The Government Authority Axis (Libertarian ↔ Authoritarian)

Measures how far the state may restrict individual freedom in the name of order and safety.

What this axis measures

This axis asks a question left and right do not settle: how much may the state require of an individual? One side holds that state power is difficult to claw back once granted, so it should be drawn narrowly from the start. The other holds that freedom does not survive the collapse of order, so the state needs enough authority to actually enforce the rules. There are economic leftists who are strongly libertarian on this axis, and economic rightists who support a strong state.

Questions this axis asks

How much surveillance and data collection national security justifies
How severe criminal penalties and police powers should be
Under what conditions assembly, protest, and expression may be restricted
Whether government may restrict movement and commerce during an emergency

The two poles

Libertarian

Holds that state power is hard to reverse once expanded, so it should be limited narrowly from the outset.

Libertarian

Authoritarian

Holds that freedom cannot be exercised without order and safety, so the state needs sufficient authority to secure them.

Authoritarian

Reading your score

"Authoritarian" carries a negative charge in everyday speech, but on this axis it does not mean dictatorship. It is a technical label for the direction that strengthens state authority in the name of order and safety, and parties and voters supporting that direction exist within every democracy. A score on that side does not mean you are anti-democratic.

Curious where you land?

Take the 16-question version (about five minutes) or the 40-question detailed version to see your position on all four axes. Nothing is stored — answers are calculated in your browser and never leave it.

Start the test →

This page neither endorses nor opposes any position. Each position is described the way its own supporters would describe it, and criticisms are given equal weight across all of them. Political disagreement is often less about who is right than about what each side weighs most heavily.