The axes are defined as follows:

• The x-axis distinguishes cultural issues. Those who view themselves as "on the left" are more likely to support drug legalization and gay rights, emphasize a belief in the civil and moral equality of all people regardless of ethnicity, color, nationality, sex, sexual orientation, gender identification, health status, or age, and frown on arbitrary social conventions. Those who view themselves as "on the right" are more likely to support the War on Drugs, have a traditionally Judaeo-Christian-influenced view on sex, gender relations, gender roles, and family relationships, and have a law-and-order view of the world that supports the legal enforcement of socially or religiously prescribed norms and traditions.

• The y-axis distinguishes fiscal issues. The top of the chart represents those who support an activist government that taxes for social welfare programs, foreign aid, and the arts. Those at the bottom share fiscal views that oppose taxation and are willing to give up government-provided services in order to cut taxes.

• The z-axis represents corporate issues. The closer one lies to the mathematical origin of the chart (the 'back' of the chart), the more likely one is to believe that a business should be able to discriminate against employees or customers and that shopkeepers should be allowed to ask certain people to leave their stores; to support intellectual property and copyright laws; to believe that the Invisible Hand of the market will keep businesses in line; and to want corporations to continue to be allowed to make campaign donations and fund political events. Those who lie closer to the front of the chart are more likely to believe that corporations are not persons; to refuse to allow businesses to make any discriminatory decisions; to believe that businesses are not private property; to oppose intellectual property; to consider the idea that businesses can rely on human responsibility without regulation dangerous; and to oppose the influence of corporations in politics.