A Trans-atlantic Political Quiz

There are many political quizes out there, most of them based only on US politics and many of them demonstrating a poor grasp of even that. This quiz is designed to be both relevant and informative to Americans and Europeans. It has ten outcomes, with questions designed to apply to all westerners. If you're a European, see where you fit in the US spectrum, and if you're American, see how you'd look to a European! Please note that not all questions influence every category. For example, the non-political question on evolution only affects 2 of the 10 categories.

Of course, expert though I am in politics on both sides of the Atlantic, this is merely my opinion. I've done my best to be both accurate and fair to point of view, but it isn't an exact science (or even a science really), so you might not agree with my take on it. If not then I apologise, and I'd be happy to hear suggestions on how I might improve it.

Created by: David

Do you consider Barack Obama to be:
- Far-left
- Left
- Centre
- Right
- Far-Right
Homosexuals should:
- Be allowed civil unions
- Be given marriage equality
- Should not be allowed either
- Should be opposed by society
What do you believe should be the marginal tax rate for people in the top 1% of earners?
- Greater than 91%
- Between 50-91%
- Between 40-50%
- Between 30-40%
- Between 10-30%
- Between 0-10%
Healthcare should be:
- Single Payer - doctors are state employees (UK)
- Government-funded but private (Netherlands)
- Private only (USA)
What should be done about recreational drugs? (note: take this to mean popular drugs other than cannabis; that one has a separate question)
- They should be decriminalised
- They should be legalised
- We should continue our present course
- We should step up the fight against them
What is your opinion of cannabis?
- It should be legalised for recreational use
- It should be legalised for medical use
- It should be decriminalised
- It should remain illegal
What % of GDP should be spent on the military?
- More than 5%
- Between 1-4%
- Less than 1%
What do you think of gun ownership?
- It is a right and should be lightly regulated
- It should be heavily regulated
- It should be illegal
Should Turkey be granted EU membership?
- Yes
- No
- They should have a "priviliged partnership"
- Maybe some day, but they're too conservative now
NATO is....
- Essential for our security
- Obsolete
- An instrument of imperialism
What is your opinion of the Theory of Evolution?
- It is correct, and explains how life evolved from earlier forms of life
- It is correct, but it was designed/guided by a higher power
- It is probably false
Global Climate Change is:
- Man-made, and we should undertake global efforts to stop it
- Real but natural - nothing we can do
- Not real - scientists are mistaken or lying
- It doesn't matter if we caused it or not, because we cannot/should not regulate industry to the extend demanded
What is your opinion of the USA's proposed missile shield in eastern Europe?
- It will protect NATO nations from Iran
- It will be a total waste of money
- It is designed to perpetuate US hegemony
What is your opinion of the separation church and state?
- They should be legally separate in all areas (France, USA)
- It doesn't matter if they are legally separate, just so long as the state is De Facto secular (UK, Norway)
- While religious freedom should be allowed, there is nothing wrong with the state promoting the traditional faith of the land (Germany, Ireland)
- Church and state should be in harmony with each other, each promoting the other's interest (Iran, Saudi Arabia)
Do you...(select the one which most applies)
- Oppose GMO's for environmental reasons
- Oppose GMO's for corporate ethics reasons
- Support genetically modifying organisms in principle
What should be done about Iran?
- Force should be used against them
- Only diplomatic pressure should be used
- Nothing - they have the right to develop nuclear technology
Should the US have invaded Afghanistan?
- Yes
- No
Should NATO have intervened in Libya during the Arab Spring?
- Yes, NATO needed to protect the oil
- Yes, NATO needed to protect the Libyan people
- No, this was about protecting the oil, not the people
- No, NATO should never meddle in the affairs of other nations
What do think of "The American Empire"?
- There is no American Empire
- The American Empire is a great force of good in the world
- The American Empire is a great force of bad in the world
- Good or bad, it is interference in the affairs of other nations and should stop
Multi-culturalism, defined here as a moral-relativist position which says all cultures of equal and deserving of respect, is:
- Dangerous
- An example of tolerance taken too far
- A fine example of a tolerant society which respects differences
The United Nations...
- Is a threat to national sovereignty
- Is an impotent talking shop
- Is doing what it should- providing a forum for nations to interact and doing humanitarian work and cultural protection
- Should assume a more important role in the world
Abortion...
- Is a right
- Should be allowed in limited circumstances
- Should never or almost never be allowed
What is your opinion of trade unions?
- They are the foundation of a healthy employment sector, and workers should have a legal right to unionise
- They are greedy, self-serving and depress the economy, and employers should have a legal right to only hire non-unionised workers
- A balanced between worker's rights and employer's rights should be struck
The best means to a decent education system is:
- A meritocracy; competition between schools for public funds
- An emphasis on equality between schools and students
Are aspects of western culture fundamentally superior to aspects of some other cultures?
- Yes
- No
Should a major business which is failing be bailed out with taxpayer money?
- No, it should be allowed to fail
- Yes, jobs depend on the business existing
- It depends on the business; some are too important to be allowed to fail, but others are not, even if their failure will be painful
What do you think of unemployment benefits?
- They should be unlimited, provided the person is genuinely looking for work but unable to find it
- They should run out after a given time and provide impetus to get a new job
- Unemployment money should only be given to people who paid for private unemployment insurance; when it runs out, they should be left to fend for themsleves
Pensions...
- Should be private only
- Should be public, and large enough to live on
Do you believe "hate speech" and "incitement to hatred" should be a crime?
- Yes, freedom of speech has limits
- No, you either have free speech or you don't
What is the best way to tackle the current recession?
- Restore confidence in the markets by reducing deficits
- Default on debts owed to banks and bondholders
- Engage in deficit stimulus spending and money printing to get the economy going again
Tariffs between nations...
- Are generally good
- Are generally bad
- Should be used when it suits
How much state control of the economy do you think is appropriate? (To illustrate, the figures for France, Norway and the US are approx. 33%, 45% and 27%)
- Less than 20%
- 20% - 32%
- 32-45%
- 45-60%
- >60%
Democracy...
- Is the only way
- Is the worst system of government, except for all the others
- Must be strictly limited to protect liberty from the tyranny of the majority
- Is ineffective
The Federal Government/European Union is too powerful; more power should rest with the states
- Yes, more power to the states
- No, less power to the states
- The current balance is good
Printing money is...
- A legitimate means of managing the economy
- A means of extending government control over the economy
War should be used... (each subsequent choice contains the others)
- In self defence
- In self-defence and in the defence of others
- To protect the economic interests of friendly nations
- In pre-emptive self-defence
- To promote our way of life where needed
- As a diplomatic tool
Should the state fund cultural programmes?
- Yes, it should make money available for a variety of programmes
- Yes, but it should only promote the national culture, and only desirable aspects of it
- No, that would social engineering and is best avoided
Which of the following statements most closely agrees with your view?
- Manufacturing should be done at home if at all possible, and tariffs should be implemented to make foreign imports dearer than locally made products
- Manufacturing is best done at home, and incentives should be offered to encourage it, but we should stop short of artificially pricing foreign goods out of the market
- Companies should be the sole arbiters of where to locate their manufacturing operations. Government manipulaton of the markets will only drive up the price of goods for the consumer
What should be done about the energy crisis?
- More coal mining and oil drilling will lower the price
- State subsidies of fossil fuels should end - the market will then cease to be distorted and over time, green energy will emerge and replace polluting industries as they become more and more expensive
- The state should invest in and subsidise clean energy including nuclear
- The state should invest in and subsidise clean energy excluding nuclear
What is your opinion of nationalism?
- It is an extension of patriotism
- It is a badge of honour to proclaim love of your country
- It is a form of racism
- It is delusional to be proud of an accident of geography (where you just happened to be born)
Nuclear weapons...
- Should be dismantled sooner rather than later
- Should be retained until all threats are gone
- Should be kept as a deterrant but never used
- Should be used against our enemies - if used properly there will ultimately be fewer casualties on both sides
What should be done about Islam in western countries?
- Nothing should be "done" about it- it's freedom of religion, and if they want to used Sharia courts to settle private disputes, that should be their right
- Muslims immigrants should not be allowed in, and the ones who are already here should be assimilated
- We must ensure that stringent measures are in place to make clear that certain values like equality of the sexes and freedom of speech are not negotiable. They're welcome to become western citizens so long as they adopt western values
What is your opinion of multi-national corporations?
- They are fundamentally good, even if their practices have room for improvement
- They are fundamentally bad, even if the actions of some are laudable
- There is no such things as "corporations"; each must be judged on its own merits
A vast social welfare system is a drain on the economy.
- I agree
- I disagree
- I'm inclined to agree, but it's worth it
What is the best way to fight Islamic terrorism?
- We should seek them out and kill them, including toppling governments if needed
- We should end the war at once, and US forces should be removed from Muslim lands. This will end the terrorist's grievences
- There must be some balance between the two. They have legitimate reasons to hate the west, but that doesn't mean we should abandon the fight altogether
What do you think of sexual promiscuity in the public sphere (TV, internet, in clubs, etc)?
- It should be legislated against
- It should not be legislated against
Do you believe in the death penalty?
- Yes
- No
What do you think should be done about the natural resources (oil, minerals, etc) of a nation?
- They should be exploited by private companies
- They should be exploited by state-owned companies

A Trans-atlantic Political Quiz

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