Atlas / Comparisons / Classical Liberalism vs New Imperialism
Classical Liberalism and New Imperialism
Measured distance across six axes
Opposed programmes with little shared ground. They agree within three points on EC. They diverge by eight points or more on CU, AU, SC, ID.
Axis by axis
| Axis | Manchester School | New Imperialism | 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 | +08 | 10 | Diverges | Carries the disagreement. Any claim that these two are alike has to explain this. |
| AU · Organisation of power | −07 | +06 | 13 | Diverges | Carries the disagreement. Any claim that these two are alike has to explain this. |
| SC · Scale of decision | −03 | +10 | 13 | Diverges | Carries the disagreement. Any claim that these two are alike has to explain this. |
| ID · Rule of membership | −03 | +09 | 12 | Diverges | Carries the disagreement. Any claim that these two are alike has to explain this. |
| CH · Method and tempo | −04 | +01 | 5 | 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.
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.
New Imperialism · CU +08
Coded +8: civilisational hierarchy as explicit doctrine.
- Documented act or statuteThe Berlin Conference of 1884–85 partitioned Africa among European states without African participation.
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.
New Imperialism · AU +06
Coded +6: parliamentary at home, unaccountable rule abroad.
- Documented act or statuteGovernors ruled by ordinance with no local franchise; the same states held competitive elections in the metropole.
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.
New Imperialism
1870–1914 · Europe, Japan, US
Civilisational hierarchy justifying territorial conquest, resource extraction and permanent rule over subject peoples.
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