Let’s play 20 Questions! Take the following simple diagnostic test to see if you are an Imaginative Conservative or something else. Or better yet, try it on your friends so you’ll know whether to pay for the next round of drinks or hail a taxi.
Answers, scored at the bottom, are the author’s interpretations and do not necessarily represent the official policies of this website or the views of Russell Kirk, Edmund Burke, Christopher Dawson, Irving Babbitt, C. S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkein, T. S. Eliot, Alexis de Tocqueville, Saint Augustine of Hippo, John Adams or Almighty God. But they might. Choose one answer for each:
1) Greed is:
(a) A selfish misperception to be inevitably overcome by historical forces;
(b) A social problem for government, worsened by commercialisation;
(c) Good, maligned by those who misunderstand the dynamics of capitalism;
(d) Bad among Democrats, good among Republicans;
(e) A sin to be opposed by every person, family, and generation.
2) My idea of entertainment is:
(a) Attending an Occupy protest and getting arrested;
(b) The new Miley Cyrus video on Millennium Development Goals;
(c) Re-reading an Ayn Rand novel for the eighth time;
(d) Watching American troops invade foreign countries;
(e) Fairy tales and old or new myth in books, comics, and film.
3) I aspire to know more about:
(a) Bakunin and Antonio Gramsci;
(b) John Dewey and Eleanor Roosevelt;
(c) Bakunin and David Friedman;
(d) Machiavelli and Teddy Roosevelt;
(e) G. K. Chesterton and George MacDonald.
4) Is there an enduring moral order?
(a) Yes, unfolding through history via the dialectical process;
(b) No, it changes according to our needs and values;
(c) No, it is unique for every individual;
(d) Possibly, with America’s global enforcement;
(e) Yes, shown by reason, culture, history, and divine revelation.
5) Ideology is:
(a) A necessary codification of class consciousness;
(b) A necessary codification of Progressive values;
(c) A necessary codification of consistent rights and liberty;
(d) A necessary codification of national priorities;
(e) What simpletons crave when too lazy to read or think.
6) I’d rather bequeath to my grandchild:
(a) A classless world of true equality;
(b) Appreciation of diversity and social engagement;
(c) A fortune in bullion offshore;
(d) A global empire of American greatness;
(e) My handmade wooden chair and skill to build another.
7) Milton’s Paradise Lost is:
(a) 17th Century religious brainwashing and class oppression;
(b) A seminal text to be deconstructed by its period and intentions;
(c) Irrelevant, of no practical use to me;
(d) Good to cite defending Western Civilisation, bad to read;
(e) Good, but not as great as Dante’s Divine Comedy.
8) God is:
(a) A delusion, the opiate of the masses;
(b) A delusion, but religion can build social commitment;
(c) Authoritarian, so no help to liberty or my net worth;
(d) The American flag personified in all His wrath;
(e) Love.
9) What is the role of order in society?
(a) Oppression unless directed by the proletariat;
(b) A helpful precondition for social uplift and improvement;
(c) Oppression unless spontaneous through a free market;
(d) Essential in airports;
(e) The starting point and core of any civilization.
10) Among beverages I prefer:
(a) Stolichnaya vodka or tap-water;
(b) Fair-trade organic herbal tea;
(c) Red Bull;
(d) No wine from France;
(e) Vintage port or brandy after supper.
11) The purpose of art is to:
(a) Reflect class interests;
(b) Challenge preconceptions with innovation;
(c) Make money;
(d) Build national respect for authority;
(e) Ennoble the spirit of Man made in God’s image.
12) I prefer to hear:
(a) People newly aware of their exploitation;
(b) Backward opinions silenced;
(c) Investment tips in precious metals;
(d) Backward opinions silenced;
(e) Monteverdi.
13) Human perfection is:
(a) Inevitable via scientific progress and Hegelian synthesis:
(b) Slow but possible if government and civil society work together;
(c) Nobody’s business apart from each individual’s;
(d) Nearly present among we American intellectual elites;
(e) A bad joke, impossible while we live as mortals.
14) I get excited by:
(a) Enlightened protest or even revolution;
(b) Social engagement and positive statistics;
(c) My monthly bank statement;
(d) Speeches, flags and military parades;
(e) Log fires and hot cocoa.
15) Community is:
(a) A false construct of the petit bourgeoisie;
(b) Essential to inform, mobilise and effect change;
(c) Online;
(d) Useful;
(e) Third in importance behind Faith and Family.
16) “Little platoons” are:
(a) Secret police from the existing order;
(b) Right-thinking minorities challenging intolerance;
(c) Armed;
(d) Parts of larger invasionary forces;
(e) Burke’s traditionalist communities.
17) When I look at a Renaissance painting, I wonder:
(a) What it cost the exploited toiling classes;
(b) Can it help boost equality and minority empowerment;
(c) What it cost and could I steal it when nobody’s looking;
(d) What it costs to paint in a big American flag;
(e) Could we create something as timeless, virtuous, and inspirational?
18) My ideal garment is:
(a) Black, revolutionary and utilitarian;
(b) Gray and dependably inoffensive;
(c) Flamboyant, costly, and individualistic;
(d) A uniform;
(e) Could you repeat the question? I was reading.
19) Which is true:
(a) In 1877 Prof. B. Birzer of Mannheim translated Das Kapital into Czech;
(b) In 1488 Swiss pastor B. Frohnen was burnt for defending gay marriage;
(c) In 1713 Barbados, Winston Elliott’s short-lived anarchist colony collapsed;
(d) In 1908 US Navy Captain John Willson invaded Sumatra;
(e) By 1994 Russell Kirk’s “The Conservative Mind” surpassed 1m copies.
20) The Devil:
(a) Doesn’t exist but otherwise follows Bloomberg financial updates;
(b) Doesn’t exist but otherwise watches Fox News;
(c) Doesn’t exist but otherwise likes MSNBC and The Washington Post;
(d) May exist and is probably an Arab;
(e) Does exist, enjoys all major media but hates moral imagination and curiosity.
21) Bonus Question – Tradition is:
a) A harmful means of oppression;
b) A harmful means of oppression;
c) A harmful means of oppression;
d) A useful means of oppression if redefined selectively;
e) A helpful guide from our Living Past.
Scoring: take two points for each correct (e) answer, and one for any other. Choosing mostly (a) suggests you’re a doctrinaire Marxist and either over age 60 or trying very hard to be retro; (b) denotes a Progressive who probably got here by mistake; (c) a materialist libertarian anarcho-capitalist; and (d) a Neo-con, another kind of false-conservative nationalist or else you had three too many at the VFW hall. If you think you’re a libertarian and chose (e) almost as often as (c), you may be falsely diagnosed and need to seek treatment immediately. A total score below 32 suggests that you need to visit this website more often; higher scores imply that you’ve found your way home already. Score a perfect 42 or want to next time? Buy a well-deserved treat for yourself or a loved one!
This essay was first published here in December 2013.
The Imaginative Conservative applies the principle of appreciation to the discussion of culture and politics—we approach dialogue with magnanimity rather than with mere civility. Will you help us remain a refreshing oasis in the increasingly contentious arena of modern discourse? Please consider donating now.
The featured image is “The actor Kristian Mantzius in his study” (1853) by Carl Bloch, and is in the public domain, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
1. e
2. e
3. e
4. e
5. e
6. c…I can’t work wood.
7. e
8. e
9. e
10. Community Coffee and Bourbon
11. e
12. R.L. Burnside
13. SEC Football
14. e
15. e
16. e
17. e
18 Seersucker Suit…I’m not goin’ out raggedy
19. I wouldn’t be surprised if d turned out to be true but, e
20. e
21. E
Scored 40–I couldn’t answer #19. Still trying–I’m leaning towards “C”.
yes yes… let me get my coat with the patches on the elbows.. mmhmm yes.. mostly e’s i see.. turns out I’m an imaginative conservative! imagine that! and i thought port was for pretensious snobs!
Brilliant of course.
I’m not sure that the e’s are always right, and the c’s and d’s are always wrong, as it were. (The a’s and b’s are pretty well just wrong, however…). I think it is perhaps more like e is the overarching canopy, and with that in place some c’s and d’s are in there, as sort of second best, as it were. Making money is important; online community is real; and Red Bull is one of life’s essentials for example. That said, they are not as good as their respective slate of e answers…..complimentary, perhaps….minor themes to be explored under the canopy of tradition and moral order. But the a’s and b’s? Well they just need to be defeated and all of the c’s, d’s and e’s should agree with that…..
Again, brilliant.
Erik – I didn’t realize write ins were possible. (Isn’t that sort of a “c” mentality? Anarcho-capitalist??).
Mark I honored the spirit of the quiz…I introduced no novel concepts.
I merely tuned the references to my own cultural experience.
I wouldn’t turn down c’s bread though. Ha
ROFL
Being somewhat stodgy, I naturally tended to the culturally correct answers, in spite of the obviously poor other choices.
My only criticism of the “survey’, however is — what Sassenach heathen doesn’t like Scotch?
Thank you, Mr Naas. When I lived in Scotland my circle drank whiskey before supper, with fruits of the vine during and after; apart from St Andrew’s Day dinners, Hogmanay and Burns’ Nicht. Although some Scots, chiefly in Glasgow and Dundee, apparently drink methylated spirits around the clock!
An alternative correct answer to question 15: Community is: (f) a socialist synonym for “neighborhood.” Thanks for the Friday diversion!
Brilliantly hilarious! A man for all countries, seasons, and ages is TIC’s Steve Masty!
Great quiz. Sent it around to relatives for propaganda purposes. I am related to libertarians and neo-cons, but they are redeemable, I just know it. As for 10, I love my herbal tea and it sits better with me than alcoholic beverages. I don’t look for Fair Trade as much as Organic. 15 is a tough one….what Community? My life outside of family is dominated by associations of various kinds. I don’t have a community – I don’t even have a neighborhood. So I was torn between d. Useful and the obvious “right” answer. Thanks for some fun.
#19: All are true, of course!
Love it! What waters of inspiration are you nipping to keep producing such remarkably witty essays?
My only deviance from an all E score is an occasional vodka martini before dinner. But for after dinner, brandy and port win out, or course.
Hope we will have the opportunity to hoist a few of these with you before long!
Unlike Mark, I find that most of the B answers are second best. But I am learning about conservatism after previously being a progressive. I do already agree with most of the E answers.
This is a brand of conservatism that I have never in my fifty plus years of reading and studying history, political history, economics, biography, and classical fiction, that I have not seen practiced in politics since the administration of Theodore Roosevelt. I have read most of what Kirk, Brownson, Buckley, Friedman, Haye, Nash, and others have written about conservatism. I agree with most of what I’ve read but seen little of it practiced.
That’s because most people lack the attention span or interest to try and understand it
41 only because I’m not a drinker. would be if i could afford the brandy!
If the quiz were a bit more serious, I’d be delighted to get the perfect score of ’42’ (which I did), 🙂 TIC remains among my Top favourite sites. I read it daily, along with the TAC (The American Conservative). Absolutely indispensable and priceless reading these two sites (and oh, the universitybookman site, too). For the record, I’m arguably more often characterised as a a “paleo-conservative”. But I much prefer the sound and feeling of being an ‘imaginative’ conservative. 🙂
Funny, consider myself a libertarian but answered almost all “e”s. Perhaps I define libertarian differently.
Same, I just don’t think I’m as materialist and antagonistic as some
I actually prefer craft beer or a good whiskey but a nice port or brandy sounds good too.
Like Brad Birzer I call my self a “Tom Woods style libertarian,” meaning I’m all for Austrian economics but I’m also for tradition, Jeffersonian conservatism, and above all a Bible believing Christian.
38, which means my subscription is well spent. 🙂
Still a good one. Over 32, but not 42.
I got full 42 points. I am conservatism incorporated.
I got a 31. Many of the “d” answers were very tempting and the literature stuff . . . I guess I really don’t know too much about that.
very interesting. Evidently I am a off the Chart Imaginative conservative. It would seem that George Macdonald and C.K. Chesterton taught me well.