A triangular political graph

We've all taken those political quizzes that plot you on a rectilinear graph according to your place on the left/right libertarian/authoritarian spectra.  P.J. O'Rourke claims that every soul struggles with three forces:
Everybody by turns has libertarian impulses, “leave me alone,” and statist impulses, “please take care of me,” and anarchist moments, “the whole system is rigged, they’re all a bunch of bums.”
Should we adopt a triangular graph now?  Or is he simply emphasizing the point he makes elsewhere in the interview, that the Baby Boomers are good at everything but duty, which would be the four point on the usual political compass?

H/t Maggie's Farm.
on

1 comment:

  1. Grim5:55 PM

    It's a strange kind of triangle, since there's no position for conservatism as such (i.e., not 'leave us alone' per se, but 'leave us alone to live as we always have'; and not 'tear it down,' but 'don't mess with what works').

    But maybe that's an accurate picture of the Baby Boomer generation he's talking about -- that just wasn't really an option that, as a generation, they took seriously.

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