[Caipirabob]

This is the true scale below. All totalitarian ideologies go to the left, where lack of government is on the far right.

At the same time, people often confuse socialist terrorism with anarchist activity, which is incorrect. Anarchy is the absence of government where most activity described as being anarchist is actually intent on bringing about a more severe form of totalitarianism.

It's taken the left decades to spread about the false premise of previous spectrums, but a simple chart shreads all their efforts. The simplest explanation of conservatism is a minimalist governing body, which falls on the center of the scale. The beliefs of libertarianism take us towards the far right. Not that I have a problem with that.

[GeronL]

Most anarchists and some Libertopians are actually socialists who want to crash the system and rebuild utopia. To find Libertopian utopia read: Brave New World

You can find the whole thing online

[Noamie]

This chart stops at Socialism. Which is not 100% Government control. That is more likely, Communism, or just - Statism.

The order should also maybe be: Progressives - Liberals - Conservatives

[samtheman]

Your straight-line political spectrum is absolutely correct.

The reason that it’s so hard in real life to see that straight line is related to what you say about anarchy, that “most activity described as being anarchist is actually intent on bringing about a more severe form of totalitarianism”.

In the real world there are few or no true proponents of pure anarchy and in history the only possible instances of true anarchy are temporary and local and the result of some incredible upheaval (natural disaster or war-related).

Because true anarchy is so rare as to be invisible, the anti-conservative, anti-capitalist antics of ultra-left bomb-throwers often get mis-characterized as anarchy, when in reality, as you point out, the perpetrators are actually fighting for a Supreme Totalitarianism.