+kenwilber.com – blog
First let’s look at the four quadrants, which are simply the interior and exterior of the individual and collective, all of which are present in any occasion. Concerning the debate on rights versus responsibility: an emphasis on the sovereignty of the individual (rights) yields positions such as libertarianism; an emphasis on the sovereignty of the collective (responsibility) yields positions such as socialism. Concerning the debate on the cause of human suffering: an emphasis on interior factors yields a more republican position (if a person is suffering it is because they lack work ethic, family values, etc); an emphasis on exterior factors yields a more democratic position (if a person is suffering it is because they lack opportunities, have been downtrodden by an oppressive system, etc).

In any individual holon (meaning “whole/part”) there are four drives. Within a level—horizontal translation—a holon has drives towards autonomy (rights) and communion (responsibility), and between levels—vertical transformation—a holon has Eros (to reach beyond) and Agape (to embrace and preserve). We’ve already seen how autonomy and communion can function in the political arena, and now we see how the progressive (move things forward!) and conservative (preserve the status quo!) wings within a given party can be explained by Eros and Agape.

And what is it that various political groups seek to either progress towards or diligently conserve? Often it is a particular wave or level of development, and these unfold from archaic, to magic, to mythic, to rational, to pluralistic, to integral (and beyond). Different wings of a political party—conservative, to moderate, to progressive—are, in fact, often representing different waves of development.

Colin’s brilliant view of politics in terms of an integral approach – clear and without any of the hysteria usually attached to political thought.