Ordoliberalism, the thinking behind Germany’s “social market economy”, holds that a free market needs strong rules and a strong state to keep competition fair.
Key thinkers:John Rawls, Hannah Arendt, Adam SmithTake the test and your match with Ordoliberalism shows up here. It is worked out in your browser and never sent anywhere.
Ordoliberals reject both central planning and laissez-faire. They argue that the state must set and enforce clear rules, preventing monopolies, keeping money stable and providing a basic social safety net, so that markets serve everyone.
It has shaped German economic policy since the 1940s and many of the EU’s competition and budget rules.
The ideas that most people in this tradition would sign up to.
It was developed in the 1930s and 1940s by economists of the Freiburg School such as Walter Eucken, and put into practice by Ludwig Erhard after 1948.
Thinkers whose documented positions on the 12 axes align most closely with this ideology.
Harvard political philosopher · 1921–2002
An American philosopher who proposed that just institutions are those people would choose behind a veil of ignorance, with equal basic liberties and inequalities only where they help the worst off.
“First principle of justice guarantees an extensive scheme of equal basic liberties.”
Political theorist · 1906–1975
A German-Jewish philosopher who fled the Nazis and wrote on totalitarianism, on the dignity of public action, and on the stateless having no right to have rights.
“In the 1940s she criticised the nation-state and urged a Jewish–Arab federation in Palestine instead of a Jewish state.”
Scottish moral philosopher & economist · 1723–1790
A Scottish moral philosopher whose Wealth of Nations explained how specialisation and competition create wealth, and who criticised monopolies and trade restrictions.
“Local administration manages revenue and community needs better than distant centralization.”
These are its strongest leanings, followed by all twelve axes. They describe the typical version of the tradition.
Leans very strongly toward Democratic
92% toward Democratic
Leans strongly toward Globalism
80% toward Globalism
Leans strongly toward Freedom
75% 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.
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The test scores you on all twelve axes and ranks every ideology by how well it matches you.
