This week I’m thinking about “left” vs. “right” and trying to come up with more textured definitions that make sense to me. There’s an important distinction between a Conservative willing to bulldoze courts or media in the name of a “real” majority and a Market Pragmatist who still believes in markets and tradition yet flinches at centralized excess.
In my teens I recall centrist being a compliment of sorts, but today I think the Guardrail Center is a market neutral (no potential alpha) affiliation. We aren’t living on a timeline where boring, essential stuff like peaceful transfers of power, election integrity and independent courts are in the cards.
Moving left (confusingly to the right in the image down below) we meet a Democratic Repairist, who believes we are in a blip and rather than some type of utopian redistribution, what we need, beginning with the Midterms is to fix return to the old machinery: PAC money is ok as long as it is surveyed more, gerrymandering can be made more equitable, and voting basically works. Fear not; pluralism has a fighting chance.
Only beyond such optimism do we reach the modern Liberal. A demagogue who either naively or opportunistically is calling for sweeping structural and economic change.
“Which side are you on?” isn’t the most interesting question. But I do think it’s important to ask yourself which of the logics govern your instincts? If you always keep your beliefs to yourself it might be an indication that you are uncertain where you lie on this engineered political spectrum.
Definitions
Conservative
Pro‑market, socially traditional, nationalist or “America First” tones, skeptical of reforms that weaken majoritarian power.
Market Pragmatist
Conventional pro‑business right, more institutionalist, somewhat more open to guardrails and rule‑of‑law rhetoric, but resistant to expansive regulation/reform.
Guardrail Center
“Norms and guardrails” first, pluralist, incremental reform; attempts to keep the peace between market‑friendly views with rule‑of‑law, anti‑polarization, and process‑reform priorities.
Democratic Repairist
We are in a blip, democracy can be repaired, money‑in‑politics reform, voting‑rights expansion, anti‑Trumpist, critical of Project 2025, but not full progressive redistributionist.
Liberal
Full democratic‑left coalition: strong civil‑rights and climate agenda, big social‑safety‑net expansions, very critical of capitalism’s current form.
