The Political Compass
Dear Reader,
In this blog, I will study various issues from the different perspectives of the political compass. This is done to give me and the reader a wholesome understanding of the issue.
I could have chosen any other way of getting a similar understanding, such as an analysis based on economics or culture. However, I believe that politics is what most impacts society and so intend to focus my study from that viewpoint.
The following are the mainstream political ideologies: Left, Right, Centre, Authoritarian and Libertarian.
In the French Revolution, the National Assembly was divided into two groups sitting away from each other. The ones who supported the revolution and opposed the king were on the left. In the National Assembly during the French Revolution, the people who supported the king and opposed the revolution sat on the right.
From then on the left has been the ideology of change — political, economic and social — and the right has been the ideology of tradition — political, economic and social.
Leftism:
The left is an ideology with various philosophies. It believes in the idea that the welfare of the people is the ultimate goal of any society. It believes that society must intervene in the economic, political and social lives of the individual citizens.
It does this by removing private ownership of property and wealth and sharing both amongst all the members of the society. This is the economic ideology of socialism. Leftists also believe that interventions must be made in the social lives of the citizens to remove social inequities brought about by discrimination and prejudice.
Politically leftists are divided by how they want to achieve the above-mentioned goals. They are divided into authoritarian leftists and libertarian leftists.
Authoritarian leftists believe that the government must be used to achieve these goals. The citizens need not give their voluntary consent to such goals. In these systems, the government owns all the national resources and the means of production. All business is run by the government through public companies and private companies are not allowed to function. This is called communism.
Libertarian leftists believe that society must be used to achieve these goals. The citizens must give their voluntary consent to such goals. In these systems, the community collectively owns all the national resources and means of production. Businesses are run by communes or trusteeships. The government does not engage in business. This is called libertarian socialism.
In international politics leftism advocates for the principle of internationalism whereby nations put international interests ahead of national interests. They believe that national security must be preserved through diplomacy. They also believe in alliances between countries.
The following philosophies are part of left-wing politics(both authoritarian and libertarian): socialism, feminism, minority rights, universal health care and education, economic and social equality and secularism.
The Right:
Rightism is a political ideology with various philosophies. It believes that the security of the people should be the ultimate goal of a society. It believes that society must not intervene in the economic, political and social lives of the individual citizens.
It does this by ensuring the private ownership of property and wealth and allowing each individual to keep what he has. This is the economic ideology of capitalism. Rightists believe that the government should not intervene in the social lives of the citizens of the country and that social inequalities caused by discrimination and prejudice must not be challenged.
Politically, rightists are also divided into authoritarian and libertarian rightists.
Authoritarian rightists believe that the state must be used to achieve their goals. This is done by preventing the citizens from owning arms and ammunition and only allowing the government to own such. In right-wing authoritarian countries, the government can violate the civil liberties of the citizens in the interest of national and domestic security. In such countries, the government gives certain private corporations the right to own national resources but not others. This is called State-run Capitalism.
Libertarian rightists believe that the state must not be used to achieve their goals. This is done by allowing the citizens to own arms and ammunition along with the government. In right-wing libertarian countries, the government cannot violate the civil liberties of the citizens in the interest of national and domestic security. In such countries, the government gives opportunities to all private corporations to own national resources. This is called Free-Market Capitalism.
In international politics rightism advocates for the principle of nationalism whereby nations put national interests ahead of international interests. They believe that national security must be preserved through the use, or the threat of use, of force.
The following philosophies make up right-wing politics (both authoritarian and libertarian): capitalism, gender roles, majoritarianism, privatisation of health care and education, economic and social hierarchy and theocracy.
Authoritarianism and libertarianism were not identified out of the French Revolution.
Authoritarian:
Authoritarianism is an ideology composed of various philosophies. It believes that the ultimate goal of society is to maximise the power of the state. It believes that the State must control the political, economic and social lives of the people.
It does this by limiting or removing the rights of the people of the country. The people are only allowed to do or speak what the government has given them permission to act or speak. The government’s role is to determine how individuals can exercise their rights. In an authoritarian country, the people are referred to as subjects and not as citizens.
Authoritarianism can be either socialistic or capitalistic as previously explained.
In international politics authoritarianism advocates for the subordination of the rights of individual nations to the authority of one national empire, or to an international body. It believes that all countries must follow the same foreign and domestic policies and that the dominant power can use force against those that differ.
The following philosophies make up authoritarian politics— Totalitarianism, imperialism, hegemony, statism, collectivism and interventionism.
Libertarian:
Libertarianism is an ideology composed of various philosophies. It believes that the ultimate goal of a society is to maximise the liberty of the people. It believes that the State must have limited or no control over the political, economic and social lives of the citizens.
It does this by putting limits on the power of the government. It allows people to exercise their rights freely without needing permission or approval from the government. The government’s role is to make sure that no citizen violates the rights of another. In a libertarian country, people are referred to as citizens and not as subjects.
Libertarianism can be either socialistic or capitalistic as previously mentioned.
In international politics libertarianism advocates for the protection of the rights of individual nations from infringement by one national empire or an international body. It believes that each country must be allowed to pursue its own domestic and foreign policies as long as they do not violate the rights of another country.
The following philosophies make up libertarian politics (both leftist and rightist): Democracy, nationalism, anarchism, individualism and non-interventionism.
Centre:
Centrism is an ideology composed of various philosophies. It believes that the ultimate goal of a society is to achieve all the goals of the previously mentioned ideologies; to maximise social welfare, to preserve the security of the country, to enhance the power of the state and to protect the rights of the people.
It does this by doing the following; Allowing private and public companies to engage in business, creating social welfare schemes of the government and promoting businesses, reducing inequality while preserving traditional hierarchies. The government’s role is to balance the interests of all of the citizens of the country and to make sure that no political ideology gains more power than the others.
Centrists can be biased towards the left or right. Such people are said to be on the centre-left and centre-right respectively.
In international politics, centrism is the ideology which balances the interests of each nation with the interests of the international community. This is done through diplomacy between individual countries and the establishment of international organisations.
The following philosophies make up the ideology of centrism (both centre-left and centre-right): neo-liberalism, neo-conservatism, moderation, mixed economy, separation of powers.
My Political Ideology:
I am a centre-right moderate social libertarian. On the political compass, I score +2.38 on the economic scale and -0.21 on the social scale. I believe that the government should not interfere in the social lives of people and that it should not restrict their economic freedoms and political rights.
I believe that countries should not interfere in each other’s affairs and am generally anti-war and pro-diplomacy. However, I do believe that a strong military is imperative for a nation’s security. I also believe that international bodies such as the U.N and the W.T.O are necessary although they should not infringe upon the domestic affairs of countries.
Thank you for Reading.
