What Is Moderate Liberalism?
Moderate liberalism supports liberal democracy, civil rights and a market economy with a limited welfare state, favoring incremental reform over sweeping change. Part of the Centrist family.
Definition
Moderate liberalism supports liberal democracy, civil rights and a market economy with a limited welfare state, favoring incremental reform over sweeping change.
Atlas definition: written by The Ideology Atlas. Writers and movements define ideologies in different ways; this is a short working definition. Further reading: Wikipedia: Liberalism.
Core ideas
- Civil liberties and rule of law.
- Market economy with social protections.
- Incremental reform.
Core ideas, origins and thinkers: Atlas summary.
Where Moderate Liberalism sits on the Atlas maps
| Map dimension | Score (0–100) | Position | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|
| Economic Collective / planned ↔ Market | 62 | near the center | |
| Social Progressive ↔ Traditional | 30 | toward progressive | |
| Authority Libertarian ↔ Authoritarian | 27 | toward libertarian | |
| National identity Cosmopolitan ↔ Nationalist | 32 | toward cosmopolitan | |
| Foreign policy Non-intervention ↔ Intervention | 43 | near the center |
All nine underlying dimensions
| Dimension | Score | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| Economic ownership Collective ownership ↔ Private ownership | 67 | toward private ownership |
| Civil liberties Civil liberty ↔ State restrictions | 38 | near the center |
| National identity Cosmopolitan ↔ Nationalist | 32 | toward cosmopolitan |
| Social and cultural values Progressive ↔ Traditionalist | 32 | toward progressive |
| Political governance Democratic ↔ Autocratic | 17 | toward democratic |
| Equality and hierarchy Egalitarian ↔ Hierarchical | 41 | near the center |
| Economic management Free market ↔ State planning | 45 | near the center |
| Military intervention Non-intervention ↔ Intervention | 43 | near the center |
| Religion and government Secular state ↔ Religious authority | 25 | 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 |
| People should be free to criticize the government without fear of legal punishment. | Strongly agrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Preserving a historic national majority is a legitimate immigration objective. | Strongly disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
| The means of production should ultimately be owned collectively. | Strongly disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Central economic planning is preferable to decentralized market decisions. | 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. | Strongly agrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Military power should be used proactively when serious external threats are emerging. | Disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
| The head of government should have more power to act quickly, even if it weakens checks from lawmakers. | Strongly disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
Related ideologies
Main differences from the closest ideologies
- Compared with Liberalism, Moderate Liberalism sits 7 points further toward authoritarian on the authority dimension.
- Compared with Radical Centrism, Moderate Liberalism sits 10 points further toward market on the economic dimension.
- Compared with Third Way, Moderate Liberalism sits 14 points further toward non-intervention on the foreign policy dimension.
Figures with the closest estimated positions
Closeness of estimated positions only; this does not mean these people identify with Moderate Liberalism.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Liberalism
- Wikipedia: Moderate Liberalism (Wikipedia search)
- Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Liberalism
Position last reviewed: not yet reviewed individually.