I did this “place in the world” quiz, and the answer surprised me. Normally I don’t place too much stock into an internet quiz, but an intriguing result is an intriguing result. (See bottom of post.)
Anyways, for some reason the quiz turned my thoughts to the book 1984, and the upcoming election. It has been amusing (and pretty depressing) to watch this past week or so as all three major parties attempt to somehow manufacture human nature. Now I’m not suggesting that any of these parties are neo-fascist organizations a la The Party or anything; but there are some striking similarities. The use of fear/rewards and a control of information has been an essential part of electioneering for over a century, but it’s becoming more and more apparent that this campaign has been about manufacturing a reality that doesn’t really exist. Now, Karl Rove and the Bush team perfected this during the last election year, of that there is no doubt, but something similar is happening.
Let’s take a look at Harper’s campaign first. He started off “well,” releasing major policy initiatives on an almost daily basis to start the campaign. Since then, he has disappeared from the campaign almost entirely. Instead, the last three weeks have been given entirely to scaring Liberal voters, without really saying “vote for the Conservatives instead.” There is a logic to this strategy: most Canadians are ideologically aligned with the Liberal party. By not actually saying “vote for us” the Conservatives are subtly tricking Liberals into voting for a party they don’t want, by emphasizing only who they are voting against. (Jack Layton’s failure to capitalize on this will surely be his federal political epitaph.) At the same time, the Conservatives have been carefully “tweaking” the reality of Liberal governance and their own agenda. It’s not exactly newspeak, but it’s not exactly reality either.
Anyways, the Conservatives have created the scenario that The Party engineered in 1984, they have created a presence for themselves, then relied exclusively on a “fear of the alternative” and a carefully controlled political machine that quickly destroys dissent (at least within the ranks); all in conjunction with a carefully reimagined reality to create a climate where people are going to vote in droves for a party they don’t really want. Scary, eh?
You scored as Existentialist. Existentialism emphasizes human capability. There is no greater power interfering with life and thus it is up to us to make things happen. Sometimes considered a negative and depressing world view, your optimism towards human accomplishment is immense. Mankind is condemned to be free and must accept the responsibility.
|
Existentialist |
|
81% | |
|
Materialist |
|
81% | |
|
Postmodernist |
|
63% | |
|
Modernist |
|
56% | |
|
Cultural Creative |
|
50% | |
|
Romanticist |
|
50% | |
|
Fundamentalist |
|
19% | |
|
Idealist |
|
6% |
What is Your World View? (updated)
created with QuizFarm.com
Loading ...
