The American Political Spectrum

A commonly used term when talking about politics is the idea of the "political spectrum". Typically in American politics it is talked about as ranging from left to right, with Republicans on the right and Democrats on the left. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren have been depicted by much of the American media as "far left" politicians. Democrats are regularly called socialists by conservative critics, and when I volunteered for Text for Bernie, people would regularly reply by calling me a communist. So, the picture of the political spectrum that conservatives want to sell you sounds simple: Republicans on the right, and Democrats on the far left. However, that isn't really accurate. 

 

For this post, I'm going to be using information concerning the political compass, which uses the traditional left-right economic axis and a social axis that goes from authoritarian to libertarian. If you don't already know about this and you want to learn more or find out what your own political compass looks like, go to www.politicalcompass.org/ to read about it and to take the political compass test for yourself. If you don't want to do any more reading, here's a basic explanation. If you're on the right, you believe that businesses should not be regulated and you support free market economics and capitalism. If you're on the left you oppose capitalism and believe that businesses should be regulated and the rich should be taxed to create a more equitable society. If you're authoritarian, you believe the government should have more control over people's lives. If you're libertarian, you believe the government should have less control over you and your individual rights. Once again, this was a very basic explanation, and I'm sure most people won't need it. Anyway, on to explaining the problem with the American political spectrum.

This image is a political compass with all the 2020 presidential candidates on it, put together by politicalcompass.org. See if you can pick out individual names and where they are. As you can see, Trump, predictably, is very far right, and very authoritarian. He is, in fact, further right than Hitler was, while less authoritarian. Now, find Sanders. He is the furthest left of the serious presidential candidates, but he isn't really that far left. He's very close to the center. Warren is almost exactly on the center, but she has been criticized as "too far left" and a "socialist". The authoritarian right section of this political compass is full. Biden is nearly as far right as Trump. In fact, the difference between Sanders and Biden is greater than the difference between Trump and Biden. Bloomberg is further right than Trump. There is a cluster of Democrats in this authoritarian right space, despite the fact that conservative pundits would have you believe the Democratic party is controlled by ultra-left anti-American socialists. Biden has been called a "moderate", but if you look at where he is on the compass, he is objectively not one. He is a member of the far right, he just isn't as hateful and authoritarian as Trump, so he is the lesser of the two evils.

Now, here is a picture of my political compass. As you can see, I am much further left than any presidential candidate that was running this year. To some, this may seem like I am a complete radical whose views are insanely fringe, but the truth is, a large segment of the American people are in the same range as me. If you look back at the political compass with all the presidential candidates on it, you'll notice that large sections of the compass are completely empty. There are voters in these sections. And, for the most part, people with beliefs like mine are just cut out of the political process. There is a reason why Bernie Sanders got so much widespread support before the DNC worked their anti-democracy magic: he was appealing to a group of people that nobody ever appeals to. The conservative idea of what the American political compass looks like is a lie. There are not two parties, one for the left and one for the right, there is one party, masquerading as two, and it is for the rich establishment. Both the Republicans and the Democrats want you to think that Bernie Sanders is a radical socialist with unreasonable demands, because they don't want you to realize that the government is controlled by two parties that disagree on a few issues while continuing to support the current oppressive system. To many establishment Democrats, Bernie Sanders is a bigger threat than Donald Trump, because Bernie opposes the establishment, at least to some extent. Trump keeps the rich rich and continues to funnel money into the military and policing, and Democrats can sit idly by and watch it happen. 

There is a myth that the parties have become utterly polarized. But if you really look at where the parties stand, you'll see that they aren't really different. I will probably always vote for a Democrat rather than a Republican, because I support women's rights and LGBT rights, and Democrats tend to be better on a few social issues like that, but I will also readily vote for anybody who is further left than the Democratic party. Don't let yourself be convinced that people like Bernie are radical. Bernie is closer to the center than Biden is. Bernie's policies should be the bare minimum for any party claiming to be on the left. 

Now that I'm done with a long, boring blog post that I don't think many will read anyway, I ask you to consider what your beliefs are. Take the political compass test if you haven't. Read books by people whose views interest you. Most importantly, broaden your political views past what the establishment parties have told you is possible or reasonable. They don't always have your best interests in mind, and your beliefs should be based on what you think is right, not what a millionaire politician thinks is feasible.