Axis 01
Federal / Unitary
This axis explores where government power should sit. Federal views favor authority for states or regions, while unitary views favor stronger central government. Consider local representation alongside the benefits of consistent national rules.
Who should set the rules?
A region might want to choose its own education policy, while a central government might prefer one national standard. The tradeoff involves local responsiveness, equal treatment across regions, and the ability to coordinate services. Decentralization does not by itself tell you whether a government is democratic.
Axis 02
Democratic / Autocratic
This dimension concerns participation in political decisions. Democratic views emphasize elections and public influence; autocratic views favor concentrated leadership. The questions explore how you weigh representation, decision speed, and trust in the public.
Who should make political decisions?
Imagine a policy that is popular but slow to approve through elections and public debate. Would you accept a leader making the decision alone? Consider both the process and the limits on that leader, rather than judging only whether you like the outcome.
Axis 03
Internationalist / Nationalist
Internationalist views favor cooperation across national borders and international institutions. Nationalist views emphasize sovereignty and national interests. This axis asks how much authority and responsibility countries should share when facing problems that extend beyond their borders.
How much should countries cooperate?
An international agreement can help coordinate climate policy, but it can also restrict a country’s choices. This dimension asks how you balance shared problems against national autonomy. Favoring international cooperation does not automatically mean supporting every treaty or institution.
Axis 04
Militarist / Pacifist
This axis examines the role of military force. Militarist views place greater value on military strength and intervention, while pacifist views emphasize peaceful relations and diplomacy. Think about when force is justified and what alternatives deserve priority.
When is force justified?
A conflict may prompt calls for military intervention, sanctions, negotiations, or humanitarian assistance. People can agree that a threat is serious while disagreeing about which response should come first. Your view about using force is separate from your view about national sovereignty.
Axis 05
Security / Freedom
Security views prioritize order, enforcement, and protection from threats. Freedom views prioritize civil liberties and limits on state power. The tension often appears in questions about surveillance, policing, and restrictions imposed in the name of public safety.
What limits should public safety have?
Consider surveillance intended to prevent crime. One person might value its possible protective benefits; another might worry about misuse and loss of privacy. The issue is not whether safety or liberty matters at all, but how you weigh them when a policy places them in tension.
Axis 06
Equality / Markets
This dimension explores economic outcomes and incentives. Equality views favor reducing differences in wealth and opportunity; market views emphasize competition and individual economic choice. Consider how resources should be distributed and which inequalities you find acceptable.
What economic outcomes matter most?
A tax policy might reduce income differences while changing incentives to invest or work. This axis considers your priorities around economic fairness and competition. A preference for equality can coexist with support for private businesses, and support for markets can coexist with a social safety net.
Axis 07
Secular / Religious
Secular views favor separating religious authority from government decisions. Religious views give faith and religious teachings a larger role in public life. This measures preferences about institutions and policy, rather than whether you personally hold spiritual beliefs.
What role should religion play in government?
A debate over school policy might involve religious teachings, secular rules, or accommodations for different beliefs. Focus on the role of religious authority in public decisions. A person’s private faith and their preferred relationship between religion and the state need not be the same.
Axis 08
Progressive / Traditional
Progressive views welcome changes to social norms and established practices. Traditional views place greater value on inherited customs and continuity. Your answers reflect how you approach change, including when familiar practices deserve protection or reconsideration.
How should society approach change?
An established social convention may offer continuity for some people and limit opportunities for others. Consider what would justify preserving it or changing it. A preference for tradition in one area can coexist with a willingness to reform another; a five-question axis cannot show every exception.
Axis 09
Assimilationist / Multiculturalist
Assimilationist views emphasize a shared national culture and expectations that newcomers adapt to it. Multiculturalist views favor space for different cultural identities. The questions explore immigration, belonging, and how communities balance common ground with cultural diversity.
What does belonging require?
Think about whether newcomers should adopt a common language and customs, or whether public institutions should accommodate several cultural traditions. Shared civic rules and diverse identities can coexist. This bar summarizes the emphasis of your answers, rather than measuring your attitude toward any individual community.
Axis 10
Planned / Laissez-faire
Planned views favor government direction and regulation of economic activity. Laissez-faire views favor minimal intervention and private decisions. This concerns who guides the economy, which can differ from your preferences about the distribution of wealth.
Who should direct economic activity?
A government might regulate prices or guide investment toward an industry, while another approach leaves those choices to businesses and consumers. This concerns economic coordination and intervention. It differs from Equality / Markets, which focuses more on distribution and incentives.
Axis 11
Protectionist / Globalist
Protectionist views favor supporting domestic industries through trade barriers or other protections. Globalist views favor open trade and economic cooperation. This axis focuses on cross-border economic exchange, distinct from the broader question of international political cooperation.
How open should trade be?
A tariff might protect a domestic producer while raising costs for buyers and limiting imports. Consider the importance you place on domestic capacity, competition, and access to foreign goods. Open trade is an economic preference; it does not require supporting every international political institution.
Axis 12
Accelerationist / Bioconservative
Accelerationist views welcome rapid technological development and changes to human capabilities. Bioconservative views emphasize caution about those changes. The questions consider automation, genetic modification, and whether potential benefits justify disruption to existing ways of life.
How quickly should new technology change life?
Automation or genetic modification can offer benefits while introducing uncertainty and disruption. Consider whether you tend to welcome rapid adoption or favor stronger caution and limits. The label Accelerationist here refers to this test’s technology dimension, not every movement that uses the word.
Read the dimensions together
A Federal result does not guarantee a Freedom result, and a Planned result does not guarantee an Equality result. These pairs overlap in everyday debate, but they describe different choices. Read several bars together before summarizing your outlook.
Each bar is based on five statements. For the formula and examples of balanced or strongly tilted bars, see the results interpretation guide. If you want a broad map rather than twelve separate bars, our political test comparison explains the difference.