So with over 1100 votes cast, here's how it looks:
| So how would you describe *your* political views? | ||
| Marxian left | 13% (143) | |
| Social democratic left | 50% (557) | |
| American liberal | 13% (143) | |
| American moderate democrat | 6% (65) | |
| American Republican | 1% (10) | |
| Burkean conservative | 3% (37) | |
| Social/religious conservative | 3% (31) | |
| Libertarian | 9% (102) | |
| Fascist/Authoritarian Right | 3% (35) | |
Nearly two-thirds of the readership is on what I would call the genuine left (social democratic or Marxian), which isn't surprising given, among other things, the fact that a substantial portion of the readership is not US-based (roughly one-third), and that philosophers generally lean left. Add in the "American liberals" (who would be, admittely, in the center, or maybe the center-right in many other Western democracies), and fully three-quarters of the readership is on the 'left' capaciously understood. To my ten Republican readers, I appreciate your indulgence! Libertarians represent another major block (nearly 10%), though as I learned from correspondence, some readers who might have picked "anarchist" were it a choice may have gone with libertarian. But since philosophers like theoretically well-articulated positions, it's not a surprise that libertarianism, like Marxism, gets significant support from readers. I'm a tad puzzled by the 3% of those who self-identify with the fascist/authoritarian right--of course, since I do have a whole category of "authoritarianism and fascism alerts" (I'm unique among blogs in offering that!), it may be they are here for news about their prospects! More likely is that some jokesters couldn't resist the opportunity to so identify. On the other hand, the revival of interest in Carl Schmitt may have now translated into more philosophers taking the hard line. The 6% self-identified conservatives, both Burkean and social/religious, are presumably either here for the philosophy news, or they just like to scratch their heads in wonder at what left academics believe, or both! (I should note that, even though law professors are officially forbidden from reading my philosophy blog, some do, and so that might be skewing the results a bit, since law professors are certainly more to the right, on average, than philosophy professors.)
Thanks to all readers for taking the poll.
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