Modern Political Thought
A Broad Spectrum
I am occasionally asked my opinion on a political “issue of the day” and I usually have one to offer. But when I don’t have one, it is because I have not given the subject enough thought to have an objective one.[i]I attempt to avoid “casual” or “borrowed” opinions, on the advice of my friend Yap Ping Hui in Penang. The list of things I do have opinions about is long, and this GUI[ii]For the non-geeks in the readership – Graphical User Interface – pronounced, “gooey”. is a way of recounting and sharing those opinions. I also have noticed that I occasionally alter an opinion, based on new evidence, so this table undergoes revision from time to time.
If we were to gather 100 individuals to ask their opinions, we would probably find 100 individual opinions on pretty much any set of questions within the spectrum. With over 350 million potential voters, the range of opinions truly becomes a continuum, difficult to segment in any meaningful way. But for a start, we can borrow some classic labels for the table below – seven in total.
The first row below the table header is my own estimate[iii]Reince Priebus once estimated 15% in the middle category. of the number of potential voters in each category, and the width of the columns is intended to reflect the relative magnitude of individuals in those categories.
The next several rows target the most important issues to voters in 2023 according to a recent poll. I have allowed for a few open rows after that for some personal favorites to be added later.
The final group of three rows, (a) assigns an integer from 1 to 7 to each category, (b) counts the number of incidents in each category, and (c) calculates the resulting weighted average; the result of which is shown in the last row, rounded to 2 digits, indicating a comfortable[iv]comfortable for me, but noticeably uncomfortable to others position between Independent and Moderate Right.
 click a Kisama | Liberal (Progressive) | Independent (thinking) | Moderate Right | Conservative Right | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Potential Voters | 2% | 30% | 10% | 16% | 10% | 30% | 2% |
| Issues | Opinions | ||||||
| Inflation (24%) | coming soon | ||||||
| Healthcare (11%) | coming soon | ||||||
| Climate (11%) | 
| ||||||
| Economy (10%) | coming soon | ||||||
| Immagration (9%) | coming soon | ||||||
| Spending (6%) | coming soon | ||||||
| Abortion (5%) | coming soon | ||||||
| Civil Rights (5%) | coming soon | ||||||
| Guns (4%) | coming soon | ||||||
| Security (4%) | coming soon | ||||||
| Education (4%) | coming soon | ||||||
| Other . | |||||||
| Other . | |||||||
| Other . | |||||||
| Other . | |||||||
| Category | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| Count | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| Weighted Average | 4.55 | ||||||
24
By: Jim
Written: January 26, 2024
Published: January 26, 2024
Revised:
Reader feedback always appreciated[v]. . thoughtful commentary perhaps more so than shallow thoughts
footnotes
| ↑i | I attempt to avoid “casual” or “borrowed” opinions, on the advice of my friend Yap Ping Hui in Penang. |
|---|---|
| ↑ii | For the non-geeks in the readership – Graphical User Interface – pronounced, “gooey”. |
| ↑iii | Reince Priebus once estimated 15% in the middle category. |
| ↑iv | comfortable for me, but noticeably uncomfortable to others |
| ↑v | . . thoughtful commentary perhaps more so than shallow thoughts |
