ScholarOne - The Left-Right Spectrum: Worse Than Useless

The left-right spectrum is ubiquitous in political discourse, both scholarly and lay. This paper argues that not only is the left-right spectrum useless as a shorthand mapping devices for ideologies, but its use actually impede understanding. The first part of this paper will demonstrate not only why the left-right spectrum is unfit for purpose, but why constructing an ideologically neutral spectrum is an impossibility. In the course of doing so the paper will argue that the continued use of the left-right spectrum serves to mask the hegemonic dominance of liberal ideology.