Political Circle
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"Protect freedoms, fund what helps people flourish"
At 7 o'clock, you value rights and privacy but still see a strong role for public services. You want robust civil liberties and a supportive safety net. The state should back people and provide security, but not boss them around or tell them how to live. Public services should widen real choice in life without restricting freedom.
You're staunchly pro-freedom and pro-provision. You believe economic security enables real liberty — people can't be truly free if they lack healthcare, education or basic security. You oppose both authoritarian social control and market fundamentalism. Freedom and solidarity reinforce each other.
Your position at 7 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:
"Some welfare, some civil liberties, plenty of pragmatism"
As a moderate 7 o'clock, you blend more state-led economics with civil liberties protection. You support public services and redistribution but aren't radical about either. You defend rights but accept some practical constraints. You're a pragmatic progressive.
Historical example: Barack Obama — progressive goals with centrist methods, constrained by political reality.
"Strong public services plus robust civil liberties"
You have clear convictions about both economic security and civil rights. You want comprehensive welfare alongside strong privacy, free speech and due process protections. You're not a revolutionary, but you're serious about both dimensions.
Historical example: Bernie Sanders — combines economic justice with civil liberties consistently.
"Comprehensive welfare plus absolute civil liberties"
As a strong 7 o'clock, you're uncompromising about both economic justice and civil rights. You want radical redistribution and transformation of the economic system, combined with absolute protection of civil liberties. You're a libertarian socialist or democratic socialist in the fullest sense.
Historical example: George Orwell — a socialist who valued freedom above all, opposing capitalism's inequality and Soviet authoritarianism equally.
44th US President
Obama's presidency embodied moderate 7 o'clock thinking: he expanded healthcare through the Affordable Care Act, supported marriage equality and increased environmental protection. But he also made pragmatic compromises, with no single-payer system, expanded surveillance and the use of drones. Progressive goals with centrist methods, constrained by political reality.
UK Prime Minister (1945–1951)
Attlee built the welfare state, including the NHS, nationalised key industries and expanded public housing, while maintaining democracy, free speech and the parliamentary system. Radical economic reform with civil liberties protection.
US Senator and progressive champion
Sanders combines democratic socialism — Medicare for All, free college, worker rights — with consistent civil liberties advocacy. He opposes mass surveillance, supports criminal justice reform and defends marginalised communities. His blend of economic justice and personal freedom defines modern 7 o'clock politics.
Former Prime Minister of New Zealand
Ardern led with empathy, progressive social policies and strong public services whilst championing LGBTQ+ rights and gun reform after Christchurch. Her combination of social liberalism, economic intervention and compassionate governance exemplifies 7 o'clock leadership.
Existentialist feminist philosopher
De Beauvoir's "The Second Sex" analysed women's oppression and championed autonomy and equality. She combined left-wing politics with fierce defence of individual freedom, arguing that liberation requires both social change and personal liberty. Her work bridges 7 o'clock's twin commitments.
Writer and democratic socialist
Orwell's democratic socialism opposed both capitalism and totalitarianism. His experiences in the Spanish Civil War and books such as 1984 and Animal Farm show a socialist who valued freedom above all, opposing capitalism's inequality and Soviet authoritarianism equally.
Revolutionary socialist and theorist
Luxemburg's democratic socialism emphasised mass democracy, workers' councils, and freedom of speech and dissent. "Freedom is always the freedom of the one who thinks differently." She opposed both capitalism and Bolshevik authoritarianism, and was murdered for her democratic socialism.
Linguist and political thinker
Chomsky's libertarian socialism combines anarchist economics with an absolute defence of free speech. He has defended free speech for Holocaust deniers while advocating worker ownership and economic democracy.
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.