Atlas / Comparisons / Classical Liberalism vs Pinochet Regime
Classical Liberalism and Pinochet Regime
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, CH.
Axis by axis
| Axis | Manchester School | Pinochet Regime | Gap | Reading | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EC · Economic organisation | +09 | +09 | 0 | 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 | +10 | 17 | Diverges | Carries the disagreement. Any claim that these two are alike has to explain this. |
| SC · Scale of decision | −03 | +07 | 10 | Diverges | Carries the disagreement. Any claim that these two are alike has to explain this. |
| ID · Rule of membership | −03 | +05 | 8 | Diverges | Carries the disagreement. Any claim that these two are alike has to explain this. |
| CH · Method and tempo | −04 | +04 | 8 | Diverges | Carries the disagreement. Any claim that these two are alike has to explain this. |
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.
Pinochet Regime · CU +08
Social order restored by decree alongside the economic liberalisation.
- Documented act or statuteThe 1980 constitution was drafted by an appointed commission and ratified under a state of siege with no electoral register.
- Documented act or statuteAbortion, legal in some circumstances since 1931, was banned outright in 1989.
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.
Pinochet Regime · AU +10
At the ceiling. Congress dissolved, parties banned, opposition disappeared.
- Documented act or statuteCongress was dissolved and parties banned by decree after the September 1973 coup.
- Documented act or statuteThe Rettig and Valech commissions documented over three thousand killed or disappeared and tens of thousands tortured.
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.
Pinochet Regime
1973–1990 · Chile
Free-market restructuring imposed by a military junta after the violent overthrow of an elected 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