By Lloyd Sloan, 2024 March 31
A recent TIPP survey (TechnoMetrica Institute of Policy and Politics) sponsored by the Center for Upper Left Policy revealed a hidden “middle ground” in American politics.
A majority (61%) of respondents agree that BOTH:
[1] Wealth is too unequal AND [2] Government is too big. Surprisingly, this politically-moderate center is the significant majority of independents (66.4%), Republicans (60.4%), and Democrats (56.4%); there is a neglected opportunity for compromise by enacting policies in this upper-left direction!
The survey was conducted February 28 to March 1 asking 1419 adults their views on [1] wealth inequality and [2] size of government. Several polls have previously reported similar results for each opinion separately. Significantly, the recent TIPP Survey is the FIRST to report both opinions TOGETHER.
These results are best shown in a two-dimensional grid where the Left-Right dimension is about [1] Equality and the Up-Down dimension is about [2] Freedom, which can be named an Equality-Freedom (E-F) Political Map;
In summary, people are divided into four quadrants:
Upper-Left (UL): Almost 61% agreed with BOTH statements [1] wealth is too unequal and [2] government is too big
Lower-Left (UL): 22% agreed with [1], but not [2]
Upper-Right (UR): 14% disagreed with [1] but agreed with [2]
Lower-Right (LR): 4% disagreed with BOTH statements
Observations
The “WINGS”: As expected, the Lower-Left (LL) and Upper-Right (UR) quadrants are polar opposite “wings” of the (TPS) Two-Party System.
The LL is dominated (59.4%) by Democrats, traditionally considered the (socialist) left-wing progressive faction.
Similarly, Republicans dominate (62.5%) the Upper-Right, often labeled small government conservatives or libertarians.
The Lower-Right is small (roughly 4%), yet traditionally deemed the “CENTER” where “moderate” elected Democrats and Republicans come together; it is often called the “Establishment” (or “Uniparty”) by the wings of both parties.
The detail results are shown in this table:
