Political ideologies

Each cell is a region of the PoliMap chart. Open one to read what it claims, who sits nearby, and whether the quiz would put you there.

• Leninism

  Leninism is a far-left, highly authoritarian current of communism. It argues that a disciplined vanguard party should seize the state and use it to socialise production, suppress rival politics, and direct society toward a classless order.

• (Chinese) State Capitalism

  On this map, (Chinese) state capitalism means a one-party state that keeps tight political control while using markets, state firms, and industrial policy to grow the economy. It is economically left of centre only relative to liberal markets, and strongly authoritarian.

• National Socialism

  National socialism, as mapped here, is an extreme authoritarian ideology of racial hierarchy, dictatorship, and a war economy. It rejects both liberal democracy and international socialism in favour of a mythic nation led by a single party.

• Fascism

  Fascism is an authoritarian nationalist ideology that puts the state, the leader, and a myth of national rebirth above individual rights, class politics, and free elections. Markets may remain private, but they are subordinated to the regime.

• Monarchism

  Monarchism holds that a hereditary sovereign should sit above day-to-day politics, sometimes with real power and sometimes as a symbol. On this map it sits on the authoritarian right, pairing hierarchy and tradition with private property.

• Trotskyism

  Trotskyism is a communist tendency that keeps Leninist party politics but stresses international revolution, workers' democracy against bureaucracy, and opposition to 'socialism in one country'. It is economically far left and socially authoritarian, less so than the cells above it.

• Distributism

  Distributism wants productive property widely owned by families, workshops, and cooperatives rather than by the state or by large corporations. It is economically left of centre and socially traditional, often drawing on Catholic social teaching.

• Authoritarian Democratism

  Authoritarian democratism is the centre of the authoritarian band: elections or parties exist, but a strong executive, security services, or national culture set the limits of debate. Economically it is mixed rather than socialist or laissez-faire.

• Conservatism

  Conservatism favours existing institutions, gradual change, private enterprise, and a common culture. On this map it is right of centre economically and moderately authoritarian: order, family, and nation outweigh experimental liberty.

• National Capitalism

  National capitalism pairs free enterprise at home with tariffs, industrial policy, and a strong state that treats the economy as a tool of national power. It is economically right and socially authoritarian.

• Democratic Socialism

  Democratic socialism wants substantial public ownership, welfare, and worker power, reached through elections and civil liberties rather than a vanguard state. It is far left economically and near the centre on the social axis.

• Social Liberalism

  Social liberalism accepts markets but wants them taxed and regulated to fund healthcare, education, and equal opportunity. It is left of centre economically and comfortable with personal freedom on social questions.

• Liberal Democratism

  Liberal democratism is the centre of the map: constitutional government, competitive elections, a mixed economy, and a preference for neither revolution nor hierarchy. Most established centre parties live near this cell.

• Market Liberalism

  Market liberalism trusts prices, competition, and private firms more than public ownership, while staying within a liberal democratic frame. It is right of centre economically and near the middle on social control.

• Classical Liberalism

  Classical liberalism treats individual rights, free trade, and a small state as the default. It sits on the economic right and is mildly libertarian: government should protect contracts and basic order, not manage private life.

• Marxism

  Marxism explains politics through class and the ownership of production, and aims at a classless society after capitalism. On this map the Marxist cell is far left and socially libertarian relative to Leninism, emphasising emancipation more than the party state.

• Libertarian Socialism

  Libertarian socialism wants common ownership without a central state: unions, councils, or communes would run production. It is left economically and clearly libertarian socially.

• Geo-Libertarianism

  Geo-libertarianism, in the Georgist tradition, treats land and natural resources as a commons that can be taxed, while leaving labour and capital mostly free. It sits near the economic centre and on the libertarian half of the map.

• Libertarian Capitalism

  Libertarian capitalism wants private property, open markets, and a state limited to protecting persons and contracts, if it exists at all. It is right of centre economically and socially libertarian.

• Objectivism

  Objectivism, drawn from Ayn Rand, argues for rational self-interest, laissez-faire capitalism, and strong individual rights, including against religious or state coercion. It sits on the far economic right and the libertarian social side.

• Anarcho-Communism

  Anarcho-communism wants to abolish both the state and private capital, replacing them with voluntary communes and distribution by need. It is the far left and strongly libertarian corner of the map.

• Mutualism

  Mutualism is a market-friendly anarchism in which workers own their tools and exchange goods through cooperatives and mutual credit, without landlords or a central state. It is left of centre and strongly libertarian.

• Egoism

  Egoism, in the Stirnerite sense used here, rejects fixed moral duties to state, class, or nation and treats the individual as the only authority. It sits near the economic centre and at the libertarian edge.

• Agorism

  Agorism is a revolutionary libertarianism that builds black and grey markets now, expecting the state to wither as people trade outside it. It is right of centre economically and strongly libertarian.

• Anarcho-Capitalism

  Anarcho-capitalism argues that even police, courts, and defence should be private services bought on a market. It occupies the far economic right and the most libertarian row of the map.