The Neurodivergent Perspective On The Political Compass For Dummies

As Neurodivergents, our minds don’t operate the same as neurotypicals. We see patterns others do not and we often think outside the box. While this comes with its own struggles, it also comes with advantages as we can see hidden truths and pick up hidden messages. This means a lot of time, we can see hidden truths and pick up hidden messages. This is true for us when it comes to politics and we’re often ostracized for it. Here’s a Neurodivergent understanding of the political spectrum. This compass maps ideologies across an 8-quadrant grid, excluding a true neutral center and using paired oppositions to define each position. Centrist positions blend adjacent quadrant traits, and proximity to neighbors indicates shared principles, creating a fluid spectrum that challenges mainstream political thought.

Authoritarian Left: Anti-Capitalist, Anti-Fascist

• Supports: State-controlled collectivism and anti-hierarchical equality, championing centralized planning, state socialism, and worker-controlled redistribution, as in Marxist-Leninist systems, displaying light triad characteristics. Its anti-fascist stance supports egalitarian solidarity, blending with Authoritarian Center’s civic duty emphasis.

Authoritarian Center: Anti-Egoism, Anti-Social Irresponsibility

• Supports: Pure statism, enforced collective duty and societal stability, advocating mandatory civic obligations (e.g., taxes, social service) and paternalistic governance blending left and right authoritarian traits, as in technocratic or welfare-state models. Influences from adjacent quadrants suggest balanced economic policies.

Authoritarian Right: Anti-Communist, Anti-Anarchist

• Supports: Leans kratocractic, pushing for a hierarchical order and state-backed capitalism or corporatism, promoting private property, nationalism, and centralized authority, as in fascist or conservative regimes. It aligns with Right Center’s market-friendly policies and Authoritarian Center’s civic duties.

Left Center: Anti-Capitalist, Anti-Social Darwinist

• Supports: Full socialism and social equity, advocating wealth seizure and worker ownership to end inequality, supporting universal healthcare and education. It blends Authoritarian Left’s collectivism with Libertarian Left’s reformist tendencies, leaning toward equitable egalitarianism, with humanist characteristics. 

Right Center: Anti-Socialist, Anti-Communalist

• Supports: Social Darwinistic tendencies, free-market individualism and limited government, aligning with oppertunistic and occasionally social fascist Nordic Capitalism, neoliberalism and moderate conservatism, championing private enterprise and economic liberty with some social programs. It blends Authoritarian Right’s hierarchy with Libertarian Right’s market freedom.

Libertarian Left: Anti-Social Responsibility, Anti-Fascist

• Supports: Egoistic voluntary mutual aid and anti-hierarchical freedom, aligning with libertarian socialism or anarcho-communism, promoting decentralized, cooperative systems. Its anti-fascist stance and proximity to Libertarian Center and Left Center suggest strong anti-statism and reformist tendencies.

Libertarian Center: Anti-Statism, Anti-Social Responsibility

• Supports: Minimal government and voluntary association, aligning with minarchism or agorism, advocating self-serving civic engagement and decentralized systems. It balances Libertarian Left’s cooperation with Libertarian Right’s market freedom, influenced by anti-authoritarian stances, supporting full blown egoism.

Libertarian Right: Anti-Social Responsibility, Anti-Communist

• Supports: Individual liberty and free-market capitalism, aligning with anarcho-capitalism or objectivism, championing unrestricted markets and private property. Proximity to Libertarian Center reinforces anti-statism, while market-friendly policies align with Right Center, displaying dark triad characteristics. 

Overall Analysis

The compass simplifies ideologies through negation, effectively highlighting conflicts, particularly in authoritarian quadrants, which align with real-world ideologies (e.g., Marxism, fascism). Its spectrum captures fluidity, with centrists blending adjacent traits and proximity fostering shared principles, supporting the neurodivergent view of polarized identities. The “anti-social responsibility” label across libertarian quadrants, while accuracate, it introduces bias, highlighting their voluntary cooperation is egoistic. The absence of a neutral center might over-polarize, though it aligns with the framework’s premise and modern material conditions of society.

Conclusion

This compass suggests a polarized world where ideologies are defined by oppositions, supporting collectivism and equality (Authoritarian Left), enforced civic duty (Authoritarian Center), hierarchical capitalism (Authoritarian Right), socialist equity (Left Center), market individualism (Right Center), voluntary mutual aid (Libertarian Left), minimal governance (Libertarian Center), and free-market liberty (Libertarian Right). Its simplicity clarifies ideological divides but sacrifices some nuance, making it both an honest and provocative tool for understanding polarized political identities.