The political spectrum is a way of analyzing different political philosophies and describing how they are alike and different. Most of us are most familiar with the right-wing/left-wing portrayal of the American political spectrum. Typically we associate right-wing with conservatism and the Republican party and left-wing with liberalism and the Democratic Party. Often we assign colors to this spectrum: red = Republican and blue = Democratic.

What many of us don’t realize is that the American political spectrum is much broader than this representation. In fact, conservatism and liberalism occupy only the center of the spectrum. Historically, the term liberalism encompassed both what we call today liberalism and conservatism – that is both modern conservatism and modern liberalism used to be under the classic liberalism banner.

As we fill in the missing ends of the simple political spectrum model, we see the addition of socialism, libertarianism, communism, fascism, totalitarianism, etc. Once we add these to the simple model, the model seems to no longer describe the spectrum adequately. This is seen as we get to the outer edges of the model. When compared, the ends seem to be very similar instead of extremely different – almost as if the spectrum is a circle where the ends bend around and touch each other.

In 1971, American libertarian David Nolan, took a stab at creating a more accurate political spectrum model. He abandoned the left/right linear model in favor of a model that evaluates personal philosophy on two axes: political freedom and economic freedom. While most agree this is an improved model for understanding the similarities and differences of the political philosophies, nearly all agree it is not a perfect model. In reality, no perfect model exists. See were you fall on the Nolan Chart by taking "The World’s Smallest Political Quiz", which is renowned for its accuracy.

The Nolan Chart has been modified a number of times over the years. One that is worth noting here looks at how the left and right differ on government allegiance, whether emphasizing the individual’s welfare or the community’s at the expense of the individual.

The generalizations below provide some context to what the four outer quadrants represent.

• Conservatism: A conservative tends to be for the free market in economic affairs, and against what he calls "big government" — an excessive federal bureaucracy that intervenes in a wide range of social and economic areas. Conservatives prefer a kind of individualistic self-sufficiency. On social issues conservatives are pro-family, anti-abortion, and in general support traditional moral values and religion. Conservatives usually favor a strong military. — iAmericanSpirit Political Dictionary
• Libertarianism: The belief that government should not interfere in the lives of citizens, other than to provide police and military protection. Libertarianism cannot easily be placed on the left-right scale that is usually used to analyze political philosophies. Libertarians are strong supporters of capitalism and free trade and yet also tolerant on social and lifestyle issues, which are considered none of the government’s business. The basic philosophy is "live and let live." — iAmericanSpirit Political Dictionary
• Liberalism: Liberals believe it is the duty of government to repair/improve social conditions and create a more equitable society. Liberals favor generous spending on the welfare state; they exhibit a concern for minorities, the poor, and the disadvantaged and often see these conditions as a product of social injustices rather than individual failings. Liberals also tend to be concerned about environmental issues, the defense of civil liberties, and do not favor excessive military spending. — iAmericanSpirit Political Dictionary
• Authoritarianism: Authoritarians (or Statists) believe government should have a great deal of power over economic and individual behavior, often believing these are not are practical options in today’s world. They tend to distrust the free market, support high taxes and centralized planning of the economy, oppose diverse lifestyles, and question the importance of civil liberties.
• Centrism: A political position that is neither left nor right but which occupies the middle ground. — iAmericanSpirit Political Dictionary

One of the major objections to the Nolan chart is that it uses only two axes, arguably the most distinguishing axes, but there a number of other axes that distinguish the political philosophies. These include: