The political compass is a two-axis model that maps political views on an economic dimension (left to right) and a social dimension (libertarian to authoritarian). Two-axis variants were developed through the 20th century and the term was popularised by the Political Compass website in the early 2000s. It sorts people by their economic and social-authority preferences rather than placing them on a single left-right line.
A popular self-placement model for political views, not a scientifically validated measure of personality or ideology. (Two-axis political models, 20th century; term popularised by the Political Compass website, c. 2001)