Decades ago, I recall a lecture in a political science class that explained how, at least

[Atticus]

in theory, the political orientation continuum was actually a circle, not a line. The extreme right and the extreme left seem to get increasingly further apart until they eventually sort of "go round the bend" and merge---become indistinguishable.

At the time, I thought this was nonsense, but now---not so much.

Crazy is crazy.

[Otto_Harper]

1. This remonds me of the (I think) Zen Koan which says

"The more two people differ, the more they are the same"

[AZSkiffyGeek]

2. Happened to a *former* friend of mine

One year he's campaigning for Nader and legal weed, next year he's discovered Ron Paul and the John Birch Society and railing against gay marriage (despite a close friend of both of us being one of the plaintiffs in the Supreme Court case)

[PortTack]

3. I think this is what's happened with the tea party and other extremes on the rt merging under

The big lie

[abqtommy]

4. Excellent. I've written before here on DU how with a Circle Political Graph we wind up

with Fascism and Communism right next to each other. That's very revealing.

[Atticus]

7. Thanks. nt

[Hortensis]

5. Umhm. Most extremist revolutionary leaders of the past century

combine a mix of far left and far right beliefs, very often starting more left and moving right as they gain power and need to establish strong control.

And research has proven over and over that people drawn away from the mainstream to extremist views have a great deal in common, and that the more extremist they become the more alike they become.

Just look at the hard-core followers of both populist leaders in 2016 for examples of that; in the end, nearly half of the hard-core LW populists and/or authoritarians who refused to vote Democratic voted directly for tRump. Yes, socialism OR fascism -- incredible, but ideology at best secondary for that type. It's about antagonism toward "the establishment," baby! Promise 'em a destructive movement to join and they will come.

[Atticus]

6. Very well said. nt