I made a little progress with a "progressive"

[Tommygunn]

Yeah, you are equating communism with authoritaranism. There have been PLENTY of right-leaning authoritarian regimes. Most (but clearly not all) of the Latin-American 'strongman' dictators were right-leaning and they had draconian gun control laws for those who were not part of the party in power. Mussolini's Fascist Blackshirts were the only people allowed arms durimg the 1930s. Obviously Germany (a right-wing dictatorship) was similar in the 1930s. It is a common patttern for fascist governments, for obvious reasons. The Soviets were authoritarian, so they also had strict gun control. I am no particular defender of Marxism (no matter how defined), but the Soviet Union did not really resemble anything he advocated.

Also, your knowledge of the history of communism is a little shaky. Communism came to the America long before the 1960s. Eugene Debs first ran for president in 1900. The ideological battle was completely finished in the US by WWII - Aurthur Koestler wrote 'Darkness at Noon' in 1940 and Gareth Jones had published on Stalin's famines in the late 30s. None of this had anything to do with gun control in the USA. That had more to do with the general atmosphere of social engineering, which was certainly the work of both Republicans and Democrats (Johnson and Nixon mostly - Nixon wanted to ban all handguns).

Keep in mind that it was Ronald Reagan who signed the Mulford Act, which was California's first strong gun control effort. And that was very much an authoritarian law designed to facilitate control of one specific anti-authoritarian group (the Black Panthers) that vocally articulated a right to arms in self-defense.

Germany was actually a left wing dictatorship, although Hitler considered his National Socialist movement to be syncretic (meaning it did not fall inside traditional definitions) he was a National Socialist, which is traditionally defined as left wing.
He was enamored with aspects of Mussolini's fascists, but didn't like the "non" nationalistic nature of it. He was also at odds with Soviet Russia's version, which allowed individual national identities to remain intact.
Both extreme left and extreme right wing dictatorships are similar in that they oppress individualism and are very destructive to personal liberties, gun ownership among them, but also often religious differences as well as communication.
Some graph this not on a "line" from left to right, but on a circle, where left and right dictatorships meet at the six o'clock position and free countries are generally positioned from ten to two o'clock. I think that system works better.

 

[AlexanderA]

Germany was actually a left wing dictatorship, although Hitler considered his National Socialist movement to be syncretic (meaning it did not fall inside traditional definitions) he was a National Socialist, which is traditionally defined as left wing.

The early Nazi movement had a strong populist or left-wing component, centered on the SA, Ernst Roehm, the Strasser brothers, etc. (These groups were nevertheless deadly enemies of the Communists, who were their rivals in the same lower- and lower-middle class social strata from which they were all derived.) Hitler purged the entire leadership of the left wing of his party in the notorious and bloody "Night of the Long Knives" in 1936. Hitler did this in order to cement an alliance with the conservative industrialists and army officers that he needed going forward. Nazism was in no way "left wing" after the Night of the Long Knives.

Many European movements label themselves as "Socialist" even though they are Socialist in name only. Likewise, in Europe, the "Radicals" are often really extreme-right conservatives. These labels just don't mean the same in Europe as they do here.

Some graph this not on a "line" from left to right, but on a circle, where left and right dictatorships meet at the six o'clock position and free countries are generally positioned from ten to two o'clock. I think that system works better.

A one-dimensional graph, whether a line or a circle, is inadequate. You need at least two dimensions or axes, one for personal freedom vs. authoritarianism, and another for economic freedom vs. regulation. For example, Communist China has a completely authoritarian political system but a plutocratic-capitalist economic system. Where would you rank it on a conventional right-left scale? It's certainly something unrecognizable to traditional Marxism.

 

[Tommygunn]

The early Nazi movement had a strong populist or left-wing component, centered on the SA, Ernst Roehm, the Strasser brothers, etc. (These groups were nevertheless deadly enemies of the Communists, who were their rivals in the same lower- and lower-middle class social strata from which they were all derived.) Hitler purged the entire leadership of the left wing of his party in the notorious and bloody "Night of the Long Knives" in 1936. Hitler did this in order to cement an alliance with the conservative industrialists and army officers that he needed going forward. Nazism was in no way "left wing" after the Night of the Long Knives.

Many European movements label themselves as "Socialist" even though they are Socialist in name only. Likewise, in Europe, the "Radicals" are often really extreme-right conservatives. These labels just don't mean the same in Europe as they do here.

A one-dimensional graph, whether a line or a circle, is inadequate. You need at least two dimensions or axes, one for personal freedom vs. authoritarianism, and another for economic freedom vs. regulation. For example, Communist China has a completely authoritarian political system but a plutocratic-capitalist economic system. Where would you rank it on a conventional right-left scale? It's certainly something unrecognizable to traditional Marxism.

I did say Hitler considered Nazism to be syncretic. Socialism is a form of totalitarianism where the government owns the main means of economic performance, facism allows private ownership but strictly controls it. Germany was on its way to full blown nationalist socialism but the conclusion of WW2 ended it.
I consider Hitler's national socialism to be extreme leftwing, but there really is not a great difference between the Third Reich and some extreme rightwing dictatorships....both would be experienced by the oppressed people in much the same way.

I like your idea of a dual axis graph representation differentiating economic freedom and personal freedom.