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Lifestyle Socialism Test

The German left-wing politician Sahra Wagenknecht has caused a stir by calling many of those on her own side “lifestyle socialists”—a term she opposes with traditional socialists.

According to Wagenknecht, lifestyle socialists neglect traditional socialist concerns regarding social and economic problems in favor of individualism, cosmopolitanism, and moralistic judgments on culture and language.

Would you qualify as a lifestyle socialist in Wagenknecht’s view? For each of the following statements, indicate how well it applies to you below.

Question 1 of 41

It is very important for me to be a good ally to the LGBTQIA+ cause.

Disagree
Agree

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The IDRlabs Lifestyle Socialism Test was developed by IDRlabs. The IDRlabs Lifestyle Socialism Test is based on the work and thought of Sahra Wagenknecht, who authored the book Against the Self-Righteous, Campus 2021. The present test is not associated with Sahra Wagenknecht or her political party, Die Linke.

The test delivers feedback such as the following: Not a Lifestyle Socialist: You are not a lifestyle socialist. It puzzles you how lifestyle socialists have obtained such a prominent voice in the public discourse, and why so many people are apparently deeply devoted to these views of human nature and society that you do not share. In your eyes, the devotees of lifestyle socialism are not only deluded but also disturbingly aggressive in their attempts to silence those who oppose their views. You find it unsettling to see these attitudes gaining a foothold in the public debate, and you regard the aggressive censorship of divergent opinions as reactionary and anti-democratic. You are estranged by the lifestyle socialists’ attempts to over-moralize everything and to call out their political opponents as inherently evil. Your own outlook is more pragmatic, and you are unlikely to let yourself be convinced by what you regard as hysterics and the latest self-righteous fads. You hope that the public discourse will soon return to greater maturity and sanity.

Or: A Bit of a Lifestyle Socialist: While you may be left-leaning and agree that social inequalities extend beyond the questions of economic redistribution and class, you do not take a definite stand on what the lifestyle socialists proclaim to be other oppressive systems of power. To you, it is possible that they are on to something—perhaps we really ought to reconsider our attitudes toward the marginalized minorities, our understanding of gender, and the way we exploit the resources of the planet. On the other hand, you are not entirely convinced that the lifestyle socialists have really figured out how to solve the problems that they so tirelessly call attention to. And it is perhaps hard to escape the suspicion that some of them may have disingenuous motives. Most likely, you are not a fan of the lifestyle socialists’ tactic of using witch hunts and social ostracism to quell opposition to their agenda. You prefer a public debate in which all voices can be heard—even those that you might disagree with.

As the publishers of this lifestyle socialism personality test, which allows you to screen yourself for the indicators of this trait, broken down into the components of progressivism, cosmopolitanism, and environmentalism, we have striven to make the test as reliable and valid as possible by subjecting it to statistical controls and validation. However, free online quizzes such as the present lifestyle socialist test are provided entirely “as-is,” are highly generalized by design, and do not purport to offer professional appraisals or advice. Although constructed by experts in the field of psychological testing, this test is not a professional assessment or recommendation of any kind. For more information about any of our online tests and quizzes, please consult our Terms of Service.

Why Use This Test?

1. Free. This Lifestyle Socialism test is delivered to you free of charge and will allow you to ascertain the extent to which your worldview is in alignment with what Sahra Wagenknecht calls lifestyle socialism.

2. First of Its Kind. The test on this page is the first of its kind to attempt to quantify a person’s overall level of agreement with the concept of lifestyle socialism as detailed in the book Against the Self-Righteous.

3. Statistical controls. Test scores are logged into an anonymized database. Statistical analysis of the test is conducted to ensure maximum accuracy and validity of the test scores.

4. Made by professionals. The authors of this free Lifestyle Socialism test are certified in the use of various personality tests and have worked professionally with polling, politics, and personality testing.