I think many think of politics as binary. Left and right. Libertarian and liberal. Fascist and Communist. Moreover, I think many think that these are substitutions for each other. I want to give everyone this site, Political Compas (link here).
What these researchers are asking is simple (and complex in a way) are these multiple dimensions actually distinct? Can we understand political beliefs better by mapping these as distinct interrelated constructs? So for some food for thought I will leave this here for comment:
So, do people think that Hillary and Donald, as proxies for the zeitgeist of their party, are, in fact, more to the right politically but more separate on the authoritarian-libertarian dimension? (Please note: this survey instrument was designed to look at left-right and authoritarian-libertarian on an international basis and is not Ameri-centric.)
