Bioconservatism holds that human nature and biology should not be fundamentally altered by technology, and urges caution about genetic engineering, enhancement and life extension.
Key thinkers:Isaiah Berlin, Nelson Mandela, MontesquieuTake the test and your match with Bioconservatism shows up here. It is worked out in your browser and never sent anywhere.
Bioconservatives are not against medicine or technology as such. They argue that using it to redesign human beings, for example through germline editing or radical enhancement, could undermine human dignity, equality and the shared basis of morality.
The label covers thinkers on both left and right: religious conservatives, but also environmentalists and critics of technology.
The ideas that most people in this tradition would sign up to.
The term came into use in the early 2000s in debates with transhumanists, with thinkers such as Leon Kass, Francis Fukuyama and Jürgen Habermas making related arguments.
Thinkers whose documented positions on the 12 axes align most closely with this ideology.
Oxford political theorist · 1909–1997
A Riga-born Oxford scholar who distinguished negative from positive liberty and argued that human values are plural and can conflict without any master ranking.
“Constitutional democracy guards against monistic tyranny while accommodating value pluralism.”
South African president · 1918–2013
A South African lawyer imprisoned for 27 years for his part in the fight against apartheid, who became the first president elected by all South Africans in 1994.
“Co-founded the armed wing of the ANC and defended sabotage at Rivonia, but as president chose reconciliation over retribution.”
French political theorist · 1689–1755
A French jurist whose Spirit of the Laws compared forms of government and argued that liberty is safest where power is divided among separate institutions.
“Liberty is the right to do what the laws permit, free from arbitrary state fear.”
These are its strongest leanings, followed by all twelve axes. They describe the typical version of the tradition.
Leans very strongly toward Bioconservative
98% toward Bioconservative
Leans strongly toward Democratic
80% toward Democratic
Leans strongly toward Freedom
70% toward Freedom
Editorial estimates for comparison and discussion. Real people and parties in this tradition vary.
Countries whose estimated profile is most like this ideology. No country follows a single ideology, so read this as a comparison, not a label.
Every tradition has critics. These are the objections most often raised.
Something else on your mind? Get in touch
The test scores you on all twelve axes and ranks every ideology by how well it matches you.
