What Is Civic Republicanism?
Civic republicanism holds that freedom means not being subject to arbitrary power, and that it is secured by active, public-spirited citizens, the rule of law and institutions that check domination. Part of the Liberal family.
Definition
Civic republicanism holds that freedom means not being subject to arbitrary power, and that it is secured by active, public-spirited citizens, the rule of law and institutions that check domination.
Atlas definition: written by The Ideology Atlas. Writers and movements define ideologies in different ways; this is a short working definition. Further reading: Wikipedia: Republicanism.
Core ideas
- Freedom as non-domination.
- Civic virtue and participation.
- Mixed government and the rule of law.
Origins
Ancient Rome and Renaissance Italy; revived in modern political theory.
Associated thinkers and leaders
Niccolò Machiavelli, Philip Pettit
Core ideas, origins and thinkers: Atlas summary.
Where Civic Republicanism sits on the Atlas maps
| Map dimension | Score (0–100) | Position | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|
| Economic Collective / planned ↔ Market | 65 | toward market | |
| Social Progressive ↔ Traditional | 39 | near the center | |
| Authority Libertarian ↔ Authoritarian | 21 | toward libertarian | |
| National identity Cosmopolitan ↔ Nationalist | 45 | near the center | |
| Foreign policy Non-intervention ↔ Intervention | 45 | near the center |
All nine underlying dimensions
| Dimension | Score | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| Economic ownership Collective ownership ↔ Private ownership | 71 | toward private ownership |
| Civil liberties Civil liberty ↔ State restrictions | 37 | near the center |
| National identity Cosmopolitan ↔ Nationalist | 45 | near the center |
| Social and cultural values Progressive ↔ Traditionalist | 43 | near the center |
| Political governance Democratic ↔ Autocratic | 5 | strongly toward democratic |
| Equality and hierarchy Egalitarian ↔ Hierarchical | 46 | near the center |
| Economic management Free market ↔ State planning | 44 | near the center |
| Military intervention Non-intervention ↔ Intervention | 45 | near the center |
| Religion and government Secular state ↔ Religious authority | 28 | toward secular state |
These positions are estimates on the Atlas’s nine-dimension scale, produced by running the tradition’s core principles through the same questions and scoring used for test-takers. They are interpretations for comparison, not objective measurements. How scores are made.
Estimated positions on key questions
| Statement | Position | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Opposition parties should be free to compete in elections. | Strongly agrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Religious doctrine should take precedence over civil law when they conflict. | Strongly disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
| The means of production should ultimately be owned collectively. | Strongly disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
| People should be free to criticize the government without fear of legal punishment. | Strongly agrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Central economic planning is preferable to decentralized market decisions. | Strongly disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Preserving a historic national majority is a legitimate immigration objective. | Strongly disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Society works best when established social hierarchies are respected. | Strongly disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Same-sex couples should have the same right to marry as opposite-sex couples. | Agrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Military power should be used proactively when serious external threats are emerging. | Disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Non-intervention should be the default even when allies request military assistance. | Disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
Related ideologies
Main differences from the closest ideologies
- Compared with Federalism, Civic Republicanism sits 6 points further toward cosmopolitan on the national identity dimension.
- Compared with Constitutional Liberalism, Civic Republicanism sits 9 points further toward nationalist on the national identity dimension.
- Compared with Moderate Liberalism, Civic Republicanism sits 13 points further toward nationalist on the national identity dimension.
Figures with the closest estimated positions
Closeness of estimated positions only; this does not mean these people identify with Civic Republicanism.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Republicanism
- Wikipedia: Civic Republicanism (Wikipedia search)
- Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Republicanism
Position last reviewed: not yet reviewed individually.