What Is Third Positionism?
The Third Position refers to neo-fascist political ideologies first described in Western Europe after the Second World War. Its name comes from the claim to offer a third option between Western capitalism and Eastern… Part of the Nationalist family.
Definition
The Third Position refers to neo-fascist political ideologies first described in Western Europe after the Second World War. Its name comes from the claim to offer a third option between Western capitalism and Eastern Bloc communism.
Core ideas
- Rejection of Western capitalism, liberal democracy and Marxist communism.
- Corporatism or national syndicalism in economics.
- Homogeneous nation-states or a wider pan-European nationalism.
- Sympathy for some Third World national liberation movements.
Origins
Cold War Europe, mostly descended from Italian fascism; associated groups include Oswald Mosley's European Social Movement and Roberto Fiore's International Third Position.
Associated thinkers and leaders
How it is classified
Most scholarly sources cited by Wikipedia classify the Third Position as neo-fascist and syncretic. Classification is not uniform: some historians describe particular groups (such as the Strasserist National Front of the 1980s) as National Bolshevist instead.
Definition based on Wikipedia: Third Position (checked October 20, 2026).
Where Third Positionism sits on the Atlas maps
| Map dimension | Score (0–100) | Position | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|
| Economic Collective / planned ↔ Market | 33 | toward collective / planned | |
| Social Progressive ↔ Traditional | 93 | strongly toward traditional | |
| Authority Libertarian ↔ Authoritarian | 83 | toward authoritarian | |
| National identity Cosmopolitan ↔ Nationalist | 100 | strongly toward nationalist | |
| Foreign policy Non-intervention ↔ Intervention | 45 | near the center |
All nine underlying dimensions
| Dimension | Score | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| Economic ownership Collective ownership ↔ Private ownership | 42 | near the center |
| Civil liberties Civil liberty ↔ State restrictions | 69 | toward state restrictions |
| National identity Cosmopolitan ↔ Nationalist | 100 | strongly toward nationalist |
| Social and cultural values Progressive ↔ Traditionalist | 100 | strongly toward traditionalist |
| Political governance Democratic ↔ Autocratic | 96 | strongly toward autocratic |
| Equality and hierarchy Egalitarian ↔ Hierarchical | 82 | toward hierarchical |
| Economic management Free market ↔ State planning | 80 | toward state planning |
| Military intervention Non-intervention ↔ Intervention | 45 | near the center |
| Religion and government Secular state ↔ Religious authority | 75 | toward religious authority |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| A naturalized citizen can belong to the nation as fully as someone born there. | Strongly disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Traditional values should guide what society considers right and wrong. | Strongly agrees | estimated from doctrine |
| A strong leader who gets things done matters more than following proper procedures. | Strongly agrees | estimated from doctrine |
| A national religious authority should have the power to veto legislation. | Disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
| National security can justify restrictions on what journalists publish. | Strongly agrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Markets generally distribute goods more effectively than government planners. | Strongly disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
| The means of production should ultimately be owned collectively. | Disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Class distinctions should gradually disappear. | Strongly disagrees | 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 National Syndicalism, Third Positionism sits 12 points further toward market on the economic dimension.
- Compared with Falangeism, Third Positionism sits 7 points further toward progressive on the social dimension.
- Compared with Islamism, Third Positionism sits 14 points further toward collective / planned on the economic dimension.
Figures with the closest estimated positions
Closeness of estimated positions only; this does not mean these people identify with Third Positionism.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Third Position
- Wikipedia: Third Positionism (Wikipedia search)
- Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Nationalism
Position last reviewed: not yet reviewed individually.