The Political Spectrum

To most people, if you imagine a horizontal line on a sheet of paper, Communists would be on the extreme left and the Nazis on the extreme right with all others in between, but a few years ago I read an article which suggested that instead of a straight line, a circle would be better, a clock face. At the twelve o'clock position would be the centrists, the Liberals in Canada, Democrats in the United States. But not all Liberals and Democrats are the same. So I would put left-leaning Liberals between 11 and 12 o'clock, and right leaning ones between 12 and 1. Continuing on the right, we could put "Red Tories" between 1 and 2. These are people who are fiscally conservative but socially progressive. Then we place the traditional conservatives between 2 and 4, giving them more room because there are more of them. The "neo-cons" would be placed between 4 and 5. The term "neo-con" (new conservative) has been used derisively to describe the likes of Dick Cheney, Paul Wolfowitz, Donald Rumsfeld and all that crowd, along with Stephen Harper and members of the former Reform party in Canada. The dictionary describes "neo-conservative" as a former liberal who has changed his mind, but I'm not aware of any of the foregoing having been liberal at any time. Which leaves me a bit confused on the subject, but let it pass. Beyond 5 o'clock we find the crazies, race baiters, religious nut-cakes, Arian Nation, then the fascists and Nazis. At 6 o'clock would be Adolf Hitler.

Now for the left side of the clock. As there are not as many groupings here, we'll have to spread them out. Between 11 and 9 we can put social democrats (NDP in Canda). These are both fiscally and socially progressive, believing in a co-operative society. Between 9 and 7 are socialists, with communists closer to 6 o'clock. At 6:00 would be Joe Stalin, but guess who is already there. How do you do, Herr Hitler.

That is the whole idea of this clock paradigm - there is precious little difference between the two extremes, Communism and Naziism.

The further you get from the top of the clock, the more you see doctrine and ideology shaping policy. From the social democrats on down on the left, from the traditional conservatives on down on the right, solutions come from the book, their own bibles, in contrast to the liberals who tend to look upon situations without preconseptions.

So we get out our dictionary again and look up "liberal". "Favorable to progress or reform. Not limited to or by established, traditional, orthodox, or authoritarian attitudes, views, or dogmas: free from bigotry." So says Webster. These are my kind of people, although I am somewhat of a Red Tory.