This article will ask you several questions to determine how liberal you are, and it’s important to know what that word means for you.
So let’s dive in! Read our quiz below and then check out our tips at the end. After that, choose from one of the five labels we provided depending on your answer.
Label: Is The Following Question Related To Social Justice?
Question: What is the average American paid per year in income tax?
Answer: Almost half of all Americans pay no income tax whatsoever, while another third only owe an extremely low amount. The remaining one-third pays quite a bit more than they earn, making them feel like paying their “fair share”.
But where does this “sharing” money go? Most likely into funding new social programs or helping fund current programs. That’s why most people who argue about taxes often focus not just on whether people with high incomes should be taxed less, but also on which programs need funding and how much money should be allotted to each program.
According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), almost two-thirds of the ~$1 trillion in revenue collected annually by the federal government goes towards running various welfare programs. These include things such as medical insurance, education assistance, job training, housing, and more.
By contrast, only around 10% of annual revenues go to national defense, law enforcement, and other security measures.
How can I tell if I’m more liberal or conservative?
We have gathered 10 questions to help you determine how liberal or conservative you are. Even though this quiz was designed for adults, some of these questions may apply to teenagers as well. Some of them ask about behaviors, experiences, and things that show your political preference.
All of these questions assume that you are an adult — so don’t worry about being too careful with answers! If you think any of these questions might be difficult to answer, just refer back to our tips above.
I’m a liberal
Now that you know my political identity, let me tell you something about myself. I’m a liberal. What is that? It’s someone who believes in social justice and equality for all people — not just individuals, but groups of people identified by their race, gender, socioeconomic status, and so on. I also believe that our society benefits from open competition and dissent, and I�enjoyed being part of the team that encourages thinkers to challenge conventions.
I hope you now see why it was easy for me to choose “liberal.” To be conservative or republican means supporting policies that are harmful to marginalized people. (For example, offering tax breaks to wealthy people while systems of healthcare break down due to lack of funding.) Or voting in favor of laws and politicians who promote racist ideologies like white privilege. Or backing candidates or parties that encourage fear and nationalism instead of optimism and collaboration.
It’s difficult to argue with such blatant injustices. But what about when everyone else is doing the same thing? That makes it hard to identify as an outsider. And we need outsiders – people who aren’t invested in the system – to bring innovations into the existing framework. We need them to create new frameworks and take risks that may fail, but could inspire others to do the same.
That’s how progress happens.
I’m a moderate
According to Pew, “moderate” is an average label for people who agree with half of all political questions asked in their survey. This includes issues like whether there are enough resources for students, whether it’s more important to emphasize education over income, and if having too much regulation is good or bad for business.
Moderates also agreed that giving everyone healthcare is a good thing and feel that racial minorities deserve the same opportunities as white people. On the other hand, they disagreed that offering universal paid leave is a good idea because they think such benefits should be limited to only wealthy individuals and corporations.
Furthermore, moderates believe that government spending can become wasteful so they tend to oppose big projects like building new roads or sending astronauts back to the moon. They worry that these projects benefit someone else while leaving them behind.
I’m a conservative
According to this quiz, I’m a liberal. What does that mean? It means that I agree with most people in America about politics.
I don’t like when people say things like “war is bad” or “death is wrong” because we already know that death is very wrong and war is not good. We also can agree that having too much money is never a good thing.
We could even go one step further and argue that making too much money is actually immoral since so many other people are unable to afford to survive due to our rampant capitalism.
That’s why I believe in free health care, education, and food for everyone.
I’m a socialist
What is socialism? This term has been used to describe many different systems, but we can give it our own unique definition. Socialism comes from the Greek word for society, kosmos, and the word logos, or “system,” so socialism is literally defined as “a system of society where the community is organized into groups that are equal in power, resources, and reward.”
That sounds pretty good! But what does it have to do with liberalism? A lot actually!
Liberalism is an ideology which advocates for individual liberty, equality before the law, and free markets. These things are all fundamentally social concepts because they require us to believe that everyone else out there is also an entity with rights, feelings, and thoughts just like you.
So how can you be more liberal if you believe in individual freedom? Well, you could work towards making sure that every person has access to healthcare, education, and food. Or you could strive to create conditions where people feel safe walking around anywhere at any time. Or you could promote policies that encourage competition and entrepreneurship so that individuals are empowered to take charge of their lives and futures.
I’m a communist
According to the Urban Dictionary, a communist is someone who believes that “the capitalist system of wealth distribution needs to be replaced with an organization controlled by the people.” In other words, communists want a society where the resources are distributed equally among all members of the community.
This isn’t just theory for them — they actually plan to take over the world! When they do, you can probably expect a lot of violence and mayhem. They might even kill you.
Most communists will tell you that we’re already living in a socialist country, but most people aren’t getting their health care from Harvard University and capitalism still exists.
I’m an anarchist
Anarchists believe that power should be taken away from corporations, rich people, and government officials and given to individuals or groups of individuals. These “individuals” are sometimes called self-governing or decentralized.
Anarchism is often considered a radical ideology due to this belief. Systems with less centralized control are seen as more authentic forms of democracy because they emphasize individual empowerment over big powerful entities.
Some examples of how anarchists organize include direct action (like protesting or marching) and nonhierarchical communities (people work together without being ordered around).
I’m a fascist
If you thought that liberals were in control of the government, media, and corporations, then you are very much mistaken. Fascism is currently controlling all three of those areas, and it has been for some time!
In fact, many people refer to our current state of affairs as “fascist-like.” It is important to remember that while fascism may have started out as an authoritarian nationalist ideology, it eventually degenerates into totalitarian rule with corporatized governments, big business, and military influence.
This isn’t simply speculation — we see clear examples of this happening around us every day. In addition to the Trump administration, other recent examples include the rise of populist movements like Brexit and the election of Donald Trump as President.
Liberal democracy was never more than a thin veneer over global capitalism, and both depend heavily on centralized power structures run by small groups of powerful individuals. Only now these elites are not just wealthy, they are also completely white and male.
