(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 26 2020, @10:23AM
by Anonymous Coward
on Friday June 26 2020, @10:23AM (#1012810)
There should be more than one axis, but all of the axes are wider than we often consider, essentially ranging from anarchist (0) to totalitarian (1), or from no government (0) to absolute government control (1). I'd say three axes are appropriate, though it might be more complex than that:
1) Social issues, ranging from no government restrictions (0) all the way to the most repressive regimes you can think of (1). 2) Economic issues, ranging from zero government regulations (0) all the way to an absolute planned economy (1). 3) Foreign policy, ranging from complete isolationism (0) all the way to total interventionism (1).
The first two axes are fairly common, but I don't think foreign policy fits nicely on those two axes. It can also be even more complex than this. Both Libertarians and Republicans would be quite a bit closer to 0 than 1 on economic issues, but there are differences. Republicans support free movement of goods but support restrictions on the movement of labor. If there's a party that truly supports open borders, it's the Libertarian Party. Economists often view labor as being subject to the same forces of supply and demand that apply to goods. Republicans and Libertarians agree on economic policy toward goods but not on labor. So it's more complicated than the three axes, but I think it's a good start. The third axis also is useful in distinguishing the USSR from the DPRK, for example. The USSR would be pretty close to 1 on all three axes. The DPRK would be similar on social and economic issues, but are very close to 0 on foreign policy.
Libertarians are much closer to 0 than to 1 on all three axes. I think there are a lot of Americans who would agree with Libertarians on social issues and foreign policy, but want more government involvement on economic issues. The problem is that the US doesn't have a party fitting that description, so a lot of those people end up voting for Democrats. There's quite a bit of common ground with Libertarians on social issues and foreign policy, but a lot of divergence on economic issues.
I agree it's fundamentally about more or less government, but it's helpful to divide this across multiple issues.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 26 2020, @10:23AM
There should be more than one axis, but all of the axes are wider than we often consider, essentially ranging from anarchist (0) to totalitarian (1), or from no government (0) to absolute government control (1). I'd say three axes are appropriate, though it might be more complex than that:
1) Social issues, ranging from no government restrictions (0) all the way to the most repressive regimes you can think of (1).
2) Economic issues, ranging from zero government regulations (0) all the way to an absolute planned economy (1).
3) Foreign policy, ranging from complete isolationism (0) all the way to total interventionism (1).
The first two axes are fairly common, but I don't think foreign policy fits nicely on those two axes. It can also be even more complex than this. Both Libertarians and Republicans would be quite a bit closer to 0 than 1 on economic issues, but there are differences. Republicans support free movement of goods but support restrictions on the movement of labor. If there's a party that truly supports open borders, it's the Libertarian Party. Economists often view labor as being subject to the same forces of supply and demand that apply to goods. Republicans and Libertarians agree on economic policy toward goods but not on labor. So it's more complicated than the three axes, but I think it's a good start. The third axis also is useful in distinguishing the USSR from the DPRK, for example. The USSR would be pretty close to 1 on all three axes. The DPRK would be similar on social and economic issues, but are very close to 0 on foreign policy.
Libertarians are much closer to 0 than to 1 on all three axes. I think there are a lot of Americans who would agree with Libertarians on social issues and foreign policy, but want more government involvement on economic issues. The problem is that the US doesn't have a party fitting that description, so a lot of those people end up voting for Democrats. There's quite a bit of common ground with Libertarians on social issues and foreign policy, but a lot of divergence on economic issues.
I agree it's fundamentally about more or less government, but it's helpful to divide this across multiple issues.