test:

2.7% had the same score as you.
14% were above you on the chart.
73.5% were below you on the chart.
88.5% were to your right on the chart.
2.2% were to your left on the chart.

[Laelth]

8. I was way high on the moral rules axis.

I have a strong sense of social responsibility, I guess.

-Laelth

[troubleinwinter]

9. Those little quizes are cute, but they are complete, utter hooey.

Reagard them as "For entertainment only".

I answered every single question in the most horrific way, and only got to the lower right corner. I was trying to get ol' gw into the upper red right where a fascist dictator belongs. Can't be done.

[Laelth]

10. The lower right corner is, basically, fascism.

How much more horrible can it get?

It's just the labels that are messed up. As I remarked in an earlier response:

Suffice it to say that the names given to the quadrants are subjective and less than accurate, but the data is pretty sound (at least amongst those of us who care enough about politics to take the test). I, for one, consider myself a classic liberal, as opposed to a socialist, but my score falls in the "socialist" quadrant on the chart. I think the people called "socialists" are really liberals, while the people called "liberals" are classic, Eisenhower conservatives. The people over in the "conservative" block, imho, are reactionaries.

:toast:

-Laelth


Edit:Laelth--smiley repair.

[Emit]

12. Like this?

>

According to the test, that's what you get if you answer: "All people are fundamentally bad."
and "Take care of yourself so that society does not have to."

If I believed that way, then I'd fit right in with the Republicans.

Matches

The following items best match your score:

System: Conservatism
Variation: Extreme Conservatism
Ideologies: PaleoConservatism, Conservative NeoLiberalism
US Parties: Republican Party
Presidents: George W. Bush (93.75%)
2004 Election Candidates: George W. Bush (93.75%), John Kerry (56.47%), Ralph Nader (38.60%)
Statistics

Of the 145821 people who took the test:

1.8% had the same score as you.
83.6% were above you on the chart.
4.4% were below you on the chart.
1.7% were to your right on the chart.
93.1% were to your left on the chart.

[IndyOp]

11. -5 on the Moral Order axis and 2.5 on the Moral Rules axis.

------------------------

The Moral Order dimension defines your view of the world's order:
1. It measures whether you believe certain things have moral authority over others.
2. It ranks notions such as God, race, humans, nature, men, women, lifestyles...

You can visualize your personal moral order as a ladder where items with the most moral authority appear on the higher steps and those with the least authority appear on the lower steps.

People on the left of the Moral Matrix have a flat moral order (i.e. few steps on their moral ladder).

------------------------

The Moral Rules dimension defines your view of the world's rules.
1. It measures which actions you believe individuals should be rewarded for in society.
2. It defines whether you believe that society should primarily reward actions that benefit society as a whole first (and individual members eventually) or reward actions that benefits each member first (and society eventually).

People on the top of the Moral Matrix believe that society and each of its members benefit the most if the priority is given to collective initiatives.

[More Than A Feeling]

13. I am: -1.5 moral order, 2 moral rules

The following items best match your score:

System: Socialism
Variation: Moderate Socialism
Ideologies: Social Democratism
US Parties: No match.
Presidents: Jimmy Carter (85.85%)
2004 Election Candidates: John Kerry (81.12%), Ralph Nader (79.63%), George W. Bush (57.78%)

Yeah, I am a moderate, but a I don't feel like a moderate. Not in this current atmosphere of Bushbot hatred for anyone to the left of them.