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leftcider · Sep 19, 2005, 01:29 am

http://www.bcaplan.com/cgi/purity.cgi

43

31-50 points: Your libertarian credentials are obvious. Doubtlessly you will become more extreme as time goes on.

Capitalist Pig · Sep 19, 2005, 10:27 am

I scored 93.

Probably because I answered "no" to the questions asking if all forms of government were evil, and the ones about privating the courts and police. In reality, I'm not exactly opposed to those ideas (privatization of military, courts, and police), I just think the state should be confined to the role of the protection of individual rights first. If private firms demonstrate their ability to do the job just as well or even better, then I see no reason why the government couldn't outsource the jobs to these private firms. Eventually, the government would probably outsource itself out of existence.

We already see a very low level of this outsourcing going on with national defense matters. In Iraq, it's not just American GIs spilling blood, it's private contractors hired by the government and companies that have vested interests in the region. I think the successes of companies like Blackwater would speak for themselves.

Anyway, hope I didn't derail this thread.

Prometheus · Sep 19, 2005, 03:17 pm

I scored 80. I though I was pretty hard core, but I didn't realize how extreme some libertarians are.

leftcider · Sep 19, 2005, 04:08 pm

To score really high on this test you need to be an anarcho-capitalist... a rare (and i would argue idiotic) position to take.

RickSp · Sep 19, 2005, 04:23 pm

Yikes - 110.

I still have anarcho leanings even though I am mostly miniarchist.

Prometheus · Sep 19, 2005, 04:43 pm

Quote:

Quote by: leftcider

To score really high on this test you need to be an anarcho-capitalist... a rare (and i would argue idiotic) position to take.

There is a reason that we have government. I agree that it should be really small, but the anarcho capatalists want to do away with it.

Using the "anarcho capatalist" label is deceiving. It implies that the philosophy is more then simple anarchy. Anarcho capatalists propose anarchy, and then assume that capatalism will naturally fill all human needs. This is a possible assumption, but it is no more then that. Anarcho capitalism is functionaly nothing more then optamistic anarchy.

Anyone read "Jennifer Government" by Max Barry? It's a fun read. It's basically an anarcho capatalist state.

Bigkhan · Sep 28, 2005, 07:54 pm

I scored a 66

Protostar · Sep 28, 2005, 11:09 pm

I scored a 101. It said I was pretty hardcore. I'm going to send the test to my mom via email to see how libertarian she is.

Osborn F Enready · Oct 7, 2005, 10:49 am

My score was 96.

PatrickHenry · Oct 7, 2005, 01:24 pm

Sixty-six. That test is shit.

bugsbunny04 · Oct 31, 2005, 01:59 pm

39

yeah, some of the questions you just cant have yes/no. they should have some gray area.

Jeff · Jan 21, 2006, 05:14 pm

I have considered myself Libertarian since college. I know my views have grown more so as I have learned more, but some of the questions are a bit extreme. I know that individual rights and personal responsibility should be the guiding point, but some things in light of the way the world system works is not real practical. Some issues may be desirable, but not practical.

My score 122.

Osborn F Enready · Jan 23, 2006, 12:43 pm

Jeff, I would love a chance to debate these things you talk of that are issues that may be desirable, but not practical.

This would make a good debate.

tman_ndsu08 · Jan 23, 2006, 01:18 pm

Jeff · Jan 23, 2006, 03:04 pm

Osborn, I believe that we do need government in a very limited form. I will describe my position a little further. While individual rights are supreme they often will overlap. There has to be some structure to determine whose rights will prevail. A right to drive 100 mph around a school is correctly limited by society because others have the right to be safe.

I would classify the questions on the test in four categories. There are several questions that are easy to agree with. Lower taxes, less spending, smaller government are issues that everyone who even thinks they are a libertarian should agree with. The next category is things that are desirable, at least by many libertarians. In this group I would put many of the privatization issues. I would love to see the USPS, schools, land, and other governmental holdings liquidated. It would probably pay off most of the national debt.

The third category is the one that I would classify as desirable, but perhaps not practical. I see the governmental bureaucracy as easily corruptible and incredibly inefficient. The issues that I would put in this category are the ones that I think we need government because I do not see any other practical option, but I would love to find one. I think it is possible to privatize oversight organizations like those for CPAs, lawyers, and the medical profession. Wouldn’t anything work better than the FDA? My blind spot, so to speak, is that I cannot see how police, courts, and the law itself could be privatized without official state sanctions. I would like to see how the police could be controlled by the private sector rather than the government, but I do not see how it would work. Even an issue as to how they would be paid and where the money would come from would be problematic. I would also put some issues about the military. I do not think that being isolationist in today’s world is realistic. I do not think that we need our military to be in Japan to protect the Japanese, but I do think that we need a military to protect our way of life.

The forth category is one that I would call extreme. That would include issues of abolishing the state.

Osborn F Enready · Jan 23, 2006, 04:11 pm

I have to agree with most of what you said.

I think all of those are being tackled, if not could be tackled by Libertarian politics.

I think the Libertarian party would benefit from taking some stances on these issues also, and by taking stances, I mean by enunciating exactly how, and what they plan to do to deal with the situations.

I think these could all be worked out to the appeasement of even the strictest libertarians, well, ok, not THE strictest, but almost.

tman_ndsu08 · Jan 23, 2006, 06:56 pm

Unfortunatly, the LP does not appeal (or make an attempt to appeal) to the average moderate. As soon as someone like that sees that the LP wants to slash spending and blah blah, they shy away.

brien · May 8, 2006, 03:35 pm

Quote:

Quote by: leftcider

http://www.bcaplan.com/cgi/purity.cgi

43

31-50 points: Your libertarian credentials are obvious. Doubtlessly you will become more extreme as time goes on.

72 Yep People probably do wish I would shut up sometimes because Liberatrianism make too much sense to them!

NB The test questions are not a good indication of the window into the libertarian personal beliefs because they are too rigid in their design.

PatrickHenry · May 8, 2006, 10:52 pm

Like I said brien...That test sucks...

brien · May 9, 2006, 03:25 pm

Quote:

Quote by: PatrickHenry

Like I said brien...That test sucks...

I think it is just probably for amusement or for those who require self reinforcement.

Sep 19, 2005, 01:29 am	#1 (permalink) (top)
leftcider Lord Teh Location: Seattlul, WA Posts: 486	Libertarian Purity Test http://www.bcaplan.com/cgi/purity.cgi 43 31-50 points: Your libertarian credentials are obvious. Doubtlessly you will become more extreme as time goes on.

Sep 19, 2005, 10:27 am	#2 (permalink) (top)
Capitalist Pig Market Anarchist Location: United States Posts: 652	I scored 93. Probably because I answered "no" to the questions asking if all forms of government were evil, and the ones about privating the courts and police. In reality, I'm not exactly opposed to those ideas (privatization of military, courts, and police), I just think the state should be confined to the role of the protection of individual rights first. If private firms demonstrate their ability to do the job just as well or even better, then I see no reason why the government couldn't outsource the jobs to these private firms. Eventually, the government would probably outsource itself out of existence. We already see a very low level of this outsourcing going on with national defense matters. In Iraq, it's not just American GIs spilling blood, it's private contractors hired by the government and companies that have vested interests in the region. I think the successes of companies like Blackwater would speak for themselves. Anyway, hope I didn't derail this thread. Tu ne cede malis, sed contra audentior ito.

Sep 19, 2005, 03:17 pm	#3 (permalink) (top)
Prometheus Glad to be back! Location: Vernal, UT Posts: 1,725	I scored 80. I though I was pretty hard core, but I didn't realize how extreme some libertarians are. Fixed ideas are like a cramp in the foot - the best remedy against it is to tread on it. -Søren Kierkegaard

Sep 19, 2005, 04:23 pm	#5 (permalink) (top)
RickSp Volcanic Erupter Posts: 9,589	Yikes - 110. I still have anarcho leanings even though I am mostly miniarchist. Rick "When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross." Sinclair Lewis

Sep 28, 2005, 11:09 pm	#8 (permalink) (top)
Protostar Hardcore Capitalist Location: North Carolina Posts: 759	I scored a 101. It said I was pretty hardcore. I'm going to send the test to my mom via email to see how libertarian she is. "I distrust those people who know so well what God wants them to do because I notice it always coincides with their own desires." . . . Susan B. Anthony

Sep 19, 2005, 04:08 pm	#4 (permalink) (top)
leftcider Lord Teh Location: Seattlul, WA Posts: 486	To score really high on this test you need to be an anarcho-capitalist... a rare (and i would argue idiotic) position to take.

Sep 28, 2005, 07:54 pm	#7 (permalink) (top)
Bigkhan Sedimentary Rock Posts: 22	I scored a 66

Oct 7, 2005, 10:49 am	#9 (permalink) (top)
Osborn F Enready Principled Observer Location: Toledo, Ohio Posts: 13,873	My score was 96. Petition of Redress of Grievances: http://www.givemeliberty.org/default.htm Canadian Lawsuit Against Their National Banks: http://www.freewebs.com/classaction/ Osborn F. Enready

Oct 7, 2005, 01:24 pm	#10 (permalink) (top)
PatrickHenry 9/11: Inside Job Location: Hawai'i, Big Island Posts: 10,446	Sixty-six. That test is shit. "Arms in the hands of the citizens may be used at individual discretion for the defense of the country, the overthrow of tyranny or private self-defense." -- John Adams

Oct 31, 2005, 01:59 pm	#11 (permalink) (top)
bugsbunny04 Untrained Fodder Location: Alabama Posts: 1,354	39 yeah, some of the questions you just cant have yes/no. they should have some gray area. Clean toe caps and a filthy mouth! Low morals and high morale!

Jan 21, 2006, 05:14 pm	#12 (permalink) (top)
Jeff Molten Ash Location: Texas Posts: 101	I have considered myself Libertarian since college. I know my views have grown more so as I have learned more, but some of the questions are a bit extreme. I know that individual rights and personal responsibility should be the guiding point, but some things in light of the way the world system works is not real practical. Some issues may be desirable, but not practical. My score 122.

Jan 23, 2006, 12:43 pm	#13 (permalink) (top)
Osborn F Enready Principled Observer Location: Toledo, Ohio Posts: 13,873	Jeff, I would love a chance to debate these things you talk of that are issues that may be desirable, but not practical. This would make a good debate. Petition of Redress of Grievances: http://www.givemeliberty.org/default.htm Canadian Lawsuit Against Their National Banks: http://www.freewebs.com/classaction/ Osborn F. Enready

Jan 23, 2006, 01:18 pm	#14 (permalink) (top)
tman_ndsu08 BANNED Posts: 5,021	86.

Jan 23, 2006, 03:04 pm	#15 (permalink) (top)
Jeff Molten Ash Location: Texas Posts: 101	Osborn, I believe that we do need government in a very limited form. I will describe my position a little further. While individual rights are supreme they often will overlap. There has to be some structure to determine whose rights will prevail. A right to drive 100 mph around a school is correctly limited by society because others have the right to be safe. I would classify the questions on the test in four categories. There are several questions that are easy to agree with. Lower taxes, less spending, smaller government are issues that everyone who even thinks they are a libertarian should agree with. The next category is things that are desirable, at least by many libertarians. In this group I would put many of the privatization issues. I would love to see the USPS, schools, land, and other governmental holdings liquidated. It would probably pay off most of the national debt. The third category is the one that I would classify as desirable, but perhaps not practical. I see the governmental bureaucracy as easily corruptible and incredibly inefficient. The issues that I would put in this category are the ones that I think we need government because I do not see any other practical option, but I would love to find one. I think it is possible to privatize oversight organizations like those for CPAs, lawyers, and the medical profession. Wouldn’t anything work better than the FDA? My blind spot, so to speak, is that I cannot see how police, courts, and the law itself could be privatized without official state sanctions. I would like to see how the police could be controlled by the private sector rather than the government, but I do not see how it would work. Even an issue as to how they would be paid and where the money would come from would be problematic. I would also put some issues about the military. I do not think that being isolationist in today’s world is realistic. I do not think that we need our military to be in Japan to protect the Japanese, but I do think that we need a military to protect our way of life. The forth category is one that I would call extreme. That would include issues of abolishing the state.

Jan 23, 2006, 04:11 pm	#16 (permalink) (top)
Osborn F Enready Principled Observer Location: Toledo, Ohio Posts: 13,873	I have to agree with most of what you said. I think all of those are being tackled, if not could be tackled by Libertarian politics. I think the Libertarian party would benefit from taking some stances on these issues also, and by taking stances, I mean by enunciating exactly how, and what they plan to do to deal with the situations. I think these could all be worked out to the appeasement of even the strictest libertarians, well, ok, not THE strictest, but almost. Petition of Redress of Grievances: http://www.givemeliberty.org/default.htm Canadian Lawsuit Against Their National Banks: http://www.freewebs.com/classaction/ Osborn F. Enready

Jan 23, 2006, 06:56 pm	#17 (permalink) (top)
tman_ndsu08 BANNED Posts: 5,021	Unfortunatly, the LP does not appeal (or make an attempt to appeal) to the average moderate. As soon as someone like that sees that the LP wants to slash spending and blah blah, they shy away.

May 8, 2006, 10:52 pm	#19 (permalink) (top)
PatrickHenry 9/11: Inside Job Location: Hawai'i, Big Island Posts: 10,446	Like I said brien...That test sucks... "Arms in the hands of the citizens may be used at individual discretion for the defense of the country, the overthrow of tyranny or private self-defense." -- John Adams