Responding to the questions in this brief survey will enable both The Center and the reader to obtain information about the political views of visitors to this website. This, in turn, will enable visitors to find others with similar values. All questions relate to issues of common concern in modern democracies. The survey's statistical results will be published and updated periodically.

Your particular answers, however, will be coded and kept in a safe separately from your name and address--unless you specify that you wish your name and response to be published on the Internet. All communications will be strictly confidential and will not under any circumstances be released to anyone outside The Center for the Evolution of Democracy without explicit permission of the visitor/author.

Completing the survey questionnaire also qualifies the reader to receive periodic bulletins from The Center for the Evolution of Democracy. These bulletins will contain information about the progress of activities of The Center and of communities that are participating in the Internet Democracy Project.

Space will be left at the bottom of the survey for readers to add their own comments and questions.

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In response to the following questions, please choose the one answer that best expresses your own opinion. Your selection is made by pointing and clicking in the small circle at the beginning of each possible choice.

1. The most likely cause of low voter turnout in the United States is:

   1. Many nonvoters are satisfied with the system regardless of election outcome.

   2. Many nonvoters haven't enough time either to vote or to study the issues so they can vote intelligently.

   3. Many nonvoters feel that wealthy special interests ultimately control political decision-making regardless of the popular vote.

   4. Many nonvoters are simply not interested in politics.

   5. Many nonvoters don't vote, because their interests are not represented by any of the candidates.

2. Some people feel the mass media undermine democracy because:

   1. The privately-owned mass media, seeking to maximize profits, sensationalize political accusations and disagreements while often failing to provide meaningful information.

   2. The mass media are dominated by liberals.

   3. The mass media constantly criticize legitimate authority and reward crime by publicizing it.

   4. The mass media strive too hard to present a balanced view rather than what is right.

   5. The mass media distort reality by allowing "negative campaign ads," careless and inaccurate reporting, and a bias toward multiculturalism.

3. Campaign finance reform can best be accomplished by:

   1. equating campaign donations with freedom of speech.

   2. limiting the amount of any contribution to $1000 or less.

   3. eliminating Political Action Committees(PACS).

   4. public financing of elections.

   5. putting a ceiling on campaign expenditures by candidates.

4. One of the following statements about "term limits" is clearly wrong:

   1. Incumbents are distracted from the duties of their office by having to raise money for their next election campaign.

   2. Long tenure in office tends to remove a representative from the experience of ordinary people.

   3. Career politicians tend to compromise their ideals increasingly over time.

   4. Only experienced politicians can properly manage government for us.

   5. "Term Limits" on all elective offices would enable more people to participate in democratic self-government.

5. Lobbying reform can best be accomplished by:

   1. requiring all lobbyists to register with the government.

   2. outlawing all gifts to elected representatives, their relatives, and their staff.

   3. requiring all lobbyists to be on the same low-cost budget.

   4. requiring all lobbyists to present their arguments together in a regular public forum.

   5. all of the above.

6. Homelessness:

   1. should not be resolved by political decisions or programs that cost taxpayer's money .

   2. is caused primarily by irresponsible individuals who prefer to be free.

   3. occurs primarily among people who are incompetent, drug abusers, or mentally ill.

   4. is a complex problem that could be completely resolved if sufficient political will existed.

   5. is a problem best addressed by the church and other voluntary organizations.

7. The crime problem is best addressed:

   1. preventively by programs that treat the root causes--even though such programs cost taxpayers money.

   2. by hiring more police, giving longer sentences, and building more prisons.

   3. by physical punishments that teach the criminal a permanent lesson.

   4. by expanding the death penalty.

   5. by eliminating the jury system and making the courts more efficient.

8. Taxes are:

   1. too complicated and should be simplified by introducing the "flat tax" rate.

   2. higher in the U.S. than in most other industrialized nations.

   3. too high and should be reduced along with cutting government programs.

   4. the government's only source of income.

   5. best applied as incentives in shaping a healthier society.

9. Abortion:

   1. is against the laws of God.

   2. is a woman's personal choice.

   3. is necessary for population control.

   4. is a matter for each community to decide.

   5. should be prohibited after three months gestation.

10. Welfare:

    1. is only granted to individuals and families, never to corporations.

    2. should be granted on the basis of need and trust.

    3. should only be given to those willing to work for it.

    4. works best when used with programs that assist a transition to independence.

    5. is best viewed as a form of addiction.

11. Emigration/Immigration:

    1. is a human right that should be limited only under extreme circumstances.

    2. is the primary cause of low wages and unemployment.

    3. dilutes racial homogeneity and causes increasing social division.

    4. produces significant burdens for taxpayers.

    5. is a dishonorable means of escaping poverty or oppression.

12. I would be more personally involved in politics if:

    1. I weren't already so involved.

    2. I weren't so busy with my personal or family life.

    3. there were an organization with which I could share values and a worldview.

    4. the issues were more compelling and I thought I could make a difference.

    5. there were a political leader in whom I could truly believe.

13. I would reform the mass media by:

    1. requiring each network to provide more art, science, and environmental information.

    2. nationalizing the communications industry.

    3. adopting and enforcing communication laws based on solid religious truths.

    4. making the media corporations liable for reporting lies and half-truths.

    5. distributing bandwidth in equal thirds to private corporations, nonprofit corporations, and to governments, then periodically electing equal representation for all three to an independent Council that would regulate the media.

14. The increasing gap between rich and poor:

    1. is dangerous to every civil, democratic society but could be reversed by democratic means.

    2. is due to an increasing divergence in genetic competence.

    3. is a global phenomenon no worse in the U.S. than in other countries.

    4. is morally unjustifiable, though little can be done about it.

    5. is a natural and inevitable cost of the free market system.

15. The educational system:

    1. should be entirely funded by parents whose children are in school.

    2. would be better if completely privatized.

    3. could best be improved by paying teachers more and giving them more freedom to teach what children need.

    4. ought to more thoroughly imbue each student with religious values.

    5. ought to teach more conflict resolution skills, participation in democratic problem-solving, and respect for the environment.

16. The purpose of life:

    1. can only be decided by God.

    2. must be chosen by each individual, each community, and eventually by the whole species within limits imposed by biological necessity.

    3. is a philosophical and largely irrelevant issue.

    4. can be ascertained only by a study of biology and evolution.

    5. is to serve one's nation, one's people, and one's God.

17. Environmental problems:

    1. are caused primarily by overpopulation and the urban concentration of resources.

    2. are best left to corporate experts who have the money and know how to deal with them.

    3. may be a problem in the future but should not overly concern us now.

    4. will much more seriously affect the quality of all human life within the first half of the 21st century.

    5. can best be resolved by creating a system of tax incentives combined with thorough educational and media reform.

18. Health care:

    1. is best left to a freemarket mixture of private doctors, insurance companies, and the government as last resort.

    2. is a human right and all people should have equal access to good health care.

    3. costs could be reduced by limiting care to people with self-destructive lifestyles.

    4. could best be improved by a single-payer health plan combined with tax refunds for good health.

    5. has been improving since "managed care."

19. The principle political conflict in most modern democracies is:

    1. between the rights of minorities and the rights of majorities.

    2. between racial and/or ethnic groups.

    3. between the forces promoting private profits and those supporting the common good.

    4. over issues relating to religions and religious values.

    5. about issues relating to gender.

20. One of the following statements is not true:

    1. The human species is evolving toward a global ecological catastrophe.

    2. Wealthy special interests slow the public's recognition of ecosystemic problems.

    3. Our common interest will require zero growth in population.

    4. There is convincing evidence for a human cause of global warming.

    5. Environmental scientists generally exaggerate the dangers of environmental problems.

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In the space below, please enter any comments or questions you may have about any of the CED Web pages. If you are interested in joining an Internet Democracy Project (IDP) community, you are also invited to enter information about yourself and your personal values, interests, hobbies, and/or convictions. This information will be published, according to your instructions, on the IDP page. The purpose of sharing information with others in this manner, of course, is to enable individuals with similar beliefs and values to find each other and to begin building new, more democratic communities.

In addition, you can use the CED email address at the bottom of this page to type in comments or a short essay for publication on the CED website. [Copyrights and copyright protection, for those concerned, remain the responsibility of each author.] Be sure to include your name and email address and/or fill in the name and address information(if you wish) at the top of this form:

This Webpage is still under development. At present, detailed and immediate feedback is not possible, but the form can be submitted electronically, or you can fill in the text areas, print the form, then mark your answers to each of the twenty questions and mail to:

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