the stupidity of the horseshoe theory

The horseshoe theory is probably one of the funniest pseudo-scientific political “theories” out there. In case you’re unfamiliar with this theory, I’m sorry to be the one to disturb your blissful ignorance of it (that I’m jealous of), but here’s what it is: It’s the understanding that the political spectrum is shaped like a horseshoe in which Far-Right and Far-Left beliefs, like illiberalism and anti-establishment positions, converge and both become functionally the same. I would like to discuss why this theory is an outlandish, misguided, and simplistic vestige for obscuring the nuance of the drivers for different people holding superficially similar beliefs for completely different reasons. Yes, this has been discussed at length, I’m just young, I know. But this theory’s permanence in political discourse deserves a constant reminder of why it’s stupid. Before I write any more, I would like to preface that (1) some uncited things are from lectures I had and I can’t cite them without…