Extremism and Horseshoe Theory

Horseshoe Theory is a political model that takes the classic ‘left-right’ regime and claims that the line bends around and meets at the ends, with the extreme left and the extreme right being essentially identical. This is, of course, nonsense; not least because it relies on the outdated idea that political positions can be mapped on a one-dimensional line, which is a massive oversimplification. But Horseshoe Theory gained traction because it is based on a fundamental seed of truth: Extremism is a set of behaviors not specific to any ideology. Extremists of different ideologies are not the same in their beliefs, but they are often quite similar in their behaviors and actions.

Extremists view opposing ideas as not merely wrong, but as an existential threat. This has major consequences; it means that discussion itself is an attack, that merely listening to an opposing argument is dangerous. This shuts out rationality, because even considering the possibility that you might be wrong (self-reflection, a necessary part of thinking rationally) is a poison to be avoided. Worse, it justifies oppression and violence against those who disagree, even if those people have not threatened the extremists, because the simple existence of an opposing view is threat enough to warrant retaliation.

As a consequence of the above, extremists consider anyone with an opposing viewpoint to be inherently less deserving of basic human rights and freedoms. An extremist categorizes anybody who disagrees as failing to live up to the basic requirements they demand of a human being; they view any and all opposition as something less than human, and so treat them as such, whether in relation to freedom of speech, freedom of movement, or the right to life.

It doesn't matter what ideology somebody buys into; extremism always looks the same, and it's always dangerous. Extremism is motivated by strong emotions: Fear, anger, disgust, righteousness. It runs on a commitment to extinguish and dismiss doubt rather than address it, and to destroy, not coexist with, anybody else. It does not matter if the particular ideology in question claims to advocate tolerance or love; extremists will display none of this to any individual or group who does not bow in supplication.

Horseshoe Theory recognizes this, but makes the mistake of attempting to unify all extremists into a single ideology, when in reality it is an attitude that infests every ideology.

On a final note, ‘moderates’ and ‘centrists’ are often derided for a perceived use of the Middle Ground Fallacy (the flawed assumption that, given two opposing positions, the truth is somewhere in between), and while that is sometimes true, it is often the case that the position the moderate has put forth is simply that extremism is wrong, which is not related to the idea of a middle ground at all, but rather to the observation that the above listed universal traits of extremism are counterproductive to a safe, flourishing society, regardless of the particular ideology that drives said extremism.