INFORMED CITIZENSHIP: THE POLITICAL SPECTRUM CHV2OR
SEMESTER 2 | 2024-2025 | MS. GARITO
IS THE LEFT/RIGHT SPECTRUM OUTDATED?
Focus Questions - YouTube Video
1. What was the traditional difference between left and right, according to Neil Thomlinson?
● Conventionally, the left meant someone who believed in an activist government; whereas, the right believes in
supremacy of the individual.
2. Where do the major political parties in Canada fall on the spectrum?
● The Conservative Party falls on the right, the Liberals fall in the center, and the NDP is on the left. The parties
themselves haven't moved much on the spectrum since their creation.
3. What does Brittany Andrew-Amofah say has happened to the political parties recently and why?
● Brittany says that the parties have not moved much on the spectrum, to a certain extent. She thinks that, overall,
the political parties have moved slightly towards the left, because of the social rights our society has been given.
This includes: gay marriage, abortion, and women's rights.
4. Why is the political compass more accurate than the left-right spectrum?
● The political compass is more accurate because it looks as ideologies as a quadrant. It shows that there is more to
politics than just being left-winged or right-winged. It accurately pinpoints a person's political values as one could
be economically on the left, but agree with some right-wing views.
DISTINGUISHING INFORMATION
Political Ideologies
● A political ideology is a set of ideas, beliefs, values and opinions
● The political ideology you embrace is likely determined by a multitude of factors: family & how you were
raised; the social groups you identify with (racially, religiously, socioeconomically, gender); your education; the
political conditions you lived through (the time and place you grew up in).
● Some common political ideologies that people identify with are anarchism, absolutism, classical liberalism,
progressivism, conservatism, socialism, libertarianism.
The Political Spectrum
● A political spectrum is a way of comparing or visualizing different political positions, by placing them upon one or
more geometric axes.
● Probably the most common model used is a two-axis one which classifies your position on a spectrum
● based on your economic and social beliefs.
● While a political spectrum can be a useful tool for identification, it is sometimes an oversimplification of the
beliefs people hold and should be assessed critically.
CHV2OR: CIVICS 02.11.2025: HOMEWORK 1
INFORMED CITIZENSHIP: THE POLITICAL SPECTRUM CHV2OR
SEMESTER 2 | 2024-2025 | MS. GARITO
The Two-Axis Political Spectrum (The Political Compass)
● Below is a typical 2 axis spectrum (economic beliefs on the x-axis, social beliefs on the y-axis)
● Being left on the X axis means you support government intervention in the economy to create desired results.
Being on the right means the gov’t should stay out of the economy and the market should dictate results.
● Being on the top of the Y axis means you believe the government should not intervene in people’s personal lives.
Being on the bottom means that you believe the state has a role in sanctioning certain behaviours, social choices
and groups as preferred, or even privileges
DISTINGUISHING INFORMATION
CHV2OR: CIVICS 02.11.2025: HOMEWORK 2
