Economic Agendas by Quadrant of the U.S. Political Compass

Further Defined by Pew Research Center Political Types

A Pew Research Center survey of the U.S. general public, in 2021, showed clusters of political beliefs and values. The origin of these Pew labels and type descriptors are detailed in an earlier post, along with a description of the four largest U.S. political parties fitting into the quadrants.

Thanks for reading. Here’s a related post on economic policies and the U.S. political compass.

Repeat of Quadrants Content

This section repeats the writing in the quadrants, for any who have difficulty reading in that format. Groups are presented in order of political party size.

Auth-Left Quadrant

Pew type: Democratic mainstays (moderate Democrats)

•       Protect labor from wage exploitation

•       Unchecked corporate greed will compromise worker safety

•       Living wage increases capital flow; workers can afford to purchase more, while wealthy can afford to stash it (decreasing capital flow)

Pew type: Establishment liberals

•       Middle-out economics =  Bidenomics

•       Green new deal

•       Enforce anti-trust laws

Auth-Right Quadrant

Pew type: Committed conservatives (could be named corporate globalist hawks)

•       Remain the world’s superpower economically and militarily

•       Promote GDP growth, single-bottom-line

•       Deregulate the job creators

Pew type: Faith and flag conservatives

•       Trickledown so people can afford children

•       Prevent too many entitlements so people must remain contributors in the workforce (Protestant work ethic)

Lib-Right Quadrant

Pew type: Populist right

•       Lower taxes

•       Barter or work under the table (keeping exchange unregulated and untaxed)

Pew type: Ambivalent right (dissident right)

•       Avoid regulation thru digital currencies or online payment platforms (but increasingly these are being taxed)

•       Balance the budget (preventing government largesse that working citizens have to pay for with taxes)

Lib-left (Green) Quadrant

Pew type: Progressive left

•       Redistribute wealth to reverse effects of discrimination

•       Reparations, possibly thru land trusts

Pew type: Outsider left

•       Vote with the dollar

•       Local currency and time banks

•       Gift economy

•       Prevent the degradation of the natural world as the physical resources on which all economic function depends