Test Your Extremism: With Poll

Joe Klein offers a helpful test of left-wing extremism. Happily, we're graded on a curve, as he writes that a "left-wing extremist exhibits many, but not necessarily all, of the following attributes." (My emphasis.)

He offers thirteen criteria, and in honor of our president let's say 50% is a passing grade. You need SIX to win. (Rounding down: soft bigotry of low expectations.)

Are you an extremist?

One point for every 'yes':

1. I believe the United States is a fundamentally negative force in the world.

2. I believe American imperialism is the primary cause of Islamic radicalism.

3. I believe the decision to go to war in Iraq was not an individual case of monumental stupidity, but a consequence of America’s fundamental imperialistic nature.

4. I tend to blame America for the failures of others—i.e. the failure of our NATO allies to fulfill their responsibilities in Afghanistan.

5. I don't believe believe that capitalism, carefully regulated and progressively taxed, is the best liberal idea in human history.

6. I believe American society is fundamentally unfair (as opposed to having unfair aspects that need improvement).

7. I believe that eternal problems like crime and poverty are the primarily the fault of society.

8. I believe that America isn’t really a democracy.

9. I believe corporations are fundamentally evil.

10. I believe in a corporate conspiracy that controls the world.

11. I am intolerant of good ideas when they come from conservative sources.

12. I dismissively mock people of faith, especially those who are opposed to abortion and gay marriage.

13. I regularly use harsh, vulgar, intolerant language to attack moderates or conservatives.

How do you score?

•  My total: SEVEN!

  Dude. I am so extreme.  My answers:

  1. What does 'fundamentally' mean? And, to paraphrase Bill Clinton, that 'is' is tricky. Does Klein mean at this very moment? If the statement is 'I believe the foreign policy of the current administration is at this moment a more negative than positive force in the world,' the answer is 'yes.' If the statement is, 'I believe the everlasting soul of the US is a root cause of evil in the world,' then 'no'. Half a point!

  2. No. I believe Western imperialism is one proximate cause of anti-Western Islamic radicalism.

  3. Again with the 'fundamental? I don't believe America has a 'fundamental nature.' I think the decision to invade Iraq was neither an individual case of monumental stupidity nor a consequence of America's fundamental imperialistic nature, so: 'no.'

  4. If I ever do blame American policies or administrations for failures of other governments, that's obviously completely wrong. No rational person believes they blame X for things that aren't X's fault. So I'd never know if I did this, would I? I'll give myself a half-point, just in case I'm always blaming America for no reason without realizing it.

  5. Yes! I'm v. extreme on this one! I believe the best liberal idea in human history is democracy. Universal sufferage and free speech ain't too shabby, either.

  6. Fundamentally, yes. I think human nature is fundamentally unfair, and American society is an expression of human nature. And that while we must strive for fairness, we will never completely achieve it. This makes me an extremist liberal? Well, so be it. Yes.

  7. Crime, yes, by definition is caused by society. Society establishes laws, the violation of which defines criminality.  Legalize everything, and ... ta da! Soporific question deserves a sophomoric answer. Poverty? I'll say 'yes', because I'd love to hear what extra-societal factors might be at fault. Plate tectonics? Solar flares? I'm not sure about other eternal problems like slavery and child labor, though.

  8. We're a republic, dammit, a republic! Um, no. Democracy for me.

  9. Not even Kos Media, LLC.

  10. No. The Jewish Templars of the Trilateral Lodge control the world.

  11. No. Mass production is okay with me, despite Henry Ford's racism. Also fond of many of Karl Rove's machinations, and wish the left would adopt them.

  12. Yes. I dismissively mock secular people who are opposed to gay marriage, too, but that's not the question.

  13. No. Although I try to use vivid, muscular language, I rarely succeed.

  by GussieFN on Sat Mar 03, 2007 at 10:56:38 AM PDT

  •  Ha, pretty much same here, except

    on 13 I'll now have to make an exception - for Joe Klein. Can we have a nice, rampantly biased and hopelessly subjective index just like the above to measure Joe Klein's stupidity and douchebagishness (or is that douchebaggery?)

    by brainwave on Sat Mar 03, 2007 at 11:15:47 AM PDT

  •  points for good use of the word

    "proximate"

    by SeanF on Sat Mar 03, 2007 at 11:47:17 AM PDT

•  Using this list, here are Joe Klein's...

  ... Sensible Punditry Principles, as deduced by commenter Jeffrey Kramer:

  By giving us his list of the hallmarks of left-wing extremism, Joe has also implicitly given us the creed of serious, sensible, decent liberals like himself. Such good folk believe:

  That any war started by the U.S. should enjoy the presumption of benevolence until proven malignant, especially by the people whose
  countries we are bombing or invading.

  That to consider whether U.S. actions in the Middle East had some impact
  on the rise of Islamic radicalism is thoughtcrime, because it excuses the
  terrorists.

  That to talk of neocons’ pre-9/11 calls for war against Iraq as part of a strategy to preserve and extend American world power, and to note how many of those neocons ended up influencing Bush foreign policy, is to engage in wild conspiracy theories.

  That it is always the obligation of all good nations to come to the aid of
  the poor United States in its wars, since (due to circumstances we need
  not inquire into too fanatically) we somehow found ourselves lacking the
  resources to do the job ourselves.

  That Pinochet deserves the thanks of all decent liberals, for even if he
  skimped somewhat on secondary liberal principles like freedom of speech,
  due process, etc., he still held tenaciously to the best idea in liberal history: capitalism.

  That "fair" is an unspeakable word in polite economic discourse.

  That American levels of poverty and crime are the result of fundamental
  laws of physics, and that the apparent suspension of such laws in many
  Western European countries is a trivial anomaly which doesn’t deserve any serious consideration.

  That the power of wealth to bend democratic institutions to its interests is an unspeakable topic in polite political discourse.

  That corporations would not pursue their own interests at the expense of
  the public, would not fix prices, illegally pollute, cheat their workers
  of pensions and benefits, etc., because... because... everybody knows you just can’t get away with that sort of thing in AMERICA!

  That to consider the role of (e.g.) energy companies in supporting
  Republicans in general and George W. Bush in particular is to engage in
  wild conspiracy theories.

  That every decent liberal should get a tear in his eye and a song in his
  heart when he hears the phrase "people of faith", and that all who anoint
  themselves with that phrase deserve nothing but respectful treatment even
  when they expose secular plots to turn our children gay with soy milk.

  That somewhere under William Kristol’s pile of bullshit there must be a pony.

  by tbetz on Sat Mar 03, 2007 at 11:03:36 AM PDT

  •  I liked this rejoinder a lot

    So I took the liberty of laying it out a little more readably.  Hope you don't mind:

    1. That any war started by the U.S. should enjoy the presumption of benevolence until proven malignant, especially by the people whose countries we are bombing or invading.

    2. That to consider whether U.S. actions in the Middle East had some impact on the rise of Islamic radicalism is thoughtcrime, because it excuses the terrorists.

    3. That to talk of neocons’ pre-9/11 calls for war against Iraq as part of a strategy to preserve and extend American world power, and to note how many of those neocons ended up influencing Bush foreign policy, is to engage in wild conspiracy theories.

    4. That it is always the obligation of all good nations to come to the aid of the poor United States in its wars, since (due to circumstances we need not inquire into too fanatically) we somehow found ourselves lacking the resources to do the job ourselves.

    5. That Pinochet deserves the thanks of all decent liberals, for even if he skimped somewhat on secondary liberal principles like freedom of speech, due process, etc., he still held tenaciously to the best idea in liberal history:capitalism.

    6. That "fair" is an unspeakable word in polite economic discourse.

    7. That American levels of poverty and crime are the result of fundamental laws of physics, and that the apparent suspension of such laws in many Western European countries is a trivial anomaly which doesn’t deserve any serious consideration.

    8. That the power of wealth to bend democratic institutions to its interests is an unspeakable topic in polite political discourse.

    9. That corporations would not pursue their own interests at the expense of the public, would not fix prices, illegally pollute, cheat their workers of pensions and benefits, etc., because... because... everybody knows you just can’t get away with that sort of thing in AMERICA!

    10. That to consider the role of (e.g.) energy companies in supporting Republicans in general and George W. Bush in particular is to engage in wild conspiracy theories.

    11. That every decent liberal should get a tear in his eye and a song in his heart when he hears the phrase "people of faith", and that all who anoint themselves with that phrase deserve nothing but respectful treatment even when they expose secular plots to turn our children gay with soy milk.

    12. That somewhere under William Kristol’s pile of bullshit there must be a pony.

    by chumley on Sat Mar 03, 2007 at 11:29:45 AM PDT

    •  I have no complaint...

      ... and I doubt that Jeffrey Kramer would mind, either.

      by tbetz on Sat Mar 03, 2007 at 11:49:31 AM PDT

•  #4 is hilarious

  I have four solid yes answers and two kinda-sorta yes answers (#1 & #3). Question number four is phrased in a way that no sane person would naswer yes. of course Klein's whole goal is to make moderate people or even naive leftist people look at the little survey and say "oh horrors, is that what the far left believes?" Even the most left wing people I know (real live marxian scholars) would not be liekly to score more than 9 or 10 points. Klein is such a wanker.

  by pHunbalanced on Sat Mar 03, 2007 at 11:07:40 AM PDT

  •  I blame America for NATO's reluctance in AFG...

    ...it's another example of the WH losing friends and making enemies.

    I've got friends and family serving for NATO countries in Afghanistan. They're unanimous: they don't mind being there - they feel they're going good work - as long as the Americans stay far, far, FAR away from them.

    Sounds to me like it's our actions and presence that makes NATO forces reluctant.

    by opendna on Sat Mar 03, 2007 at 01:43:09 PM PDT

•  I believe there's a shade of grey

  for just about everything, so I only put up a 2.  Could have been a 3.  

  If it weren't for cussing, I'd have had a 1 or 2.  

  by deepsouthdoug on Sat Mar 03, 2007 at 11:08:01 AM PDT

  •  black and white

    I agree. The questions had no middle ground. It was all "you believe America is the greatest thing in the world, or you want to destroy America" type stuff.

    I answered, "well, that's a stupid question" for most of them.

    by astraea on Sat Mar 03, 2007 at 11:36:33 AM PDT

•  WOW

  I'm the least extreme guy so far..I only scored a 1

  by RumsfeldResign on Sat Mar 03, 2007 at 11:10:13 AM PDT

  •  You'd better start swearing,

    or we'll take away your DKos DKoder Ring.

    by GussieFN on Sat Mar 03, 2007 at 12:11:59 PM PDT

    •  oh STFU

      I lost my freakin' PF flyers!!

      by RumsfeldResign on Sat Mar 03, 2007 at 12:33:58 PM PDT

•  Framing your questions

  Some of them seem rather strange:

  i.e. the failure of our NATO allies to fulfill their responsibilities in Afghanistan.

  who decides what "their responsibilities in Afghanistan are"?  Americans?

  I believe that America isn’t really a democracy.

  It never was and never was intended to be, as conservatives and centrists are usually the first to point out.  America's always been a republic with democratic features, though those have been in decline for some time, due to their fall into disuse and disdian by the citizens themselves.

  I don't believe believe that capitalism, carefully regulated and progressively taxed, is the best liberal idea in human history.

  Why should I believe capitalism serves people better than other liberal concepts such as free speech, free press, freedom of assembly and petition?

  I regularly use harsh, vulgar, intolerant language to attack moderates or conservatives.

  I see more of those attitudes directed to the left around here than at "centrists".

  by ActivistGuy on Sat Mar 03, 2007 at 11:18:51 AM PDT

  •  Cheney said so

    After the 2000 election he went around saying "This isn't a democracy, it's a republic." So according to Klein he would be a left-wing extremist, I guess.

    by Shahryar on Sat Mar 03, 2007 at 11:32:30 AM PDT

    •  My response to Joe Klein would be Cheney's to

      Wolfowitz: "Well, I just don't agree with the premises of your questions".

      That, and of course, the famous, f--- off.

      Joe Klein can go and kiss David Broder's ass. Oh, excuse me, he already did. Oops, I swore-- please let the Cato Institute so they can pad their angry lefty blogger statistics.

      by doinaheckuvanutjob on Sat Mar 03, 2007 at 01:56:56 PM PDT

•  Hmmmmm, two perfect thirteens so far

  I wonder who voted yes on qustion number four.

  by pHunbalanced on Sat Mar 03, 2007 at 11:20:31 AM PDT

  •  Yeah, one wonders.

    Maybe they're just extremely competitive about their extremism, gotta be more extremist than everyone else.

    Or ringers ...

    by GussieFN on Sat Mar 03, 2007 at 12:10:44 PM PDT

•  The questions are loaded

  The test doesn't make sense. Question four in particular has all sorts of nonsense built right into it.

  by mosesfreeman on Sat Mar 03, 2007 at 11:29:57 AM PDT

  •  Oh, and I got a six...

    I think.

    by mosesfreeman on Sat Mar 03, 2007 at 11:30:43 AM PDT

•  I scored one

  For #13. I do call Bush a chimpanzee, his cohorts incompetent assholes and idiots, and I call radical Islamists (who I would label conservatives) vile pieces of shit.

  I worry that people who score five or more (and aren't joking) will end up marginalizing the Democratic party.

  by Flaming Moderate on Sat Mar 03, 2007 at 11:33:26 AM PDT

•  Wow

  So thinking that democracy was a better liberal contribution than capitalism is a symptom of extremism?

  by tipsymcstagger on Sat Mar 03, 2007 at 11:38:18 AM PDT

•  Woo hoo! I'm an extremist!

  Who knew?  This just points out that it has always been beyond the pale to question the motives of our benevolent leaders as they spread freedom and democracy throughout the world (snark).  If we want stop future Iraqs then we are going to have to fundamentally challenge neoconservative imperalism in a way that Joe Klein apparently will not allow us to do.

  Also, I think it is okay to dismissively mock those opposed to gay civil rights after the Ann Coulter episode showed us their true motivations.  Being a person of faith has nothing to do with it.

  by mcfly on Sat Mar 03, 2007 at 11:43:10 AM PDT

•  i got a 7???

  uh oh. i guess i better expose myself!

  woo hoo!

  by SeanF on Sat Mar 03, 2007 at 11:44:17 AM PDT

  •  Please

    Don't expose yourself here, sir. This is a family site.

    by opendna on Sat Mar 03, 2007 at 01:52:07 PM PDT

•  Why is he harping on Left Wing "extremism"?

  We lefties comprise a small percentage of American society and have very little power, but people like Joke Line and others need an excuse for their failed ideology so, once again, the "almighty liberal" who "controls everything" is the cause of Bush's defeat in Iraq and everything else that ails America. LOL!

  by munky on Sat Mar 03, 2007 at 11:44:37 AM PDT

•  I scored a 3!

  America is a Republic, there have been better liberal ideas than capitalism and I believe that life is fundamentally unfair.

  by Viceroy on Sat Mar 03, 2007 at 11:45:09 AM PDT

•  Eleven

  I don't think corps control the world but its dangerously close.

  And this is NOT a democracy.

  by glbTVET on Sat Mar 03, 2007 at 11:49:01 AM PDT

•  In detail

  Just for the sake of procrastination:

  1.  I believe the United States is a fundamentally negative force in the world.

  Nope. I merely believe that "with great power comes great responsibility", to quote Spiderman.

  2. I believe American imperialism is the primary cause of Islamic radicalism.

  Agree with the diarist here - it's one cause. (But however many causes there are don't justify whatever it is extremists of any persuasion do.)

  3. I believe the decision to go to war in Iraq was not an individual case of monumental stupidity, but a consequence of America’s fundamental imperialistic nature.

  Neither one nor the other. What a knucklehead alternative is this anyway? Cheney wanted the oil, Chimpy wanted the glory, the neoclowns wanted to remake the Middle East in (their version of) America's image, and Rummy wanted the war because he's quite insane.

  4. I tend to blame America for the failures of others—i.e. the failure of our NATO allies to fulfill their responsibilities in Afghanistan.

  Joe, you dolt - I'll blame whoever's fault I believe it is. Nice try, moron.

  5. I don't believe believe that capitalism, carefully regulated and progressively taxed, is the best liberal idea in human history.

  WTF dos that mean? Capitalism isn't a liberal idea in our contemporary sense of the term "liberal". As a system, if that's what you mean, it beats feudalism and economies controlled by authoritarian bureaucracies. That doesn't mean it can't be improved on.

  6. I believe American society is fundamentally unfair (as opposed to having unfair aspects that need improvement).

  I'll take the improvement, Joe, thank you so very much.

  7. I believe that eternal problems like crime and poverty are the primarily the fault of society.

  You're such a douchebag, Joe. I believe that both economies and cultures can breed crime and poverty. And societies can be smart or stupid about how they confront crime and poverties, and America hasn't been exactly smart in how she has confronted crime and poverty over the last few decades. But then, America also listens to knuckleheads such as you, Joe Klein.

  8. I believe that America isn’t really a democracy.

  I believe America is an imperfect democracy, and not the most democratic nation on the planet. It once was, but it hasn't been that for a while.

  9. I believe corporations are fundamentally evil.

  I believe that corporations are desiged to act like sociopaths. If you want to call that evil, be my guest.

  10. I believe in a corporate conspiracy that controls the world.

  No, the world is controlled by a conspiracy of peabrained gasbag talking heads with zero journalistic standards.

  11. I am intolerant of good ideas when they come from conservative sources.

  There are no good ideas from conservative sources. Moron.

  12. I dismissively mock people of faith, especially those who are opposed to abortion and gay marriage.

  I don't mock people of faith. I do mock biggots and mysogynists, dismissively and otherwise.

  13. I regularly use harsh, vulgar, intolerant language to attack moderates or conservatives.

  No, but I'll be happy to make an exception for you, you louse.

  by brainwave on Sat Mar 03, 2007 at 11:55:44 AM PDT

•  A six???

  This test is culturally biased. Is this guy an adult? This is our journalism, America. Pointless and juvenile. I can't believe these guys get paid for this type of stuff and then have the audacity to think that bloggers are somehow beneath them and their scary talent. BTW, I tend to think that abandoning the owning of other human beings is the best liberal idea in human history.

  by loon with a view on Sat Mar 03, 2007 at 12:01:20 PM PDT

•  Do two 'sortas' equal one full point?

  1.  No.  I believe that various ill-advised manipulative and/or aggressive US foreign policies have caused harm to world peace and progress for several decades, but that these can be stopped and reversed.

  2.  No. I believe that recent imperialistic American foreign policies have provided leverage for power-seeking individuals and groups who ALSO use "Islam " as a means to their ends.

  3.  Sorta.  I believe that the decision to go to war in Iraq WAS an individual (but not isolated) case of monumental stupidity, but also the "logical" extension of an imperialistic ideology whose influence and power in US politics has waxed and waned over several decades.

  4.  No.  Wha?

  5.  No.  And Sorta.  I do NOT believe that capitalism is "the best liberal idea" in human history, whether carefully regulated and progressively taxed or not.  However, it's not bad.

  6.  No.  American society is fundamentally unfair only when Republicans and other self-styled "conservatives" have the power to control it.

  7.  No.  There will always be criminals and there will always be people who are less well off materially no matter how well "society" handles these issues - but also that "society" could do a far better job of managing them.

  8.  Abstain.  Seriously, what precisely do you mean by "a democracy'?

  9.  Sorta.  I believe that there are behaviors that corporations engage in, especially "publicly-owned" corporations, that are "natural" and logical for that species of organism.  These behaviors are frequently counter-productive to true, free-market Capitalistic goals, as well as to socially progressive goals.  But it's as stupid to waste time woorying about whether or not they're actually "evil" as it would be to worry about whether or not sharks are "evil."

  10.  No.  But I do believe that interdependent corporations and oligopolies excercise disproportionate influence on government policies, both domestic and foreign, worldwide.  At various times, certain groups of these actors have coordinated the excercise of their influence.

  11.  No.  For one thing, when have you ever heard a "good idea" coming from a conservative source?  Seriously, a good idea is a good idea, no matter what the source.  Even Limbaugh probably says stuff like, "Look both ways before you cross the street."

  12.  No.   I just avoid arguing with them.

  13.  No.  I'll argue (calmly and graciously) with moderates and let sleeping wingnuts lie.

  by sxwarren on Sat Mar 03, 2007 at 12:05:42 PM PDT

  •  You're a 1.5, leaning toward a 10 because

    you're giving even Limbaugh the benefit of the doubt, and that's pretty extreme!

    by GussieFN on Sat Mar 03, 2007 at 12:08:10 PM PDT

  •  If you have to ask...

    you're not an extremist.

    by mel55555 on Sat Mar 03, 2007 at 02:30:29 PM PDT

•  personal point-by-point commentary, FWIW

    1. I believe the United States is a fundamentally negative force in the world.

  Not "fundamentally", no, but "currently and overall", sad to say, yes.

    2. I believe American imperialism is the primary cause of Islamic radicalism.

  Nope.  It is, however, currently the biggest contributing factor to their successful recruiting and fund-raising.

    3. I believe the decision to go to war in Iraq was not an individual case of monumental stupidity, but a consequence of America’s fundamental imperialistic nature.

  I don't think America has a fundamental imperialistic nature, but I think it's arguable that America's ruling class does.

    4. I tend to blame America for the failures of others—i.e. the failure of our NATO allies to fulfill their responsibilities in Afghanistan.

  Ignoring the absurd example, I'd have to say that, no, I don't blame America for the failures of others.  I blame America for our own failures.

    5. I don't believe believe that capitalism, carefully regulated and progressively taxed, is the best liberal idea in human history.

  For one thing, I'm not sure it makes sense to call capitalism a liberal idea.  For another, the are a whole passel of other ideas that could be thought of as liberal that are better competitors for the top spot.  Free speech would be pretty high on my list.

    6. I believe American society is fundamentally unfair (as opposed to having unfair aspects that need improvement).

  American society as it currently exists is rather obviously fundamentally unfair.  I'm idealistic enough to think that this can be changed.

    7. I believe that eternal problems like crime and poverty are the primarily the fault of society.

  For one thing, I don't know for sure that those problems are eternal.  For another, society is obviously a huge enough factor that it should be addressed, along with whatever other factors that we can identify.

    8. I believe that America isn’t really a democracy.

  Um, it's not a pure, direct democracy, no.  That's rather obvious from reading the  Constitution.  And it's also pretty obvious that some of the parts that are supposed to be indirectly democratic have been corrupted to various degrees.

    9. I believe corporations are fundamentally evil.

  Not evil, no.  They're fundamentally amoral,  in the sense of "without morals".  They are so by definition.

   10. I believe in a corporate conspiracy that controls the world.

  I wouldn't call it a conspiracy as such, but it's easy to argue that there's a high degree of high-level collusion that is unsurprisingly focussed on benefiting a relatively small segment of the population at the cost of the rest.

   11. I am intolerant of good ideas when they come from conservative sources.

  Nope.  Though I'd say that I tend to be somewhat more skeptical of those ideas, given the recent track record of those sources.

   12. I dismissively mock people of faith, especially those who are opposed to abortion and gay marriage.

  No, though I do mock their opposition to gay marriage.

   13. I regularly use harsh, vulgar, intolerant language to attack moderates or conservatives.

  Regularly?  No.

  by Bearpaw on Sat Mar 03, 2007 at 12:12:29 PM PDT

  •  Very Good

    Here are mine

         1. I believe the United States is a fundamentally negative force in the world.

    Kleins addition of the word fundamental is very calculated in that it is easy to show that recent U.S. actions have had a negative effect on the world. Even the "wisemen of Washington" agree that the Iraq war has inflamed fundamentalist recruiting, and the U.S.'s use of 25% of the world's oil has negative repercussions and increases global warming.

         2. I believe American imperialism is the primary cause of Islamic radicalism.

    Again Klein uses "primary" in a calculating fashion. It is pretty clear that U.S. foreign policies have made it much worse. Of course, it would exist anyway so Klein added "primary" to make it sound extreme

         3. I believe the decision to go to war in Iraq was not an individual case of monumental stupidity, but a consequence of America’s fundamental imperialistic nature.

    How can America even have an fundamental nature. The  policies of the U.S. are based on the decisions of our leaders. Right now our leaders are making monumentally stupid mistakes. If you don't believe me, ask leftist extremists like General Odom.

         4. I tend to blame America for the failures of others—i.e. the failure of our NATO allies to fulfill their responsibilities in Afghanistan.

    I can't improve on your quote above. "Ignoring the absurd example, I'd have to say that, no, I don't blame America for the failures of others.  I blame America for our own failures."

         5. I don't believe believe that capitalism, carefully regulated and progressively taxed, is the best liberal idea in human history.

    I think democracy and human rights are right up there for good liberal ideas. I'm sure Klein's idealized version of "carefully regulated, progressively taxed" capitalism is great though, let me know when it becomes a reality.

         6. I believe American society is fundamentally unfair (as opposed to having unfair aspects that need improvement).

    It seems to me that liberals are the ones that are trying to improve American society, why would we do that if it is fundamentally unfair?

         7. I believe that eternal problems like crime and poverty are the primarily the fault of society.

    Obviously there are many shortcomings in American Society. The fact that the U.S. has extremely high levels, of crime, poverty, infant mortality and incarceration and low levels of health insurance are problems that we as a society have failed to fix. Other developed countries have been much more successful at addressing these problems. I would like to know who Klein thinks is responsible for these problems.

         8. I believe that America isn’t really a democracy.

    It is currently legal to give large sums of money to elected officials in the hope that they will enact legislation. In fact, legislators are reduced to spending most of their time asking for money. Combine this with 8 hour lines to vote, and I think it is legitimate to ask if maybe we can improve the system.

         9. I believe corporations are fundamentally evil.

    Corporations bottom line is profits, this is often at odds with societies needs. For this reason, not because they are "fundamentally evil", corporations should be regulated. Seems like common sense to me.

        10. I believe in a corporate conspiracy that controls the world.

    Klein is trying to delegitimize reasonable questions about the unregulated power of corporations by using the word conspiracy. There doesn't have to be a conspiracy for corporations to have too much political power in our system.

        11. I am intolerant of good ideas when they come from conservative sources.

    Again, I can't improve on the quote above, "Nope.  Though I'd say that I tend to be somewhat more skeptical of those ideas, given the recent track record of those sources." Maybe Klein could give some examples of these great ideas.

        12. I dismissively mock people of faith, especially those who are opposed to abortion and gay marriage.

    I like to keep religion out of politics, I don't see a lot of mocking going on, just legitimate concern. Hate-mongers like Pat Robertson are not people of faith, by the way.

        13. I regularly use harsh, vulgar, intolerant language to attack moderates or conservatives.

    I don't, but I am sorry Klein has such tender sensibilities. Of course, Republicans never swear and they are the model of tolerance.

    by aprichard on Sat Mar 03, 2007 at 01:02:06 PM PDT

•  I'd rate 4 at best, and each yes is with a caveat

  > 1. I believe the United States is a fundamentally negative force in the world.

  Only lately.

                                                              *

  > 2. I believe American imperialism is the primary cause of Islamic radicalism.

  Indirectly and cumulatively, absolutely.  

                                                              *

  > 3. I believe the decision to go to war in Iraq was not an individual case of monumental stupidity, but a consequence of America’s fundamental imperialistic nature.

  Do I have to pick? I think both are true.  The fundamental imperialist nature allowed the opening for the individual case of stupidity that was the Iraq regime change.

                                                              *

  > 4. I tend to blame America for the failures of others—i.e. the failure of our NATO allies to fulfill their responsibilities in Afghanistan.

  Only when America is legitimately to blame (in that particular case, America bailed on Afghanistan first, and we shouldn't be surprised that our allies have followed the lead we ourselves have set).

  by ShadowSD on Sat Mar 03, 2007 at 12:30:16 PM PDT

•  Three! I'm a quarter-extremist.

  1. I believe the United States is a fundamentally negative force in the world.

  Sadly, reluctantly, yes. But hopefully only for two more years. Half a point.

  2. I believe American imperialism is the primary cause of Islamic radicalism.

  No, but Bush's incompetence is making it worse.

  3. I believe the decision to go to war in Iraq was not an individual case of monumental stupidity, but a consequence of America’s fundamental imperialistic nature.

  No. Bush Cheney Rumsfailed are to blame

  4. I tend to blame America for the failures of others—i.e. the failure of our NATO allies to fulfill their responsibilities in Afghanistan.

  It's just that we could do so much better. Half a point.

  5. I don't believe believe that capitalism, carefully regulated and progressively taxed, is the best liberal idea in human history.

  No. I love capitalism, regulated and taxed, but I really do love it almost as much as a libertarian, except for the externalities issue and things like poverty.

  6. I believe American society is fundamentally unfair (as opposed to having unfair aspects that need improvement).

  No. Not more so than most.

  7. I believe that eternal problems like crime and poverty are the primarily the fault of society.

  No. But they should be fought.

  8. I believe that America isn’t really a democracy.

  No.

  9. I believe corporations are fundamentally evil.

  No.

  10. I believe in a corporate conspiracy that controls the world.

  No. Our space friends are secretly guiding us.

  11. I am intolerant of good ideas when they come from conservative sources.

  No. I strongly believe in nuclear power. Is that conservative?

  12. I dismissively mock people of faith, especially those who are opposed to abortion and gay marriage.

  Okay, got me. But they mock me.

  I regularly use harsh, vulgar, intolerant language to attack moderates or conservatives.

  Guilty. But I wouldn't use such language if Bush wasn't an asshole.

  Three points. Without Bush it might go down to zero.

  by mel55555 on Sat Mar 03, 2007 at 12:34:44 PM PDT

  •  Maybe if you contact three other

    quasitremists, you can combine to make one wild-eyed librul.

    by GussieFN on Sat Mar 03, 2007 at 12:37:07 PM PDT

•  I hate

  the term "liberal extremists". It should be something like "Liberal-X" to sound hip and edgy.

  by loon with a view on Sat Mar 03, 2007 at 12:44:04 PM PDT

•  I'm dissappointed but not surprised that there...

  are so many Pussies at dKos.

  by Durs on Sat Mar 03, 2007 at 01:10:32 PM PDT

  •  I'm devoutly pro-pussy, myself.

    Don't mean to be heterosexist or anything, though.

    by GussieFN on Sat Mar 03, 2007 at 01:14:48 PM PDT

  •  That violates seven of the rules.

    And makes you an extremist.

    by mel55555 on Sat Mar 03, 2007 at 01:34:36 PM PDT

•  Someone just posted...

  ... an even better variant:  What Kind of Extremist Are You?

  I test as a Rational Person.

  by tbetz on Sat Mar 03, 2007 at 01:17:17 PM PDT

  •  translation:

    "You consider these questions obvious straw men, designed to distract people from a meaningful investigation of facts and a serious discussion of relevant political issues. How boring."

    by opendna on Sat Mar 03, 2007 at 01:50:01 PM PDT