Atlas / Comparisons / Alternative for Germany vs Classical Liberalism
Alternative for Germany and Classical Liberalism
Measured distance across six axes
Opposed programmes with little shared ground. No axis places them within three points of each other. They diverge by eight points or more on CU, AU, ID.
Axis by axis
| Axis | AfD | Manchester School | Gap | Reading | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EC · Economic organisation | +04 | +09 | 5 | Differs | Real difference, but not the dividing line. |
| CU · Social and cultural order | +09 | −02 | 11 | Diverges | Carries the disagreement. Any claim that these two are alike has to explain this. |
| AU · Organisation of power | +05 | −07 | 12 | Diverges | Carries the disagreement. Any claim that these two are alike has to explain this. |
| SC · Scale of decision | +03 | −03 | 6 | Differs | Real difference, but not the dividing line. |
| ID · Rule of membership | +08 | −03 | 11 | Diverges | Carries the disagreement. Any claim that these two are alike has to explain this. |
| CH · Method and tempo | 00 | −04 | 4 | Differs | Real difference, but not the dividing line. |
Each axis runs from −10 to +10; the distance is the straight-line separation across all six at once, out of a maximum of 49.0. How the scoring works →
The evidence behind the widest gaps
A distance figure is worth nothing unless the scores behind it can be checked. These are the artefacts supporting the axes that separate these two most.
AfD · CU +09
Coded +9: national identity, Leitkultur and opposition to what the party calls gender ideology.
- Programme textProgramme rejects multiculturalism explicitly and opposes recognition of gender beyond the binary.
Manchester School · CU −02
Coded −2: religious toleration and legal equality against inherited privilege.
- Programme textMill's On Liberty (1859) sets the harm principle against social as well as legal coercion.
AfD · AU +05
Coded +5 with low confidence and a contested reading.
- Documented act or statuteThree state branches have been classified as confirmed right-wing extremist by domestic intelligence; the national party was reclassified in 2025 and the designation is under legal challenge.
- Documented act or statuteThe party contests every election, holds parliamentary seats and has never been banned, which holds this below the hybrid-authoritarian scores.
Manchester School · AU −07
Coded −7: constitutional limitation as the school's founding commitment.
- Programme textWealth of Nations and On Liberty both treat concentrated authority as the standing danger.
What this comparison does not establish
Proximity means similarity of stated position. It carries no claim about competence, circumstance, scale of operation, or what either organisation actually did to the people under it. Two organisations can sit close together and produce entirely different histories, because those things are not on any axis and could not be.
Alternative for Germany
2013– · Germany
Founded against euro bailouts, reoriented around immigration, national identity and rejection of climate policy.
Classical Liberalism
1776–1900 · Britain, Europe
Individual liberty, free trade, freedom of contract, religious toleration, constitutional and limited government.
Distance is not the whole answer. Two organisations can sit the same distance apart for entirely different reasons, and the reason is the content of any claim about them. Open the comparison in the atlas to weight the axes yourself.
Open in the atlas