The Political Spectrum
Chapter 5: “Political Parties”
www.politicalcompass.org
Where did you fall?
Democrats
Republicans
What are the problems with this linear representation of
political philosophy?
Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot
and… Gandhi?
Pinochet and…
Rand?
Regulation
Regulation
Freedom
Freedom
“Extreme/Radical”
“Adamant”
“Moderate”
American
Politics
Complete Economic and
Social regulation.
Complete Economic
regulation, complete Social
freedom.
Complete Economic freedom,
complete Social regulation.
Complete Economic and
Social freedom.
Economic Issues
Left (“Communism”)
Right (“Capitalism”)
 Government regulated marketplace
 No gov’t regulation of the marketplace
 High taxation to enable gov’t spending
 Limited or no taxation
 Limitations on ownership of property
 Private ownership of property
Social Issues
Authoritarianism (Statism)
 Conscription to maintain armed forces
 Regulation of social behaviors and issues
 Government censorship of speech and media
Libertarianism (Anarchism)
 No (or very small) standing army
 No government regulation of social behaviors or issues
 Free speech and media
Josef Stalin, the USSR and “Stalinism”…
Noam Chomsky and “Libertarian
Socialism”…
“I'm not a dictator.
It's just that I have
a grumpy face.”
Augusto Pinochet and his Chilean
Presidency…
“…the police, to protect men from criminals – the armed services,
to protect men from foreign invaders – the law courts, to settle
disputes among men according to objectively defined laws…"
Ayn Rand and “Objectivism”…
Where do we
typically designate
European countries
on the political
spectrum?
NOW it all makes sense…
American Politics