Just a superb essay, gato.

I like to envision the political spectrum as a horizontal line. At one end there is no State, and at the other a total State.

When seen this way, it matters not which end is which, only the increasing powers usurped by the state, which is a zero sum game: every power the state gains directly reduces our freedom.

Using this rubric, there is no real distinction between the "far right" and the "far left". They are all in favor of an omnipotent State, which of course is controlled by them for their own benefit, at the expense of the liberty and prosperity of the rest of us.

The ass and the elephant are in complete agreement on this. NAP libertarians are equidistant from both.