
The Nolan Chart is a
political spectrum
A political spectrum is a system to characterize and classify different Politics, political positions in relation to one another. These positions sit upon one or more Geometry, geometric Coordinate axis, axes that represent independent political ...
diagram created by
American libertarian
Libertarianism (from ; or from ) is a political philosophy that holds freedom, personal sovereignty, and liberty as primary values. Many libertarians believe that the concept of freedom is in accord with the Non-Aggression Principle, according ...
activist
David Nolan in 1969, charting
political views along two axes, representing
economic freedom and
personal freedom. It expands political view analysis beyond the traditional one-dimensional
left–right/progressive-conservative divide, positioning libertarianism outside the traditional spectrum.
Development

The claim that political positions can be located on a chart with two axes: left–right (
economics
Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services.
Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...
) and tough–tender (
authoritarian
Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political ''status quo'', and reductions in democracy, separation of powers, civil liberties, and ...
–
libertarian
Libertarianism (from ; or from ) is a political philosophy that holds freedom, personal sovereignty, and liberty as primary values. Many libertarians believe that the concept of freedom is in accord with the Non-Aggression Principle, according ...
) was put forward by the British psychologist
Hans Eysenck
Hans Jürgen Eysenck ( ; 4 March 1916 – 4 September 1997) was a German-born British psychologist. He is best remembered for his work on intelligence and personality psychology, personality, although he worked on other issues in psychology. At t ...
in his 1954 book ''The Psychology of Politics'' with statistical evidence based on survey data. This leads to a loose classification of political positions into four quadrants, with further detail based on exact position within the quadrant.
A similar two-dimensional chart appeared in 1970 in the publication ''The Floodgates of Anarchy'' by
Stuart Christie and
Albert Meltzer, but that work distinguished between the axes
collectivism
In sociology, a social organization is a pattern of relationships between and among individuals and groups. Characteristics of social organization can include qualities such as sexual composition, spatiotemporal cohesion, leadership, struct ...
–
capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their use for the purpose of obtaining profit. This socioeconomic system has developed historically through several stages and is defined by ...
on the one hand,
individualism
Individualism is the moral stance, political philosophy, ideology, and social outlook that emphasizes the intrinsic worth of the individual. Individualists promote realizing one's goals and desires, valuing independence and self-reliance, and a ...
–
totalitarianism
Totalitarianism is a political system and a form of government that prohibits opposition from political parties, disregards and outlaws the political claims of individual and group opposition to the state, and completely controls the public s ...
on the other, with
anarchism
Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hierarchy, hierarchy, primarily targeting the state (polity), state and capitalism. A ...
,
fascism
Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hie ...
, "
state communism" and "
capitalist individualism" in the corners. In ''
Radicals for Capitalism'' (p. 321),
Brian Doherty attributes the idea for the chart to an article by Maurice Bryson and William McDill in ''The Rampart Journal of Individualist Thought'' (Summer 1968) entitled "The Political Spectrum: A Bi-Dimensional Approach".
Steve Mariotti
Steven John Mariotti (August 14, 1953 – October 20, 2024) was an American educator, activist, and businessman. He was the founder and president (1988–2005) of the nonprofit Network For Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE), and the author of boo ...
, a teenage colleague of
Carl Oglesby's in the leftist student organization
Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), credits Oglesby with describing a form of the two-axis Nolan Chart during a delivery of Oglesby's "Let Us Shape the Future" speech in 1965. Oglesby's political outlook was more eclectic than that of many leftists in SDS; he was heavily influenced by
libertarian
Libertarianism (from ; or from ) is a political philosophy that holds freedom, personal sovereignty, and liberty as primary values. Many libertarians believe that the concept of freedom is in accord with the Non-Aggression Principle, according ...
economist
Murray Rothbard
Murray Newton Rothbard (; March 2, 1926 – January 7, 1995) was an American economist of the Austrian School,Ronald Hamowy, ed., 2008, The Encyclopedia of Libertarianism', Cato Institute, Sage, , p. 62: "a leading economist of the Austri ...
and he dismissed
socialism
Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...
as "a way to bury social problems under a federal
bureaucracy
Bureaucracy ( ) is a system of organization where laws or regulatory authority are implemented by civil servants or non-elected officials (most of the time). Historically, a bureaucracy was a government administration managed by departments ...
."
[ Kauffman, Bill (2008-05-19]
When the Left Was Right
'' The American Conservative''. Oglesby even (unsuccessfully) proposed cooperation between SDS and the
conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
group
Young Americans for Freedom on some projects, and argued that "in a strong sense, the
Old Right and the
New Left
The New Left was a broad political movement that emerged from the counterculture of the 1960s and continued through the 1970s. It consisted of activists in the Western world who, in reaction to the era's liberal establishment, campaigned for freer ...
are morally and politically coordinate." Nolan was a member of
Young Americans for Freedom at the time.
David Nolan first published his version of the chart in an article named "Classifying and Analyzing Politico-Economic Systems" in the January 1971 issue of ''The Individualist'', the monthly magazine of the
Society for Individual Liberty (SIL). In December 1971, he helped to start the group that would become the
Libertarian Party.
Frustrated by the "left-right" line analysis that leaves no room for other ideologies, Nolan devised a chart with two axes which would come to be known as the Nolan Chart, and later became the centerpiece of the World's Smallest Political Quiz. Nolan's argument was that the major difference between various political philosophies, the real defining element in what a person believes politically, is the amount of government control over human action that is advocated. Nolan further reasoned that virtually all human political action can be divided into two broad categories: economic and personal. The "economic" category includes what people do as producers and
consumers
A consumer is a person or a group who intends to order, or use purchased goods, products, or services primarily for personal, social, family, household and similar needs, who is not directly related to entrepreneurial or business activities. Th ...
– what they can buy, sell and produce, where they work, who they hire and what they do with their money. Examples of economic activity include starting or operating a business, buying a home, constructing a building and working in an office. The "personal" category includes what people do in relationships, in self-expression and what they do with their own bodies and minds. Examples of personal activities include whom they marry; choosing what books they read and movies they watch; what foods, medicines and drugs they choose to consume; recreational activities; religious choices; organizations they join; and with whom they choose to associate.

According to Nolan, since most government activity (or government control) occurs in these two major areas, political positions can be defined by how much government control a person or political party favors in these two areas. The extremes are no government at all in either area (
anarchism
Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hierarchy, hierarchy, primarily targeting the state (polity), state and capitalism. A ...
) or total or near-total government control of everything (various forms of
totalitarianism
Totalitarianism is a political system and a form of government that prohibits opposition from political parties, disregards and outlaws the political claims of individual and group opposition to the state, and completely controls the public s ...
). Most
political philosophies fall somewhere in between. In broad terms:
* Those on the
right
Rights are law, legal, social, or ethics, ethical principles of freedom or Entitlement (fair division), entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people according to some legal sy ...
, including
American conservatives, tend to favor more freedom in economic matters (example: a
free market
In economics, a free market is an economic market (economics), system in which the prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand expressed by sellers and buyers. Such markets, as modeled, operate without the intervention of ...
), but more government intervention in personal matters (example:
drug laws).
* Those on the
left
Left may refer to:
Music
* ''Left'' (Hope of the States album), 2006
* ''Left'' (Monkey House album), 2016
* ''Left'' (Helmet album), 2023
* "Left", a song by Nickelback from the album ''Curb'', 1996
Direction
* Left (direction), the relativ ...
, including
American liberals, tend to favor more freedom in personal matters (example: no
military draft), but more government activism or control in economics (example: a government-mandated
minimum wage
A minimum wage is the lowest remuneration that employers can legally pay their employees—the price floor below which employees may not sell their labor. List of countries by minimum wage, Most countries had introduced minimum wage legislation b ...
).
*
Libertarians
Libertarianism (from ; or from ) is a political philosophy that holds freedom, personal sovereignty, and liberty as primary values. Many libertarians believe that the concept of freedom is in accord with the Non-Aggression Principle, according ...
favor both personal and economic freedom and oppose most (or all) government intervention in both areas. Like conservatives, libertarians believe in free markets. Like liberals, libertarians believe in personal freedom.
*
Authoritarians favor a lot of government control in both the personal and economic areas. Different versions of the chart as well as Nolan's original chart use terms such as "
totalitarian
Totalitarianism is a political system and a form of government that prohibits opposition from political parties, disregards and outlaws the political claims of individual and group opposition to the state, and completely controls the public sph ...
", "
statist
In political science, statism or etatism (from French, ''état'' 'state') is the doctrine that the political authority of the state is legitimate to some degree. This may include economic and social policy, especially in regard to taxation an ...
", "
communitarian
Communitarianism is a philosophy that emphasizes the connection between the individual and the community. Its overriding philosophy is based on the belief that a person's social identity and personality are largely molded by community relation ...
" or "
populist
Populism is a contested concept used to refer to a variety of political stances that emphasize the idea of the " common people" and often position this group in opposition to a perceived elite. It is frequently associated with anti-establis ...
" to label this corner of the chart.
*
Centrists favor a balance or mix of both freedom and government involvement in both personal and economic matters.
In order to visually express this argument, Nolan came up with a two-axis graph. One axis was for economic freedom and the other was for personal freedom, with the scale on each of the two axes ranging from zero (total state control) to 100% (no state control). 100% freedom in economics would mean an entirely free market (''laissez-faire''); 100% freedom in personal issues would mean no government control of private, personal life. By using the scale on each of the two axes, it was possible to graph the intersection of the amount of personal liberty and economic liberty a person, political organization, or political philosophy advocates. Therefore, instead of classifying all political opinion on a one-dimensional range from left to right, Nolan's chart allowed two-dimensional measurement: how much (or little) government control a person favored in personal and economic matters.
Nolan said that one of the impacts of his chart is that when someone views it, it causes an irreversible change as viewers henceforth view the included orientations in two dimensions instead of one.
In 1987, Marshall Fritz, founder of Advocates for Self-Government, tweaked the chart and added ten questions – which he called the World's Smallest Political Quiz – which enabled people to plot their political beliefs on the chart.
Positions

Differing from the traditional left–right distinction and other political taxonomies, the Nolan Chart in its original form has two dimensions, with a horizontal x-axis labeled "economic freedom" and a vertical y-axis labeled "personal freedom". It resembles a square divided into five sections, with a label assigned to each of the following sections:
* Bottom left –
Statism
In political science, statism or etatism (from French, ''état'' 'state') is the doctrine that the political authority of the state is legitimate to some degree. This may include economic and social policy, especially in regard to taxation ...
. The opposite of libertarianism, corresponding with those supporting low economic and personal freedom.
* Top left –
Left-wing political philosophies. Those supporting low economic freedom and high personal freedom.
* Bottom right –
Right-wing political philosophies. Those supporting high economic freedom and low personal freedom.
* Top right –
Libertarians
Libertarianism (from ; or from ) is a political philosophy that holds freedom, personal sovereignty, and liberty as primary values. Many libertarians believe that the concept of freedom is in accord with the Non-Aggression Principle, according ...
. David Nolan's own philosophy, corresponding with those supporting high economic and personal freedom.
* Center –
Centrism
Centrism is the range of political ideologies that exist between left-wing politics and right-wing politics on the left–right political spectrum. It is associated with moderate politics, including people who strongly support moderate policie ...
. The center area defines the political middle, for those who favor a mixed system balancing both economic and personal freedom with the need for some market regulation and personal sacrifice.
Polling
In August 2011, the libertarian ''
Reason
Reason is the capacity of consciously applying logic by drawing valid conclusions from new or existing information, with the aim of seeking the truth. It is associated with such characteristically human activities as philosophy, religion, scien ...
'' magazine worked with the Rupe organization to survey 1,200 Americans by telephone and place their views within the Nolan chart categories. The Reason-Rupe poll found that "Americans cannot easily be bundled into either the 'liberal' or 'conservative' groups". Specifically, 28% expressed conservative views, 24% expressed libertarian views, 20% expressed communitarian views and 28% expressed liberal views. The margin of error was ±3.
Criticism
Brian Patrick Mitchell, who uses a different political taxonomy, cites these points of disagreement:
* The strict separation of social and economic policy that the chart is based on, is untenable in general. In migration policy, for example, both sociocultural and economic issues are at play.
* The view that the Right can be defined by its acceptance of state intervention into the domestic sphere (little 'personal freedom') and the Left by its rejection, is false. In the U.S., the Right generally opposed
gun control
Gun control, or firearms regulation, is the set of laws or policies that regulate the manufacture, sale, transfer, possession, modification, or use of firearms and ammunition by civilians.
Most countries allow civilians to own firearms, bu ...
, while the Left argues for it.
Similar criticisms, but from a libertarian perspective, are leveled by
Jacob Huebert, who adds that the separation of personal and economic liberty is untenable when one considers the rights to
prostitute
Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-pe ...
oneself and to
deal drugs, both of which are libertarian causes: adopting either profession is a personal (moral) as well as an economic decision. Also, Huebert notes that it is unclear where in the Nolan chart libertarian opposition to war belongs.
The libertarian response to these criticisms is that the issues are presented in a specific frame of reference by the political factions consistent with the chart. Free immigration is typically viewed as a personal liberty issue, so it is favored by those on the political left.
Drug legalization is framed as a personal rights issue, so it tends to be favored by the left.
War is viewed as a destruction of both society
and the economy.
Further applications
Some commentators have accepted Nolan's use of two axes of personal and economic freedom, but have argued that he either didn't go far enough or that the Nolan Chart can be used to demonstrate the validity of other ideologies. For example,
Kelley L. Ross, a libertarian former philosophy professor who ran for California State Assembly in 1996, contends that a third axis of political liberty is required to make the chart more meaningful. On the other hand,
Owen Prell, a founding member of
Unite America, formerly
The Centrist Project, contends that the Nolan Chart is a definite improvement on the more primitive single-axis left-right political continuum, but that it better serves the cause of political
centrism
Centrism is the range of political ideologies that exist between left-wing politics and right-wing politics on the left–right political spectrum. It is associated with moderate politics, including people who strongly support moderate policie ...
.
Several popular online tests, where individuals can self-identify their political values, utilize the same two axes as the Nolan Chart without attribution, including
The Political Compass, iSideWith.com and MapMyPolitics.org.
See also
*
Inglehart–Welzel cultural map of the world
The Inglehart–Welzel cultural map of the world is a scatter plot created by political scientists Ronald Inglehart and Christian Welzel based on the World Values Survey and European Values Survey. It depicts closely linked cultural values that va ...
*
The Political Compass
References
Further reading
*
External links
A modern version of the Nolan ChartThe Enhanced Precision Political Quiz... IN 2DPolitical Profile Test(prepared by Prof. Clifford F. Thies for the
Republican Liberty Caucus
The Republican Liberty Caucus (RLC) is a political action organization dedicated to promoting the ideals of Individual freedom, individual liberty, limited government and free market economics within the Republican Party (United States), Republi ...
)
{{Political spectrum
Political spectrum
Political science theories
Libertarian terms
Libertarian theory