Horseshoe theory

In popular discourse, the horseshoe theory asserts that the far-left and the far-right, rather than being at opposite and opposing ends of a linear continuum of the political spectrum, closely resemble each other, analogous to the way that the opposite ends of a horseshoe are close together. The theory is attributed to the French philosopher and writer of fiction and poetry Jean-Pierre Faye in his 2002 book, Le Siècle des idéologies ("The Century of Ideologies"). Several political scientists, psychologists, and sociologists have criticized the horseshoe theory. Proponents point to a number of perceived similarities between extremes and allege that both have a tendency to support authoritarianism or totalitarianism; this does not appear to be supported by scholars in the field, and the few peer-reviewed research on the subject is scarce, with existing studies and comprehensive reviews often finding only limited support and only under certain conditions, and that generally contradict the theory's central premises. The horseshoe metaphor was used as early as during the Weimar Republic to describe the ideology of the Black Front. The later use of the term in political theory was seen in Le Siècle des idéologies. Faye's book discussed the use of ideologies (he said that ideology is a pair of Greek words that were joined in French) that he argued are rooted in philosophy by totalitarian regimes with specific reference to Friedrich Nietzsche and Adolf Hitler, and Karl Marx and Joseph Stalin; for instance, Faye used the horseshoe metaphor to describe the political position of German political parties, from the Communist Party of Germany to the Nazi Party, in 1932. Others have attributed the theory, also called the centrist/extremist theory and sometimes referred to as the Pluralist School, as having come from the American sociologists Seymour Martin Lipset and Daniel Bell, and others who became part of the neoconservative movement in the United States; according to critics, who formed complex social movement theories in response, it is a legacy of Cold War liberal politics.