Atlas / Comparisons / Neoliberalism vs US Democratic Party
Neoliberalism and US Democratic Party
Measured distance across six axes
Different families with real common ground. They agree within three points on AU, SC. They diverge by eight points or more on EC.
Axis by axis
| Axis | Mont Pèlerin, Chicago | US Democratic Party | Gap | Reading | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EC · Economic organisation | +09 | −03 | 12 | Diverges | Carries the disagreement. Any claim that these two are alike has to explain this. |
| CU · Social and cultural order | +01 | −05 | 6 | Differs | Real difference, but not the dividing line. |
| AU · Organisation of power | −02 | −02 | 0 | Agrees | Effectively the same position. Not what an argument between them is about. |
| SC · Scale of decision | +02 | +04 | 2 | Agrees | Effectively the same position. Not what an argument between them is about. |
| ID · Rule of membership | −02 | −06 | 4 | Differs | Real difference, but not the dividing line. |
| CH · Method and tempo | −02 | −06 | 4 | 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.
Mont Pèlerin, Chicago · EC +09
Far market pole on doctrine, with the important caveat that most named exponents rejected pure laissez-faire.
- Programme textThe 1947 Mont Pèlerin statement of aims defends the market order and also the rule of law and a competitive framework.
US Democratic Party · EC −03
Regulated capitalism with subsidised private insurance markets. Well right of any European social democratic party.
- Documented act or statuteThe 2010 Affordable Care Act expanded coverage through subsidised private insurance rather than public provision.
- Documented act or statuteThe 2022 Inflation Reduction Act operates through tax credits to private firms rather than public ownership.
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.
Neoliberalism
1947– · International
Market competition as the organising principle of policy, insulated from democratic interference by rules and independent institutions.
US Democratic Party
1828– · United States
Regulated capitalism, expanded health coverage, civil rights, climate action, and defence of existing institutional procedure.
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