Political Spectrum: Definition, Chart, Examples, & Left Versus Right
Introduction
Political Spectrum: A model used to classify political actors, parties, or ideologies along one or more axes.
Originates from the French Revolution, associating left with ideologies favoring equality, and right with those favoring hierarchy.
Primarily used in Western countries to describe political ideologies.
Historical Background
Origin: 1789 French National Assembly in Versailles.
Left: Revolutionary values, egalitarianism.
Right: Support for monarchy, traditional and hierarchical values.
Cultural Influence: Right associated with strength and stability, Left with danger and disorder.
Theoretical Developments
L.L. Thurstone: Used factor analysis to classify American political ideology into two axes: Radicalism-Conservatism and Nationalism-Internationalism.
Hans Eysenck: Proposed a two-axis model:
R-axis: Radicalism-Conservatism.
T-axis: Tender-minded vs. Tough-minded, focusing on authoritarianism.
Example: Stalinist communists (left) and Nazis (right) both considered tough-minded.
Modern Analysis
Two-Dimensional Models: Influenced by Eysenck and others.
Gallup and Political Compass: Use social and economic ideas to place people on a spectrum.
Controversies: Critiques on scientific basis and propagation of libertarian ideas.
Internet Meme Culture: Parodies and stereotypes based on political spectrum models.
Tools for Analysis
DW-NOMINATE: A method comparing U.S. legislators based on voting behavior.
Identifies correlation with left-right axis.
Secondary dimensions reflect issues like slavery, immigration, and civil rights.
Single-Axis Relevance
U.S. Politics: Increased polarization simplifies political differences into a one-dimensional spectrum.
Pew Research: Develops typology grouping based on party alignment and internal party disagreements.
Places extreme adherents at ends, moderate supporters in the middle.
Conclusion
Despite various models and complexities, the single-axis left-right dimension remains a predominant method for describing political ideologies, particularly in polarized environments like the U.S.