When discussing government and politics, many people have a false notion of what constitutes “left-wing” and “right-wing.” Some believe that the position of a particular government in the political spectrum is based on personal beliefs of the leader, group, or political party in power. They think that religious zealots are on the right and secularism is on the left; proponents of capital punishment are on the right and those opposed are on the left; nationalism is right and indifference to one’s country is left. However, it is the end that determines the type of government, not the motives of the controlling party.

The easiest way to determine right from left is to examine the results of the government policies in each. When this is done, the answer comes down to one question: How much control does the government have over the individual?

The spectrum follows from left to right – the extreme left is absolute control by the state and the extreme right is absolutely no law or government. Totalitarianism is as extreme left as government gets and anarchy is as extreme right. All other governments fall between those two.

Totalitarianism is the concept that the citizen ought to be entirely subject to an absolute state authority. Nearly all totalitarian states are characterized by autocracy and an authoritarian leader such as a monarch or dictator. Autocratic regimes, in which one person possesses unlimited power, are typically referred to as dictatorships. Monarchies are usually not totalitarian, but – traditionally speaking – they are typically authoritarian, where a concentration of power resides within a leader not lawfully or constitutionally responsible to the people.

Some totalitarian states will refer to themselves as a “republic” – but this is a very crude mischaracterization of reality. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (U.S.S.R.) was one example of totalitarian government and the People’s Republic of China is another. These governments supported communist ideals, but communism itself is not totalitarian – it just has to be implemented by totalitarian means. Marxist philosophy illustrates how the state has to assume control of nearly all social and economic aspects of a society in order to create and maintain a communist nation. Marxism is the epitome of communism by totalitarianism.

Totalitarianism is not always communist, but essentially all communist governments are totalitarian and consequently fall on the extreme left of the political spectrum.

Just slightly to the right of totalitarianism is fascism. Fascism is a political philosophy in which nation and race are often praised above the individual and is characterized by severe economic and social regimentation, violent suppression of opposition, and an autocratic government by a dictatorial leader. For all intents and purposes, fascism and totalitarianism can be considered one and the same. The only aspect that divides these two is the fact that the definition of totalitarianism is broad and fascism less so. Both ultimately lead to practically the same end – total state control over the general population.

Nazism is a perfect example of a fascist state. Most people consider fascism and Nazism as a right-wing brand of government, but considering the makeup of the political spectrum, this type of placement would completely muddle the definition of what is left and what is right. This leads to circular spectrums or to charts with an additional axis, which divides the spectrum into one social axis and one economic – thus leaving a four-square chart that does little to make the difference between left and right unmistakable. For purposes of simplicity – and accuracy – fascism will remain on the side of the spectrum where absolute state control resides.

To the right of fascism, but still on the left, is socialism. Socialism is a form of government in which private property is either severely limited or does not exist and the government owns and manages both the means of production and the distribution of goods. Socialist governments can be controlled by elected representatives and do not entirely direct social aspects of society. In Marxist theory, socialism is a transitional stage between capitalism and communism. In essence, socialism is a mix between democratic and totalitarian principles.

Democracy, which could be considered the center of the spectrum, falls just to the right of socialism but to the left of a republic. Democracy is nothing more than government by the people and is subject to the rule of the majority. Democracies have free elections for representatives and/or a head of state and rights are typically afforded to the citizenry, but the laws can be changed by a simple majority vote at any time. In a democratic government, the rights of the minority are not guaranteed by foundational laws.

The United States is not a democracy. Our Founding Fathers realized the dangers of democracy and warned against it often. Over a half century later, in the Manifesto of the Communist Party, Karl Marx identified democracy as the starting point for achieving a communist state:

“We have seen [above] that the first step in the revolution by the working class is to raise the proletariat to the position of ruling class, to win the battle of democracy.

The proletariat will use its political supremacy to wrest, by degrees, all capital from the bourgeoisie, to centralize all instruments of production in the hands of the State, i.e., of the proletariat organized as the ruling class; and to increase the total of productive forces as rapidly as possible.”

The strategy to win the battle of democracy and to begin the journey down the road to socialism is to gain majority control of the democratic government and eventually transfer capital and wealth, without despotic practices, and then implement the socialist and communist policies. Without any legal basis for protections and a government established to prevent this type of transfer of power and wealth, there is nothing that can be done, short of force, to stop it. This is when tyranny rears its ugly head – when one side is trying to implement its brand of government to prevent the other from taking over but cannot win by democratic means alone, and the other has the numbers to win the battle of democracy but can’t convince their opponents to comply by merely passing laws that will deprive them of previously held rights.

This is why democracy was despised by the men who created our Republic…the type of government that happens to be next on the spectrum.

To the right of democracy, but not at the extreme right, is the republican form of government. A republic is a government in which supreme power resides with the people and is carried out by elected officials (representatives) who are responsible to their constituents and govern according to law. In a republic, the people afford power to the government and have the right to take that power away. It is said to be governed according to the rule of law, not the rule of man. The rights of all people are protected whether they are in the majority or not.

Some specific types of republican government include libertarianism (the philosophy that advocates the doctrine of free will and maximizing individual liberty while minimizing state controls) and its counterpart that advocates even less government, minarchism (government should only exist to protect the individual rights of liberty and property).

The capitalist economy is a sign of freedom and liberty befitting a republic. Laissez faire capitalism is the only type of market in which the government does not interfere with businesses or transactions between private individuals. Maximizing individual liberties and establishing a laissez faire economy while minimizing the authority of government is as close to the extreme right as one could get without reaching the absolute end – anarchy.

Anarchy is the complete absence of government, order, or any authority. It is the extreme right of the political spectrum – the ultimate right-wing political philosophy. Anarchy typically results in chaos due to its lawlessness. Everyone has every right imaginable, but none of those rights are protected by a governing authority and consequently can be taken from you on a whim from any individual or mob. There is no state authority, but there is also no guarantee of individual liberty.

The political spectrum, from left to right, can be depicted as follows:

Totalitarianism (broadly defined as absolute state control)
Fascism/Nazism/Marxism/Communism (narrowly defined)
Socialism
Democracy
Republic
Anarchy

In addition to these defined ends of government, there are also many other types of government that don’t necessarily define the rights of the state or individuals, but do help in describing the type of rule.

Oligarchy is a government by the few in which control is exercised by a small group of people, especially for corrupt or selfish purposes. Aristocracy (government by a privileged class) and plutocracy (government of the wealthy) are two examples of oligarchy.

A meritocracy is a form of government where officials are chosen according to their superior intellect and their abilities and achievements. Instead of choosing leaders by birth or by wealth, they are chosen according to their individual accomplishments.

Theocracy is a government in which authority is derived from religious law and is interpreted and/or enforced by the clergy of that religion. In a theocracy, religious law trumps civil law. There are very few nations that truly are theocratic, if any at all. Iran and Saudi Arabia are considered the closest to theocracy, but Iran is ruled by a president who has the authority to execute policy. Saudi Arabian law is based on interpretations of the Qur’an, but is in fact a monarchy, where the king has ultimate authority. It could be considered a theocratic monarchy.

A constitutional government is one in which the basic principles and laws of a state determine the authority and duties of the government and guarantee specific rights to the governed. The United States is an example of a constitutional republic. Our laws and rights are based on our constitution and the citizens hold power over elected officials who are responsible to them and must govern according to law. Both Canada and the United Kingdom are considered constitutional monarchies, where the rights of their citizens are guaranteed by their laws but they still have monarchical figure heads that hold limited powers. However, both are ruled by a parliamentary government.

With all of these governments defined, we can now have an understanding of what is left-wing and what is right-wing. What is “left” and what is “right” is solely based on the amount of state authority. If one believes that the government is the answer to solve any and/or every problem, then they can be classified as left-wing. If one believes that individual liberty and the free market ought to take precedence over state authority, then they are right-wing. Some people believe that libertarianism is left-of-center and Nazism is to the extreme right – but both characterizations are wrong. These opinions are based on feelings of social independence from the inaccurately labeled “right-wing” and on the motives for government authority, but neither are based on the final result – the level of state control.

We are at a point where people need to start accurately defining certain aspects when speaking on specific topics and not confuse the subject by mislabeling their opponents due to ignorance of political matters and theory. This article should provide a foundation for political theory which can be referenced at times of uncertainty. The rights of the individual and the rights of the state are the only two factors necessary to determine placement on the political spectrum, and that placement is what defines left and right.

Everything else is just pomp without the circumstance.

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