The Political Compass is inaccurate and/or misleading

The Axes The political compass uses an XY axis graph; X.) Socio-Economic Axis Y.) Socio-Cultural Axis According to the political compass, the right wing is socioeconomic-individualism, the left wing is socioeconomic-collectivism, libertarianism is sociocultural-individualism, and authoritarianism is sociocultural-collectivism. http://www.politicalcompass.org... The Oxford dictionary gives the following definitions; (n) Collectivism (the practice or principle of giving a group priority over each individual in it.) (n) Individualism (a social theory favoring freedom of action for individuals over collective or state control.) (n) Left Wing (the section of a political party or system advocating or based on thorough or complete political or social reform.) (n) Right Wing (the section of a political party or system opposing political or social reform) (n) Authoritarian (a person who advocates strict obedience to authority, especially that of the government, at the expense of personal freedom) (n) Libertarian (a person who advocates civil liberty) (n) Conservative (a person who is averse to change and holds to traditional values and attitudes, typically in relation to politics.) (n) Progressive (a person advocating or implementing social reform) The Oxford Definition of collectivism, individualism, authoritarianism, libertarianism, left wing, and right wing does not match those used by the political compass. By definition the Authoritarians are Collectivist, Libertarians are Individualist, Conservatives are Right Wing, and Progressives are Left Wing. According to the Political Compass, this is not the case. If we were to create a new chart with the Oxford definitions, the axes would become the following; X.) Socio-Cultural Y.) Socio-Political The Y axis would be determined by collectivism vs individualism, and the X axis would be determined by Reformism vs Traditionalism. The results Due to the Political Compass’s misinformed axes, the results are very inaccurate. The Political Compass gives 4 possible results; 1.) Right Wing Authoritarian 2.) Left Wing Authoritarian 3.) Right Wing Libertarian 4.) Left Wing Authoritarian Those who would fall under the category of Right Wing Authoritarian are; 1.) Traditional Conservatives 2.) Liberal Conservatives Those who would fall under the category of Left Wing Authoritarian are; 1.) Nationalists 2.) Socialists Those who would fall under the category of Right Wing Libertarian are; 1.) Anarchists 2.) Classic Liberals Those who would fall under the category of Left Wing Libertarian are; 1.) Social Liberals 2.) Populists According to the Political Compass, classic liberals are more authoritarian than social liberals, populists are more libertarian than liberal conservatives, and socialists are more libertarian than traditional conservatives. If one was to use the correct definitions; Right Wing Authoritarian would be; 1.) Nationalists 2.) Traditional Conservatives Left Wing Authoritarian would be; 1.) Socialists 2.) Populists Right Wing Libertarian would be; 1.) Classic Liberals 2.) Liberal Conservatives Left Wing Libertarian would be; 1.) Anarchists 2.) Social Liberals If the correct definitions were used, the chart would be much more accurate, and would not be as misleading. Because the creators of the political compass made up their own definitions, their chart was not only inaccurate, but it misleads everyone who takes the test by rotating the results to the left. Historical Definitions of Left and Right The terms Left and Right first arose during the French Revolution, when the National Assembly was divided between Royalists on the Right and Revolutionaries on the Left. Later under the First French Republic the Constitutionalists sat on the Right, the Innovators sat on the Left, and Moderates sat in the center. Other countries, such as the British, began to adopt the identification of Left Wing and Right Wing to refer to radicals and reactionaries, and now the system has become common place. books.google.com/books?isbn=0231084048 Historical Definition of Libertarianism The term “Libertarian” was first used by Classic Liberals of the Enlightenment, to refer to proponents of free will, and opponents of determinism. When anarchism was outlawed in France, the term “Libertaire” was used to refer to anarchists. Radical or Left Wing Libertarians were anarchists, who wanted to abolish the state. Reactionary or Right Wing Libertarians were Classic Liberals, who believed a minimized state was a necessary evil for the protection of life, liberty, and property. All libertarians believe the state is dangerous, but Left and Right Wing Libertarians hold different approaches to dealing with that danger; All Libertarians are individualists.