The Political Spectrum

We touched on the political spectrum in class today and I felt I would give my own interpretation.

There have been thousands of explanations of the political spectrum. Sites such as Moral Politics and Political Compass give their own unique interpretations of the spectrum. Political compass divides beliefs between "authoritarian" v. "libertarian" and "left v. right." It sees the divide between left and right to be economic, while authoritarianism and libertarianism are seen to be differing levels social governance. Moral Politics on the other hand draws a line between moral dimensions. Moral order is seen to be how much moral authority one believes another has over others, which defines which political ideal one ascribes to. Moral rules is seen to be what controls must be put into place in order to achieve that ideal, whether you believe in collective or individual initiatives. In the end, most systems balance an idea of individualism v. collectivism or self-sufficience v. state-reliance.

I have provided a diagram of my own system below.

I divide the political spectrum into social controls and economic controls. The majority of Americans are centrists whose opinions do not stray far from the moderate center. They believe in a mixed economy with varying levels of government intervention and balanced social controls that provide ample protection while providing a certain level of freedom. Populism is an ideology that stresses government control of both social and economic freedoms. Statism and communism fall within the realm of populism. The opposite of this, libertarianism, is an ideology that stresses self sufficiency and individual rights. Survivalism, objectivism, minarchism and anarchism are all encompassed by libertarianism. These two ideologies are more extreme than conservatism and liberalism because they stress the freedom or control of both axises.

Conservatism and liberalism are the most popular ideologies in America and are represented by the Republican Party and the Democratic Party respectively. There is a battle over whether social or economic concerns are most important and which should be regulated raging in America. Conservatives argue for social controls while supporting a free market system. Liberals argue for economic controls while supporting a free society. Fascism is an extreme form of conservatism while socialism is an extreme form of liberalism. To be a conservative or liberal in America is to lean in either direction, it is rare to find someone who is purely one or the other. The Health Care Industry is a current example as to how these ideologies come into play. To properly understand each side's reasoning, one must understand the issue. It seems odd that Conservatives would be against Health Care if it was a social control, but it must be realized that it is economic. Health Care is a commodity to be bought or sold in a market or distributed by government. Conservatives argue that a free market is more efficient and that it is an individual responsibility to provide one's own health care. Liberals argue that government regulation will protect individuals and ensure that health care is provided for them.

It is important to remember that a state's political system does not define it's position on the political spectrum, only it's policies. This is largely forgotten by other systems. A military dictatorship does not have to regulate an economy or impose strict restrictions on its citizens. On the other hand, a representative democracy can strictly regulate an economy and impose strict restrictions on its citizens. I have listed four ideologies: communism, fascism, socialism and anarchy. These are not political systems, they are ideologies. Communism is a belief that an economy as well as the lives of its citizens should be regulated by the state. Fascism is a belief that the lives of citizens should be strictly regulated while the economy should not. Socialism is a belief that an economy should be strictly regulated while citizens should live freely. Anarchists believe that there should be no regulations on either economy or citizens. The world has never seen a pure form of any of these ideologies manifest into reality.