Atlas / Comparisons / Classical Liberalism vs Orbánism
Classical Liberalism and Orbánism
Measured distance across six axes
Opposed programmes with little shared ground. They agree within three points on CH. They diverge by eight points or more on CU, AU, SC, ID.
Axis by axis
| Axis | Manchester School | Fidesz | Gap | Reading | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EC · Economic organisation | +09 | +04 | 5 | Differs | Real difference, but not the dividing line. |
| 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 | +07 | 14 | Diverges | Carries the disagreement. Any claim that these two are alike has to explain this. |
| SC · Scale of decision | −03 | +06 | 9 | Diverges | Carries the disagreement. Any claim that these two are alike has to explain this. |
| 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 | −01 | 3 | 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.
Fidesz · CU +08
Coded +8: Christian national identity written into the constitution and into family and education law.
- Documented act or statuteThe 2011 Fundamental Law defines marriage as between a man and a woman and invokes Christianity in its preamble.
- Documented act or statuteA 2021 law restricted depiction of homosexuality and gender reassignment to minors.
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.
Fidesz · AU +07
The reference case for the entry. Elections are real and the institutions that could reverse their outcome have been restructured.
- Documented act or statuteThe 2011 constitution and subsequent amendments restructured the constitutional court and the judicial appointment system.
- Documented act or statuteThe 2018 consolidation of some four hundred outlets into a single foundation removed most independent broadcast and print media.
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.
Orbánism
2010– · Hungary
Explicitly 'illiberal democracy': majority rule unconstrained by liberal checks, Christian national identity, opposition to immigration.
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