If the Horseshoe Fits: Illiberalism Across the Political Spectrum

“While far-right ideologues make no secret of their illiberalism, their counterparts on the Left tend to cloak theirs in the language of equality.”

The idea that the Left-Right political spectrum is shaped like a horseshoe is anathema to those occupying the far ends of that spectrum. Who, after all, cares to admit that he is the mirror image of his worst enemy? But the fact of the matter is that if one moves far enough to the Right or the Left, he ends up with ideologies that are strikingly similar in their illiberalism.

Such ideologies are also inherently totalitarian: They wish to control every aspect of society, seeking complete ideological compliance across all spheres of life. Liberal democracy, which guarantees freedom of speech and permits individuals to pursue their own goals and interests, is thus seen as an obstacle rather than a path forward, despite its unparalleled track record in terms of human flourishing.

In the early 20th century, this totalitarian mindset led to the twin nightmares of communism and Nazism, two illiberal movements that are often portrayed—erroneously—as polar opposites. In The Road to Serfdom, F. A. Hayek writes:

“The communists and Nazis clashed more frequently with each other than with other parties simply because they competed for the same type of mind and reserved for each other the hatred of the heretic.”

While far-right ideologues make no secret of their illiberalism, their counterparts on the Left tend to cloak theirs in the language of equality. They speak of “social justice” and the need to “dismantle systemic oppression”: progressive-sounding concepts designed to appeal to well-meaning liberals while, in practice, eroding core liberal principles. Buzzwords such as “equity” and “diversity,” for example, often imply unequal treatment and discrimination based on immutable characteristics such as race and sex.