Atlas / Comparisons / Alternative for Germany vs Social Liberalism
Alternative for Germany and Social Liberalism
Measured distance across six axes
Opposed programmes with little shared ground. They agree within three points on EC, SC. They diverge by eight points or more on CU, AU, ID.
Axis by axis
| Axis | AfD | Rawlsian liberalism | Gap | Reading | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EC · Economic organisation | +04 | +01 | 3 | Agrees | Effectively the same position. Not what an argument between them is about. |
| CU · Social and cultural order | +09 | −06 | 15 | Diverges | Carries the disagreement. Any claim that these two are alike has to explain this. |
| AU · Organisation of power | +05 | −06 | 11 | Diverges | Carries the disagreement. Any claim that these two are alike has to explain this. |
| SC · Scale of decision | +03 | +02 | 1 | Agrees | Effectively the same position. Not what an argument between them is about. |
| ID · Rule of membership | +08 | −07 | 15 | Diverges | Carries the disagreement. Any claim that these two are alike has to explain this. |
| CH · Method and tempo | 00 | −07 | 7 | 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.
Rawlsian liberalism · CU −06
Coded −6: equal basic liberties as lexically prior to everything else.
- Programme textThe first principle of justice takes priority over the distributive one in Rawls's ordering.
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.
Rawlsian liberalism · AU −06
Coded −6: entrenched rights and judicial review.
- Programme textThe framework places basic liberties beyond ordinary majority revision.
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.
Social Liberalism
1971– · Global North
Equal basic liberties first, then fair equality of opportunity, then inequalities only where they benefit the worst off.
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.
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