Progress pill
Towards a new divide: freedom-coercion

The two fundamental dimensions

What's your Political Leaning?

The two fundamental dimensions

  • Economic freedoms
  • Personal and social freedoms
The diagram represents economic freedoms (tax levels, free market, private services) on the horizontal axis, and personal freedoms (freedom of movement, opinion, self-determination) on the vertical axis. This scheme is based on the idea that most political issues can be divided into two broad categories: economic and personal (or societal).

Economic freedoms

The economic freedom category includes what you do as a producer and consumer: what you can buy, sell, or produce; where you work; who you hire; and what you do with your money.
Examples of economic activity: starting a business, buying a house, constructing a building, investing savings, hiring or dismissing employees.
  • To the right of the axis (toward maximum economic freedom): preference for less state intervention in the economy, fewer regulations, lower taxes, and greater freedom for companies and individuals to produce, trade, and consume. The emphasis is on the free market, private property, and competition as engines of prosperity.
    • Emblematic figures: Margaret Thatcher (UK), Ronald Reagan (USA), Javier Milei (Argentina).
  • To the left of the axis (toward maximum state control of the economy): preference for regulation, high taxes to finance public services (health, education, transport), nationalization, and redistribution of wealth. The aim is often to reduce inequalities and guarantee a degree of social justice.
    • Emblematic figures: Franklin D. Roosevelt (USA), Jean Jaurès (France), Bernie Sanders, Barack Obama.

Personal and social freedoms

The personal freedom category includes what you do in your private relationships, with your opinions and beliefs. In general, it is everything you do with your own body and mind.
Examples of personal activities: marriage, choosing the books you read and the films you watch, the foods, medicines, and drugs you choose to consume, your religious choices, the organizations you join, the people you choose to associate with.
  • Top of the axis (toward maximum personal freedom): preference for individual freedom and tolerance. The state should interfere as little as possible in the life choices of individuals (freedom of expression, legalization of certain substances, freedom of movement, etc.). We value autonomy and diversity.
    • Emblematic figures: Nelson Mandela, Simone Veil, Noam Chomsky.
  • Bottom of the axis (toward maximum state control of personal life): preference for order, security, and traditional values. The state has a role in regulating morals, maintaining public order, and sometimes defending a certain vision of morality or tradition. These include positions in favor of the death penalty, restrictions on immigration, or government-led promotion of the traditional family.
    • Emblematic figures: Joseph de Maistre (French counter-revolutionary philosopher), and contemporary authoritarian leaders such as Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping.
Quiz
Quiz1/5
What characterizes the bottom of the personal freedom axis on the Nolan diagram?