Twelve dimensions, read one by one, never added into a label.

Why twelve dimensions

A single left and right axis mixes questions that people answer differently: who owns the economy, who coordinates prices, the place of religion, the reach of the State over private life. The Evidence instrument reads twelve separate questions and does not add the scores into one number. Each dimension has its own page with a definition, both poles, what sets it apart from its neighbors and reference literature.

Poles are naming conventions for the two ends of the scale, not value judgments; neither pole is the right side.

Dimensions by theme

The State

• State structureFederal · UnitaryState structure is the dimension that records how a person prefers political power to be divided between the central government and regional and local governments.
• RepresentationDemocracy · AutocracyRepresentation is the dimension that records who a person thinks should choose and hold rulers to account.
• State powerSecurity · LibertyState power is the dimension that records how far a person accepts that the State restricts individual liberty for the sake of security and order.

Borders and the world

• ImmigrationAssimilation · MulticulturalismImmigration is the dimension that records what a person expects from the relationship between newcomers and the culture of those already in the country.
• DiplomacyMilitarist · PacifistDiplomacy is the dimension that records the role a person gives to military force in relations with other countries.
• Foreign interventionNon-interventionist · NationalistForeign intervention is the dimension that records the criterion a person uses for the country to act beyond its own borders.
• Foreign tradeProtectionism · GlobalismForeign trade is the dimension that records how a person prefers the country to relate economically to the rest of the world.

Economy

• OwnershipPublic · PrivateOwnership is the dimension that records who a person thinks should own the means of production and essential services.
• Economic coordinationPlanning · Free marketEconomic coordination is the dimension that records how a person prefers the economy to decide what to produce, at what price and for whom.

Values

• ReligionIrreligious · ReligiousReligion is the dimension that records the role a person gives to religion in public life and collective decisions.
• Social normsProgressive · TraditionalistSocial norms is the dimension that records how a person responds to changes in social norms on family, sexuality, gender and behavior.
• TechnologyTechnology · BiologyTechnology is the dimension that records how far a person accepts that technology changes the body, the mind and the conditions of human life.

Reference table