Map My Politics

For each topic, please choose from the four proposed alternatives.

Remember, this is a political quiz to determine how you think things should be, not how they are.

On some issues you may be drawn to more than one choice – or to none – so just pick the one that you believe is best.

Okay, ready to begin? We’ll start off with some general subjects about government.

1. Morality

a) Our government derives its moral authority from Judeo-Christian tradition, which commands us to perform certain good acts and to refrain from evil ones.

b) Our government derives its moral authority from Enlightenment tradition, which establishes natural rights like life, liberty and property.

c) Our government derives its moral authority from Post-Enlightenment tradition, which tells us to do that which produces the greatest good for the greatest number.

d) Our government is a social contract that reflects differing moral laws and traditions.

2. Democratic Ideals

a) In a democracy, the will of the majority should ultimately prevail.

b) The primary principle of democracy is the worth and dignity of the individual.

c) A democracy should have checks and balances to avoid radical change.

d) A democracy that isn’t progressive will cease to adapt and improve.

3. Democratic Governance

a) A democracy needs a strong, visionary head of state to provide leadership.

b) A democracy requires dedicated, capable officials and judges to safeguard the rule of law.

c) A democracy can’t do without zealous, principled officeholders to represent their constituents.

d) A democracy must have informed, involved citizens to maintain their republic.

4. Political Compromise

a) Politics is all about compromise, of cutting deals and moving on.

b) Compromise shows weakness; moderation in pursuit of political goals is no virtue.

c) A democracy requires compromise but core principles should never be sacrificed.

d) Incremental improvement through compromise is better than political deadlock.

5. Partisan Politics

a) I more comfortably identify with one of the two main political parties.

b) The two main parties often don’t represent my beliefs – they’re too extreme and would improve with some major political reforms.

c) I’d be more loyal to a party if it stopped appeasing moderates and started listening to its base.

d) The parties are corrupt and beyond reform so we should do away with them altogether.

6. The Political Divide

a) We need to champion values like equality and justice in order to heal the political divide.

b) If we keep trashing traditional values like patriotism and liberty, the political divide will become an abyss.

c) Focusing on equality will cost us the individual economic and political freedoms we rightly cherish, putting government where it doesn’t belong: in our wallets and our bedrooms.

d) We can differ in our opinions on striking the balance between freedom and equality, but there has to be public agreement about facts and the need to observe democratic norms.

Now we’ll address money-related matters. It wouldn’t be a political quiz if economics wasn’t front and center.

7. Capitalism

a) Capitalism is the greatest system for wealth creation and freedom that human civilization has yet devised.

b) Capitalism is responsible for substantial human misery and oppression.

c) Capitalism produces tremendous innovation and growth, but markets and corporations must have some modest limits to avoid excesses and abuses.

d) Capitalism works best in a mixed economy, with significant regulation and taxation.

8. The Social Safety Net

a) To keep Social Security solvent, we’ll need to modestly increase the age of eligibility and lower retirement payments.

b) We should privatize Social Security because it’s underfunded and the stock market would provide a higher return.

c) We need to fully fund Social Security to meet our obligation to retirees.

d) We should expand programs like Head Start, Food Stamps and Social Security, to provide generous cradle-to-grave protection.

9. Deficits

a) Deficit spending isn’t a problem as long as the overall economy grows.

b) Deficit spending isn’t healthy in the long run, it’s just inconvenient to deal with it.

c) Politicians complain about deficits when they don’t like the type of spending.

d) In the modern global economy, deficits don’t matter.

10. Taxes

a) Income tax rates should be strongly progressive because the rich can afford to pay more.

b) Redistribution of wealth, in the form of capital gains and estate taxes, penalizes entrepreneurial risk-taking and impairs job creation.

c) Taxes are the price we pay for a civilized society.

d) We should tax ourselves only as needed to pay for necessary government services.

11. Labor

a) The minimum wage isn’t high enough to meet a basic standard of living, so it should be significantly increased.

b) The minimum wage can remain the same because it's only intended for low-wage workers, meanwhile unions can pursue collective bargaining for more skilled jobs.

c) Minimum wage laws and closed shop unions ultimately hurt workers by forcing companies to limit their hiring.

d) Modest increases to the minimum wage pegged to the cost of living are appropriate.

12. The Middle Class Dream

a) The Middle Class Dream is endangered and the government needs to step out of the way to let it thrive again.

b) The Middle Class Dream is alive and well if you are willing to work hard enough.

c) The Middle Class Dream is endangered and the government needs to step in so it can thrive again.

d) The Middle Class Dream is endangered but it's more complicated than winning an election and fixing a few laws.

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Shifting gears slightly, here are several domestic policy topics. To be sure, these still involve money, but from a broader public policy perspective.

13. Public Education

a) Compulsory public grade school is the bedrock of democratic society.

b) Parochial and home schooling better educates our children than public schools.

c) Public funding of preschool should be mandatory so parents can work and children are better prepared for kindergarten.

d) A private school voucher program would improve our public education system.

14. Higher Education

a) College education for qualified students benefits society, so it should be publicly funded and all student loan debt forgiven.

b) Private scholarships and student loans are sufficient to enable college attendance.

c) To help those from underprivileged backgrounds reach the middle class, we should be willing to forgive their student loans.

d) We don’t need to publicly fund attendance at private universities, but we should make public universities and HBCUs more affordable.

15. Healthcare

a) Healthcare is a basic human right so we should make Medicare coverage universal.

b) Obamacare was a mistake so it must be repealed.

c) The next step to improve health coverage should be Medicare for all who want it.

d) Private insurance provides better health coverage at less cost than Medicare.

16. Criminal Justice

a) We incarcerate far too many and don't rehabilitate nearly enough.

b) The death penalty is necessary to bring justice to the families of murder victims.

c) We need to keep making our streets safer and our justice system fairer.

d) Courts serve a primary role of limited government, to protect life and private property in civil and criminal matters.

17. Law Enforcement

a) Police officers deserve our respect for the risks they take, but they also bear special responsibility for the deadly force they have at their disposal.

b) Given widespread police abuse, we should extensively reform law enforcement.

c) People complain about the police, but we need them to protect us from criminals.

d) Bias and corruption in law enforcement is a reality, so we should focus on better training and job evaluation, including firing any officer who has a record of misconduct.

18. Gun Control

a) The right to own a rifle to hunt and a handgun for self-defense should be moderately regulated for public safety.

b) Given the carnage caused by assault weapons in the wrong hands, we must put our childrens' lives well before gun rights.

c) I'll give you my gun when you pry it from my cold, dead hands.

d) Let states regulate guns differently because Wyoming is vastly different from Delaware.

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Next, we’ll move from domestic to international issues. Some used to refer to this category as “foreign policy” but in the new global era it involves much more than diplomats and soldiers.

19. Military

a) A large military budget is required for us to project strength overseas and safeguard against strategic and terrorist threats.

b) We should minimize military spending to what is strictly essential for national defense.

c) Attempting to impose democracy by force leads to costly and unwinnable wars.

d) Military involvement abroad should only occur when our national security is directly threatened or when joining other nations in preventing genocides.

20. Immigration

a) Illegal immigration can’t be eliminated, so we should create a guest worker program and legal paths to citizenship.

b) Immigration is valuable for a nation’s cultural diversity and economic strength.

c) A nation that can’t protect its borders to exclude illegal immigrants is a lawless, defenseless nation.

d) A nation that excludes political and economic refugees and that separates children from their parents at the border is a heartless, cruel nation.

21. Trade

a) Trade should be used as a tool to punish rogue nations.

b) Trade should be controlled to protect domestic industries from unfair competition.

c) Trade should be regulated according to bilateral and multilateral agreements.

d) Trade should be unlimited because a free market benefits all participants.

22. Global Threats

a) A cyberattack could cripple our economy and leave us vulnerable to our enemies, so we need to be more self-reliant and vigilant against Internet-based threats.

b) A viral pandemic like COVID-19 can easily spread and kill millions, so we need to work closely with other nations on quarantine protocols and in creating vaccines.

c) The stark reality is the world is divided between countries that can help us and those that can harm us, so we should operate strictly on that basis.

d) The sad reality is that every nation poses a threat to any other, so we should take reasonable safeguards while cooperating with other countries when prudent.

23. The United Nations

a) The U.N. is more important than ever, so we should wholeheartedly support its funding and encourage joint peacekeeping and humanitarian relief efforts.

b) The U.N. has proved bureaucratic and ineffective, so it only deserves minimal support.

c) The U.N. was an ambitious, worthwhile post-WW2 dream that has lost its way, so we must find ways to restructure it to make it relevant again.

d) The U.N. rarely acts in the interests of the U.S., the country that pays the largest share of its budget, so it's hard to see why any U.S. support should continue.

24. Global Warming

a) Climate change is both a major problem and a great opportunity to develop a clean energy economy and transform our infrastructure.

b) Global warming poses an existential threat to the planet, so we will need far stricter energy regulations that will involve considerable sacrifices to our way of life.

c) Even if global warming causes extreme weather and other harms, it’s too late to turn back the clock on greenhouse gas emissions and our standard of living.

d) Climate science is speculative and other nations will still use fossil fuels, so it makes no sense for us to sacrifice ourselves for a losing – or unproven – cause.

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Okay, almost done. The final section covers social policy. Or what some people call the “sex, drugs and rock ‘n roll” part of politics.

25. Abortion

a) Abortions should be safe, legal and rare.

b) Abortion involves the taking of life, so it should be outlawed.

c) A woman’s right to control her own reproductive system should never be infringed.

d) Abortions should be permitted in the case of rape, incest or to save the life of the mother.

26. The Arts

a) Robust government funding of artists and public broadcasting would enrich our culture.

b) The arts and media should be supported solely by the private sector.

c) Some government funding should be allowed for patriotic art, like statues of war heroes.

d) Public art displays are fine but we must accept that popular perceptions about taste and political correctness will differ and will change over time.

27. Women's Rights

a) Male oppression of women has been a constant throughout history, so full equality will require changing both laws and social attitudes.

b) The modern feminist movement has gone too far because there are significant differences between the genders, such as a mother's key role in raising children.

c) When women occupy the highest positions of government and business in the same numbers as men and receive the same salaries, then full equality will have been achieved.

d) Getting the right to vote effectively gave women full legal equality.

28. Speech and Religion

a) The government should neither limit speech nor promote religion.

b) Free speech is ideal in concept, but in practice it must be reasonably regulated.

c) Some government sponsorship of religion, like school prayer, is appropriate.

d) The spread of misinformation and hate speech via social media should be banned.

29. Race and Culture

a) People naturally group together along racial and cultural lines.

b) Racial and cultural divisions are learned from family and community, so they can be unlearned.

c) Economic differences matter far more than racial or cultural ones.

d) That which unites us is far greater than that which divides us.

30. Affirmative Action

a) Slavery was wrong but that was in the past and we need to move on.

b) It will take time to overcome systemic racism in society.

c) Advancement in life should be solely based on merit.

d) To confront the legacy of slavery, we need to take major, affirmative steps so that equality of opportunity becomes a reality.

31. Same-Sex Marriage

a) If a same-sex couple wishes to marry, they can't expect society to accept it.

b) Marriage should be between a man and a woman.

c) A same-sex marriage deserves the same public and private recognition as a traditional marriage.

d) The government shouldn't be involved in certifying any kind of marriage.

32. Recreational Drugs

a) Criminalizing marijuana makes no more sense than the banning of alcohol during Prohibition.

b) Regular marijuana use can lead to using harder drugs and even criminal behavior.

c) Before legalizing certain drugs, we should consider the societal costs and benefits.

d) If someone wants to smoke pot or even take heroin, it’s their own business.

That’s it – all done! Just press the button below to get your results.

Map My Politics Quiz