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In a Pournelle chart, those three are more easily distinguished because they each have different values on both of the axes of the chart. They form a trajectory from the chart center towards the upper-right extremity.

The #labels for the axes are "#statism" (horizontal) and "#rationalism" (vertical). These aren't as trivializable as "liberal" and "conservative", so again the lazy media are unlikely to pay attention.

Those labels sound strange, but their meanings are clearer.

3/x

"#Statism" is basically a measurement of how much #control you think a #government should have over its #people. If you love #rules and #regulations and forcing others to do certain things or not do certain things, you fall to the high end of this scale (rightward).

If you're a John #Varley-style #Heinleiner, and think everyone should be independent and only engage in entirely voluntary transactions, you fall to the low, leftward end of that scale.

4/x

The vertical axis, "#rationalism", is a little fuzzier concept. A common definition is something like how much you believe that #rational, #intellectually #rigorous #planning can solve society's #social #problems.

If you think we can solve every problem, if only we had the correct government program, or civilian association supporting it, or work hard enough, or if we #redistribute #resources #logically, etc, then you fall at the top end of this scale.

5/x

If you are #skeptical that these sorts of large-scale, centrally-planned #interventions can solve social problems that have existed in #human #societies for hundreds or thousands of years, then you fall towards the bottom end of the #rationalism axis.

If you think about your #beliefs in these two areas, you might find yourself #surprised at where you fit on the chart, and what other belief systems fall near you. It's a lot more #insightful than the #meaningless left-right single axis.

6/x

Even more interestingly, think about #friends and #family that you think you mostly share your #political #views with. See where you #disagree with them, and how that might represent differences on these two axes, and where your guesses about their values would put them on the chart.

You might find that people you thought believed "mostly like me" are quite close on one axis, but far apart on the other.

7/x

So, to start looping back to #Canadian #politics - it's a bit of a journey...

All of the semi-serious or serious #national #federal #political parties - #Conservative, #Green, #Liberal, New Democrat in alphabetical order - fall in the upper-right quadrant of the chart. They're not even particularly close to the center; the closest to the center would be the Conservatives, but they're only a tiny bit closer than the Liberals, a bit more than the others.

8/x

I would put all four of those parties at 4 (out of 5) or higher on the #statism axis, and 4 or higher on the rationalism axis as well. This also goes for other national parties that have come and gone or merged or split - Progressive Conservatives, CCP, etc.

That means they all occupy a space representing only 4% of the chart.

No wonder the public thinks "the parties are all the same" and "whatever they promise they all just do the same thing". It's literally true!

9/x

Seen from this perspective, the belief systems of the national parties barely differ at all.

96% of the chart area does not have a #Canadian #political #party anywhere near it.

You can argue what the distribution of actual peoples' political views along these axes is, but no matter how you do it, the numbers will come up showing that our national parties don't even come close to covering a majority of the public's views.

10/x

I think that this is the cause of our #bitter, at-each-others'-throats #politics.

There are #jokes about how the closer your views are to someone else, without being identical, the more you hate each other.

See https://www.jokebuddha.com/joke/The_Heretic , or the common remark that "academic politics are so vicious because the stakes are so small" (Sayre's Law).

Our parties are all bunched up in a #tiny #corner, #hating each other because they're basically all the #same.

11/x

I know that there are no Canadian parties that even come close to #representing my #views. Perhaps you feel the same, and think that makes you a #freak, or so far away from the median that you can't reveal your actual views.

You're not a freak. 96% of the #political #landscape has no Canadian party representing it at all.

I think this is why so many people - a large #majority, I think - suffer from #political #disillusionment in #Canada.

12/x

I'd like to wrap up by saying I have a #plan to fix these things, and restore a #healthy, #vibrant politics in Canada.

But I can't.

I don't think there are #easy solutions. Starting a brand-new, national-scope political party in Canada (or in many other countries) is a fools' game. The #incumbents make it as difficult as possible to make any inroads that way. You end up having a few guaranteed losses where you actually run candidates, and if you're lucky, your party leader is elected.

13/x

I don't think you can meaningfully #change the views of the extant parties to move them closer to where your beliefs land on the chart.

Anyone see an easy, direct way of fixing this?

All I can see at the moment is a possible starting #step. Stop #talking about "#left" vs. "#right" politics. #Help people who are interested in politics #understand the #Pournelle #chart, and how to place their own belief systems on it.

#Criticize the #media for using the left-right shortcut.

14/x

#Maybe if we can get people out from the #trap of left-vs-right, which #eliminates whole #swathes of #thinking from the #political #landscape, and amplifies #insignificant differences between our current parties into us-vs-them thinking, they can start thinking about real #differences, and real #similarities, between political views.

Maybe we can start #discussing them without #hating each other.

Maybe we can make some #progress, and the #majority end up with a party to #represent them.

15/15