ABSTRACT
The social and the political are distinguished in Western societies by the manner in which they exercise control. Society is governed by two forces, coercion (the physical force) and persuasion (the moral force). In the West, the rightful employment of coercion is generally reserved for political powers, the civil and military authorities at their various levels. The thinking of Libertarians and Socialists tends toward the abstract, which accounts for the seeming unreality of their programs. Libertarians refuse to think in terms of what is politically or culturally possible, and Socialists are always devising social programs that seem to take no account of real life. Theoretically, the most clearly and consistently defined perspectives would be found nearest the curve of the circle, where the social and political forces are reasonably averaged. Confusion, ambivalence, or evasion on the part of the respondent would result in moderate P and S scores, which would put the respondent near the center of the circle.
