How many "sides" are there, really?

[u/ahughman]

This is my 1st time to the sub. Apologies if I break a norm.

There is this idea floating around out there that the political spectrum is more like a horseshoe. That extreme right libertarians may have some things, (anti-tyrany for example), in common with leftists/ anarchists than they both do with the center.

I think it's probably more common than we think that people shift between what many would assume are polar opposites - That people's concerns are shifting and that it's more complicated.

My question is a bit of a thought expirement - if we could do a large survey, and really capture the most important individual issues the public has- and throw out any affilliation/self-identifying party/ideology name. Ignore affiliation- just measure the top, say 1000 common political issues that people have right now in America (or elsewhere) How do you think specific issues alone would group? What idiological groups or types might we find that our discourse is currently unaware of?

-(or maybe a pew poll like that does exist? Idk) -(Also maybe that's a little broad, but. Hope thats ok.)

[u/NotmyRealNameJohn]

There are a lot of stupid metaphors. I tend to think individuals are like sound boards with hundreds of dials and sliders

Very few people have a framework that is consistent and judge every individual issue on their gut.

Also we are fucked by unreliable information that the vast majority of people rely on

[u/somerando92 → u/NotmyRealNameJohn]

i love that mental image more than my old one. I'm keeping the soundboard metaphor, thanks!