The Political Compass

[Occhidiangela]

Either that or I have a 'different' (incorrect is such a harsh word :P ) conception of what authoritarianism is  :P
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I may not be able to enlighten you on authoritarian, but I think Pete uses one of the best anti authoritarian quips now and again when discussing laws, which I think is the context in which authoritarian is being considered by the graph. Pete's quip runs along these lines:

"If the law is designed to protect me from someone else, it's probably a good law, if it is designed to protect me from myself, it is a bad law."

That's not as full a definition or (anti-definition) of authoritarianism as one might like, but it is a good point of departure for why Pete didn't come up "authoritarian." His posts over the years strike me as having a streak of Libertarianism, or more nearly old fashioned Liberalism (empowerment of the individual) as a consistent theme.

New Model Liberals, or the American Democrats since a little while after Andrew Jackson, have been increasingly about well intentioned, allegedly benevolent authoritarianism -- "for your own good" -- to the point where credibility was lost. The maternalistic approach grates on free citizens. Why? Among other reasons, the promise can't be fulfilled, and there is no free lunch.

Our Social Security system is a good example of a poorly implemented, poorly designed, and blatantly gone astray "good idea for everyone's own good."

Occhi