The Left-Right Political Scale

We commonly hear views in the news being described as “left” or “right” in their slant or bias. Just what does this mean?

The left-right description uses zero-dimensional division and a one-dimensional scale. In and of itself, this generates distortion and misunderstanding. Let’s look at a number of dichotomies that often come up in the media; they each can be placed on an axis using the same centre point:

As can be seen, some of these pairs line up with each other fairly well on a linear scale, but others do not, yet the media (and most of us) persist in using a left-right spectrum to describe, promote, or put down various ideas and interpretations of world events. What would happen if we allowed each of these potential axes to exist in free space? Probably we would end up with something that was much better represented by three dimensions – a sphere, for instance. Perhaps four or five dimensions would do it even better?

In any case, let’s look at the consequences of reducing the number of dimensions on the degree to which a simplistic orientation applies. If we project a sphere onto a plane, we lose one dimension and go from three to two dimensions; the sphere now becomes a circle. If we view that circle (plane) on edge, we get a line (one dimension). If we look at a line end-on, we get a point (zero dimension). In each case we lose resolution and increase the likelihood of misrepresenting the range of views we are trying to describe. And most political discussions rely on the one- or zero-dimensional views to categorize the views they are talking about.

Another important question: what does centrist or centre mean in terms of political viewpoint or media bias? There have been a number of attempts to define this, but in each case, it depends on the context and the views of those defining where the centre lies. And the centre is half way between the extremes; so the positions of the extremes determines where the centre is. It does not define the desirability or validity of the centre view.

For instance, there is a concept in American politics called radical centrism:

Two-axis political spectrum chart with an economic axis and a socio-cultural axis, and ideologically representative colors

And another attempt to define the desirable centre is Christian democracy:

“In practice, Christian democracy is often considered centre-right on cultural, social and moral issues, and is a supporter of social conservatism, but it is considered centre-left “with respect to economic and labor issues, civil rights, and foreign policy” as well as the environment. Specifically with regard to its fiscal stance, Christian democracy advocates a social market economy.”

A repository of information on activists and anyone supporting them in any way originated in New Zealand. It conveniently conflates all those interested in social justice issues as communists. The distortion inherent in using a one-dimensional political spectrum is clearly evident.