The political compass test is an online test that asks people a series of questions on their political views, giving them 4 options on how to answer the questions: strongly agree, agree, disagree and strongly disagree. Once the questions are answered, the website uses an algorithm to compile the results and give the user a rough estimate of where they land on the political compass. The political compass is separate into left and right and authoritarian and libertarian as seen below.

The political compass test has received criticism for distilling a plurality of beliefs down to 4 simplistic labels that tend to paint people with a broad brush. There are other online tests such as 8values and 9axes that attempt to quantify ones political beliefs in more depth and plot them out on more axes, however these tests haven’t enjoyed as much mainstream success as the political compass test. The popularity of the political compass test as a meme is a result of it’s simplicity: By distilling beliefs down to 4 quadrants, we get 4 generalizations that each carry their own stereotypes. These stereotypes are then meme-able, and we can see this clearly on the subreddit r/PoliticalCompassMemes. On the subreddit we can see memes playing into the common stereotypes that we’d expect from each quadrant. Their views are generalized into a caricature, for example, we can see the libertarian right normally depicted as hyper-capitalists, while the libertarian left are seen as nature loving, peace loving hippies.

Looking at my results for both the political compass test and the 9axes test we see this:

The 9 axes test gives me 9 different axes and a scale to quantify each one. This means overall results can vary drastically between individuals leading to the perception of fewer shared values. In the political compass test I am immediately lumped into the libertarian right; one of four distinct groups, who share certain beliefs, that can  be caricaturized through a meme. In a way the political compass test splits individuals up into tribes and this can clearly be seen on the subreddit where posters can attach a label to their name that shows which quadrant or half they lie on. They get to proudly represent their tribe of, say “left-wing libertarian”, and can post a meme that pokes fun at the right. This meme would then be upvoted by other “left-wing authoritarians” as it coincides with their general beliefs. (example below, look at the label)

The simplistic format of political compass memes makes it easy to understand and easy to produce one, which is why it can be a good gateway meme, introducing newcomers to very basic political concepts. The format also adaptable, so it can keep up with developments in the news; for example looking at the subreddit now, we can see a lot of memes based on the 2020 election, but the content can easily be changed, within the same format, to make a meme on whatever political issues is the most pressing at that time.