| o_O.Q said:
if authoritarianism can be in any position on the spectrum where would its opposite be positioned or can that be placed anywhere too? |
Yes. Exactly that. Authoritarianism and Libertarianism are polar opposites, but they don't fit naturally into the left/right spectrum. That's why the "political compass" thing exists - because people kept associating the two concepts together, and getting into arguments about, for example, whether Nazi Germany was left-wing or right-wing. They were, oddly enough, very much centrist on the left/right spectrum. But they were incredibly authoritarian.
On the left wing, you find Socialist authoritarianism, such as Russia or China. On the right wing, you find Theocratic authoritarianism, such as Iran or Saudi Arabia. Both China and Russia, recently, have been veering towards Capitalist authoritarianism.
It's not quite "authoritarianism can be in any position", but rather "authoritarianism isn't on the spectrum". It's kind of like asking whether gay marriage is an economically liberal or conservative idea - it's neither, because it's not about the economy at all. The political spectrum isn't about size of government, but purpose of government. Authoritarianism vs Libertarianism is about the size/power of government.
