Bird's Eye - The Political Spectrum and Political Alignment

Spectacles In Conversation

Join the editors as they begin an exploration of the political spectrum, the way citizens align themselves with political parties, and the nature of the two party system. Is a single-axis political spectrum the best way to conceptualize American politics? What are the effects of more disciplined political parties? How can we best understand what voters want if our major political parties are not delivering?

Next week we'll be diving into a deeper exploration of the two party system, so make sure to stay tuned!

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Further Reading

• Bird’s Eye – Small Government and Liberal Democracy.
• Bird’s Eye – Big Government and Liberal Democracy.
• Political Compass Test.
• “Politics Across Generations: Family Transmission Re-Examined,” by M. Kent Jennings, Laura Stoker, and Jake Bower, presented at the 1999 American Political Science Association Annual Meeting.
• “Quiz: If America Had Six Parties, Which Would You Belong To?” by Lee Drutman in the New York Times.
• “The Nature of Partisan Conflict in Public Opinion: Asymmetric or Symmetric?” by Maria Narayani Lasala Blanco, Robert Y. Shapiro, and Joy Wilke.

Table of Contents

00:00 - Intro & Housekeeping

00:32 - What would you expect?

01:43 - Today's topic

02:37 - What is the political spectrum?

04:36 - What are the problems with it?

08:28 - The impact of party sorting and what that means

13:58 - Inadequacy of the spectrum; is a compass better?

18:43 - Movement of the Republican party post-90s

21:21 - Inadequacy of the political compass

23:12 - Asymmetric polarization, complexities

25:16 - Inadequacy of a two-party system

30:35 - Closing notes; the argument for two-party

32:41 - Next week's topic

33:25 - Signing off