Political Circle
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"Personal freedom and open markets — regulation should be simple and rare"
At 4 o'clock, you value personal freedom and open markets equally strongly. You favour low taxes, individual choice and decentralised solutions. Regulation should be simple and rare. People should be free to try things, make their own decisions and keep more of what they earn.
You see state direction as a last resort. Freedom of association, contract and speech are bedrock principles. Markets are an expression of that liberty — voluntary cooperation beats coercion. You're suspicious of both government overreach and corporate power when it allies with the state.
Your position at 4 o'clock tells us your direction, but how far you are from the centre tells us the strength of your convictions. The Political Circle recognises three levels:
"Freedom matters most, but some rules make sense"
As a moderate 4 o'clock, you're libertarian-leaning but pragmatic. You favour maximum freedom in both economic and personal spheres, but acknowledge that some collective action problems need addressing. Pure libertarianism sounds good in theory, but the reality is messier.
Historical example: John Stuart Mill — the "harm principle": society may restrict individual liberty only to prevent harm to others.
"Maximum freedom in all spheres — economics, society and personal life"
You have clear libertarian convictions. You want minimal government, maximum liberty, strong constitutional limits. The state should protect rights, then get out of the way. You're not quite at the anarcho-capitalist extreme, but you're sceptical of almost all government activity beyond core functions.
Historical example: F. A. Hayek — warned in The Road to Serfdom (1944) that central planning, even with good intentions, leads to authoritarianism.
"Maximum liberty; minimum government; coercion is almost never justified"
As a strong 4 o'clock, you're uncompromising about liberty. Taxation is theft. Regulation is coercion. Government should be a minimal night-watchman state protecting rights — nothing more. Even that concession troubles you; anarcho-capitalism looks appealing.
Historical example: Robert Nozick — defended the minimal "night-watchman" state through self-ownership and entitlement theory.
Liberal philosopher
Mill's "On Liberty" set the "harm principle" — that individuals should be free to act unless they harm others. He championed free expression, women's rights and individual autonomy. His defence of liberty as essential for human flourishing defines liberal thinking at 4 o'clock.
Libertarian presidential candidate (2012, 2016) and former Governor of New Mexico
Johnson's "fiscally conservative, socially liberal" formula defines pragmatic 4 o'clock. He favoured slashing government spending and taxation but accepted some safety nets, and backed drug legalisation, free trade and abortion rights while opposing foreign military interventions. Maximum freedom, but working within democratic constraints.
Austrian-British economist and philosopher
Hayek's "The Road to Serfdom" warned that central planning threatens freedom. He championed spontaneous order, the rule of law and limited government. His defence of market processes as information systems and his critique of state power define classical liberal thinking at 4 o'clock.
3rd US President and author of the Declaration of Independence
Jefferson championed individual liberty, limited federal power and agrarian independence. His belief that "that government is best which governs least" and his defence of religious freedom and free expression embody the 4 o'clock synthesis of economic and personal liberty.
US Senator
Paul combines economic conservatism with civil liberties advocacy. He opposes surveillance, foreign intervention and high spending, whilst championing tax cuts and deregulation. His consistent defence of constitutional limits on government power typifies the 4 o'clock position in current politics.
American philosopher
Nozick's Anarchy, State, and Utopia (1974) defended a minimal state through self-ownership and entitlement theory. If people own themselves, they own their labour, so redistributive taxation is forced labour. Only a minimal "night-watchman" state, with courts, police and military, is justified.
US Congressman and presidential candidate
Paul advocated strong libertarian positions that mainstream politicians avoided: abolishing the Federal Reserve, eliminating most federal departments, ending foreign military interventions and repealing the drug war. His consistency, including voting against bills that exceeded constitutional authority even when popular, exemplified principled libertarianism.
Economist and political theorist
Rothbard pushed libertarianism to anarcho-capitalism: even police and courts should be private. If voluntary exchange is moral and coercion is not, then all government is immoral. He represents the far edge of 4 o'clock, approaching anarchist territory.
The new book, 'Beyond Left and Right: Understanding the Political Circle' is now available on Amazon.
Containing a wealth of information, the book explores all of the 12 philosophical positions with detailed analysis on each of the three levels.