Atlas / Comparisons / Classical Liberalism vs Likud
Classical Liberalism and Likud
Measured distance across six axes
Different families with real common ground. They agree within three points on EC, CH. They diverge by eight points or more on CU, AU, ID.
Axis by axis
| Axis | Manchester School | Likud | Gap | Reading | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EC · Economic organisation | +09 | +06 | 3 | Agrees | Effectively the same position. Not what an argument between them is about. |
| CU · Social and cultural order | −02 | +06 | 8 | Diverges | Carries the disagreement. Any claim that these two are alike has to explain this. |
| AU · Organisation of power | −07 | +05 | 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 | −03 | +07 | 10 | Diverges | Carries the disagreement. Any claim that these two are alike has to explain this. |
| CH · Method and tempo | −04 | −03 | 1 | Agrees | Effectively the same position. Not what an argument between them is about. |
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.
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.
Likud · CU +06
Coded +6: traditionalist coalition politics with a secular liberal party history.
- Documented act or statuteGoverns in coalition with parties committed to religious authority over personal status law.
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.
Likud · AU +05
Coded +5. The 2023 judicial legislation is the basis; it was partially passed, then struck down.
- Documented act or statuteThe reasonableness standard for judicial review of executive appointments was legislated away in July 2023 and annulled by the supreme court in January 2024.
- Documented act or statuteThe proposals prompted the largest sustained protests in the state's history.
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.
Classical Liberalism
1776–1900 · Britain, Europe
Individual liberty, free trade, freedom of contract, religious toleration, constitutional and limited government.
Likud
1973– · Israel
Security-first nationalism, settlement of the West Bank, free-market economics, judicial restraint.
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