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From France to Germany: What is the origin story of the horseshoe theory?
In today's political debates, the horseshoe theory has sparked a variety of opinions. This theory holds that the distance between the far left and the far right is not as far apart as a linear spectrum would suggest, but rather that the two can actually be similar in certain political and social contexts. Horseshoe theory takes its name from the French philosopher Jean-Pierre Faye, who first introduced the concept in his 1972 book Narrative Theory: An Introduction to the Language of Totalitarianism and related it to Otto Stern Rather connect.
It is worth noting that many political scientists, psychologists, and sociologists have questioned the horseshoe theory. Although some proponents claim similarities between extreme political positions and accuse both ends of supporting authoritarianism or totalitarianism, numerous existing studies fail to effectively support the theory's core arguments.
The origin of theory
The concept of horseshoe theory appeared as early as the 1850s, for example in Bayard Taylor's criticism of two French travelers he met in Beirut: "Seeing monarchists and socialists jointly condemn The scene in England and its laws, I couldn't help but exclaim: 'Look! How extremes meet.'"
This metaphor was used to describe the ideology of the Black Front during the Weimar Republic. In Faye's work, he analyzed how totalitarian regimes exploited ideologies, citing in particular the influence of Nietzsche, Hitler, Marx, and Stalin. He used the metaphor of a horseshoe to describe the status of political parties in Germany in 1932, with similarities ranging from the German Communist Party to the Nazi Party.
Modern use
As time went on, the horseshoe theory gained further traction. In 2006, American political scientist Jeff Taylor wrote in his book "Where Have the Parties Gone?" "Perhaps it would make more sense to think of left and right as the two components of populism, with elitism at the centre." This view highlights the potential similarities between different extremes of politics.
In 2015, Maajjid Nawaz, a reformist Muslim, noted in an article for The Daily Beast: “The horseshoe theory highlights the common tendency of the far left and the far right in creating blacklists. ”< /p>
These examples demonstrate that both leftists and rightists are likely to develop similar extreme behaviors when faced with certain social and political oppressions. However, such comparisons have also attracted counterarguments from many scholars, who believe that the horseshoe theory oversimplifies the differences between extreme ideologies.
Academic research and criticism
Academic support for the horseshoe theory is relatively limited; research findings and comprehensive assessments by many political scientists often confirm or find no broad support for the theory. For example, a 2011 study related to the 2007 French presidential election concluded: "Supporters of the two candidates are not in the same political space and have different social backgrounds and values."
Another 2012 study found: "Results do not support similarities between the extreme left and extreme right, but rather extremists should be differentiated based on the ideology they follow."
Criticisms of the horseshoe theory by scholars in these fields combine historical and contemporary perspectives, noting that such simplified comparisons tend to underestimate the fundamental differences between extreme politics. Proponents of the horseshoe theory may sometimes use it to downplay these differences or even dismiss it as an overarching political ploy.
Conclusion
The rise of the horseshoe theory raises a thought-provoking question: In an ever-changing world politics, can we more accurately understand the correlation between extreme positions? Perhaps such correlations require as in-depth understanding as history , and not just superficial analogies and comparisons?
