A person can be left-wing on the economy (in favor of redistribution) but right-wing on societal issues (very attached to order and tradition). And vice versa! The diamond-shaped model captures this complexity.

The left is traditionally defined as being associated with socialism, a system in which the state holds significant powers over individuals and the organization of society, particularly in terms of income redistribution. The right could be seen as the opposite, a situation where the state is devoid of significant powers, which would define it as liberal. However, the reality is more complex, and the right is not simply the opposite of the statist left.

Indeed, the policies pursued by governments of the right and left over the last few decades have not been fundamentally different, and none have been truly liberal in the classical, European sense of the term.

The central idea of Nolan's diagram is that the major difference between political philosophies, the real determining factor, is the degree of governmental control over human action in the personal and economic spheres.

In other words, there is not only a left-right axis reflecting your personal values, but also a top-bottom axis reflecting your willingness to use force to compel others to follow your values.

From this point of view, right and left have the same political objective: to win power so that they can organize society according to their vision of the world and impose it on everyone.

This is the very definition of statism: using legislation to control and shape society.

This is why we can say that some are right-wing statists, while others are left-wing statists or center-leaning.

For some it's in the name of defending civilization, for others it's in the name of defending the working class, nature or the oppressed. And the centrists approve of this too, when it suits them.

Right-wingers believe that personal morality is the most important thing, so they are prepared to allow freedom in property and economic matters. On the other hand, they want to legislate on morality and religion at the same time.

For its part, the left doesn't attach much importance to traditional moral and religious requirements. Less concerned with divine justice, it is primarily concerned with social justice, or perhaps with the idea that divine justice would be social justice. For it, the appropriate distribution of rewards in society is seen as a matter for judicial or political decision. Consequently, the political left is hostile to economic freedom and the free market, which do not seem to distribute wealth and rewards according to individual needs.