Ideology Compass
X/Y coordinates on the economic (Left-Right) and social (Libertarian-Authoritarian) axes. Libertarian Left, Libertarian Right, Authoritarian Left, or Authoritarian Right — and how strongly you land there. Whether your economic and social positions pull in the same direction, or split in a way a single left-right label would hide.
What You'll Discover
🧭Your exact placement
X/Y coordinates on the economic (Left-Right) and social (Libertarian-Authoritarian) axes
📍Your quadrant archetype
Libertarian Left, Libertarian Right, Authoritarian Left, or Authoritarian Right — and how strongly you land there
🔀Where your views align or diverge
Whether your economic and social positions pull in the same direction, or split in a way a single left-right label would hide
Sample Result
🔬 Research & Sources
Original 36-item questionnaire; not politicalcompass.org’s instrument or item set.
Frequently Asked Questions
What two axes does the Ideology Compass score?
An economic axis from Left (redistribution, public services, collective solutions) to Right (free markets, low taxes, minimal intervention), and a social axis from Libertarian (personal freedom, limited state authority over private life) to Authoritarian (a strong, decisive state, order, and tradition). The two are scored independently, so your position on one says nothing about your position on the other.
How is this different from a single left-right label?
A single left-right label forces two separate questions — how the economy should be run, and how much authority the state should have over private life — onto one line, which hides combinations like a free-market social liberal or a state-planning traditionalist. Crossing two independent axes is a general framework with academic roots going back to the 1950s and no single owner; the Ideology Compass applies it with 36 statements written for this test.
What are the four quadrant results?
Libertarian Left, Libertarian Right, Authoritarian Left, and Authoritarian Right — one per combination of the two axes. Your combined score places you closest to one quadrant, but the detailed breakdown shows your exact position on each axis rather than just the label.
How many questions, and how long does it take?
36 short statements, 18 about economic policy and 18 about social and state-authority questions, answered on a five-point agree-disagree scale. Most people finish in about 8 minutes.
Does the test rank one quadrant as better than the others?
No. All four quadrants are presented as descriptions of a position, not a ranking — the tool exists to make your own combination of views legible, not to judge it.
Can my result change if I retake the test later?
Yes. Views on economic and social questions commonly shift with life experience, career changes, and current events, so retaking every 6-12 months tends to reflect a real change rather than noise from answering slightly differently on the day.