PoliticalTests

96 figures mapped

Left-Wing Political Figures on the Map

Figures whose economic views sit on the left of the compass: more public ownership, planning or redistribution. Left here means the economic axis only; their views on liberty and tradition vary widely, as the map shows.

Take the 12 Axes test Filter all figures

Each dot is one figure: economic views across, the mean of the civil and society axes up and down. Hover or tap a dot for the name.

96Economic left
0Near the economic centre
0Economic right

Up and down the compass: 20 on the authority side, 26 near the middle and 50 on the liberty side.

All 96

  1. 1712-1778 · FranceJean-Jacques RousseauPolitical philosopherAuth left
  2. 1759-1797 · United KingdomMary WollstonecraftWriter and philosopherLib left
  3. 1809-1865 · FrancePierre-Joseph ProudhonPolitical theoristLib left
  4. 1814-1876 · RussiaMikhail BakuninRevolutionaryLib left
  5. 1818-1883 · GermanyKarl MarxPhilosopherLib left
  6. 1820-1895 · GermanyFriedrich EngelsPhilosopherLib left
  7. 1842-1921 · RussiaPeter KropotkinGeographerLib left
  8. 1850-1932 · GermanyEduard BernsteinSocial democratic theoristLib left
  9. 1853-1895 · CubaJosé MartíFounder of the Cuban Revolutionary Party (1892)Lib left
  10. 1855-1926 · United StatesEugene V. DebsFounder of the American Railway UnionLib left
  11. 1856-1919 · AustraliaAlfred Deakin2nd Prime Minister of Australia (1903-1904, 1905-1908, 1909-1910)Auth left
  12. 1856-1915 · United KingdomKeir HardieFounder of the Independent Labour Party (1893)Lib left
  13. 1859-1914 · FranceJean JaurèsLeader of the French Socialist Party and co-leader of the SFIOLib left
  14. 1860-1935 · United StatesJane AddamsCo-founder of Hull-House, ChicagoLib left
  15. 1860-1925 · United StatesWilliam Jennings BryanU.S. Representative from Nebraska (1891-1895)Auth left
  16. 1863-1945 · United KingdomDavid Lloyd GeorgePrime Minister of the United Kingdom (1916-1922)Auth left
  17. 1866-1925 · ChinaSun Yat-senProvisional President of the Republic of China (1912)Auth left
  18. 1868-1963 · United StatesW. E. B. Du BoisSociologist and historianLib left
  19. 1869-1940 · United StatesEmma GoldmanAnarchist writer and lecturerLib left
  20. 1869-1948 · IndiaMahatma GandhiLeader of the Indian independence movementLib left
  21. 1871-1925 · GermanyFriedrich EbertPresident of Germany (1919-1925)Auth left
  22. 1871-1919 · GermanyRosa LuxemburgMarxist theoristLib left
  23. 1872-1970 · United KingdomBertrand RussellPhilosopher, logician and social criticLib left
  24. 1879-1963 · United KingdomWilliam BeveridgeAuthor of the Beveridge Report (1942)Auth left
  25. 1881-1938 · TurkeyMustafa Kemal AtatürkFounder and 1st President of the Republic of Turkey (1923-1938)Auth left
  26. 1882-1945 · United StatesFranklin D. Roosevelt32nd President of the United States (1933-1945)Auth left
  27. 1882-1954 · BrazilGetúlio VargasPresident of Brazil (1930-1945, 1951-1954)Auth left
  28. 1883-1967 · United KingdomClement AttleePrime Minister of the United Kingdom (1945-1951)Lib left
  29. 1883-1946 · United KingdomJohn Maynard KeynesEconomistLib left
  30. 1884-1962 · United StatesEleanor RooseveltFirst Lady of the United States (1933-1945)Lib left
  31. 1884-1972 · United StatesHarry S. Truman33rd President of the United States (1945-1953)Lib left
  32. 1885-1951 · AustraliaBen Chifley16th Prime Minister of Australia (1945-1949)Auth left
  33. 1885-1945 · AustraliaJohn Curtin14th Prime Minister of Australia (1941-1945)Auth left
  34. 1886-1973 · IsraelDavid Ben-Gurion1st Prime Minister of Israel (1948-1954, 1955-1963)Auth left
  35. 1889-1964 · IndiaJawaharlal Nehru1st Prime Minister of India (1947-1964)Lib left
  36. 1890-1970 · FranceCharles de GaullePresident of France (1959-1969)Auth left
  37. 1891-1937 · ItalyAntonio GramsciMarxist theoristLib left
  38. 1891-1956 · IndiaB. R. AmbedkarChairman of the Drafting Committee of the Constitution of IndiaLib left
  39. 1893-1935 · United StatesHuey Long40th Governor of Louisiana (1928-1932)Auth left
  40. 1895-1974 · ArgentinaJuan PerónPresident of Argentina (1946-1955, 1973-1974)Auth left
  41. 1895-1952 · GermanyKurt SchumacherChairman of the SPD (1946-1952)Auth left
  42. 1897-1960 · United KingdomAneurin BevanMinister of Health (1945-1951)Lib left
  43. 1897-1972 · CanadaLester B. Pearson14th Prime Minister of Canada (1963-1968)Lib left
  44. 1898-1978 · IsraelGolda Meir4th Prime Minister of Israel (1969-1974)Auth left
  45. 1902-1976 · BrazilJuscelino KubitschekPresident of Brazil (1956-1961)Lib left
  46. 1903-1950 · United KingdomGeorge OrwellNovelistLib left
  47. 1904-1986 · CanadaTommy Douglas7th Premier of Saskatchewan (1944-1961)Lib left
  48. 1905-1980 · FranceJean-Paul SartrePhilosopher, novelist and playwrightLib left
  49. 1907-1996 · BrazilErnesto GeiselPresident of Brazil (1974-1979)Auth left
  50. 1908-1973 · United StatesLyndon B. Johnson36th President of the United States (1963-1969)Auth left
  51. 1908-1973 · ChileSalvador AllendePresident of Chile (1970-1973)Lib left
  52. 1908-1986 · FranceSimone de BeauvoirPhilosopherLib left
  53. 1909-1972 · GhanaKwame NkrumahPresident of Ghana (1960-1966)Auth left
  54. 1910-1985 · BrazilTancredo NevesPresident-elect of Brazil (1985)Lib left
  55. 1912-2005 · United KingdomJames CallaghanPrime Minister of the United Kingdom (1976-1979)Lib left
  56. 1913-1960 · FranceAlbert CamusNovelist, essayist and philosopherLib left
  57. 1913-2010 · United KingdomMichael FootLeader of the Labour Party (1980-1983)Lib left
  58. 1913-1992 · GermanyWilly BrandtChancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany (1969-1974)Lib left
  59. 1916-1996 · FranceFrançois MitterrandPresident of France (1981-1995)Lib left
  60. 1916-2014 · AustraliaGough Whitlam21st Prime Minister of Australia (1972-1975)Lib left
  61. 1916-1995 · United KingdomHarold WilsonPrime Minister of the United Kingdom (1964-1970, 1974-1976)Lib left
  62. 1916-1992 · BrazilUlysses GuimarãesPresident of the National Constituent Assembly (1987-1988)Lib left
  63. 1917-1984 · IndiaIndira Gandhi3rd Prime Minister of India (1966-1977, 1980-1984)Auth left
  64. 1917-1963 · United StatesJohn F. Kennedy35th President of the United States (1961-1963)Lib left
  65. 1918-2013 · South AfricaNelson MandelaPresident of South Africa (1994-1999)Lib left
  66. 1919-1976 · BrazilJoão GoulartPresident of Brazil (1961-1964)Lib left
  67. 1919-2000 · CanadaPierre Trudeau15th Prime Minister of Canada (1968-1979, 1980-1984)Lib left
  68. 1921-2002 · United StatesJohn RawlsPolitical philosopherLib left
  69. 1922-1999 · TanzaniaJulius NyererePresident of Tanzania (1964-1985)Auth left
  70. 1922-2004 · BrazilLeonel BrizolaGovernor of Rio Grande do Sul (1959-1963)Lib left
  71. 1922-1987 · CanadaRené Lévesque23rd Premier of Quebec (1976-1985)Lib left
  72. 1925-1961 · FranceFrantz FanonPsychiatrist at Blida-Joinville Hospital, Algeria (1953-1957)Lib left
  73. 1925-1965 · United StatesMalcolm XMinister and national spokesman of the Nation of IslamAuth left
  74. 1925-1968 · United StatesRobert F. Kennedy64th Attorney General of the United States (1961-1964)Lib left
  75. 1925-2014 · United KingdomTony BennSecretary of State for Energy (1975-1979)Lib left
  76. 1926-2016 · CubaFidel CastroPrime Minister of Cuba (1959-1976)Auth left
  77. 1927-1993 · United StatesCesar ChavezCo-founder and president of the United Farm WorkersLib left
  78. 1927-1986 · SwedenOlof PalmePrime Minister of Sweden (1969-1976, 1982-1986)Lib left
  79. 1928-1967 · ArgentinaChe GuevaraCommander in the Cuban RevolutionAuth left
  80. Born 1928 · United StatesNoam ChomskyLinguist, Institute Professor emeritus at MITLib left
  81. 1929-1968 · United StatesMartin Luther King Jr.Baptist ministerLib left
  82. 1930-2011 · BrazilItamar FrancoPresident of Brazil (1992-1994)Lib left
  83. Born 1930 · BrazilJosé SarneyPresident of Brazil (1985-1990)Lib left
  84. 1931-2021 · South AfricaDesmond TutuAnglican Archbishop of Cape Town (1986-1996)Lib left
  85. 1931-2022 · RussiaMikhail GorbachevGeneral Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (1985-1991)Auth left
  86. 1933-2020 · United StatesRuth Bader GinsburgAssociate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1993-2020)Lib left
  87. Born 1934 · United StatesRalph NaderConsumer advocate and lawyerLib left
  88. 1935-2025 · UruguayJosé MujicaPresident of Uruguay (2010-2015)Lib left
  89. Born 1942 · United StatesJoe Biden46th President of the United States (2021-2025)Lib left
  90. Born 1947 · BrazilDilma RousseffPresident of Brazil (2011-2016)Lib left
  91. 1947-1992 · GermanyPetra KellyCo-founder of the German GreensLib left
  92. Born 1951 · United KingdomGordon BrownPrime Minister of the United Kingdom (2007-2010)Lib left
  93. Born 1961 · United StatesBarack Obama44th President of the United States (2009-2017)Lib left
  94. Born 1961 · AustraliaJulia Gillard27th Prime Minister of Australia (2010-2013)Lib left
  95. Born 1971 · CanadaJustin Trudeau23rd Prime Minister of Canada (2015-2025)Lib left
  96. Born 1980 · New ZealandJacinda ArdernPrime Minister of New Zealand (2017-2023)Lib left

★ 12 axes · 4 groups · 3 lengths ★

Who is your historical twin?

Take the 12 Axes test and see where you land next to the 96 figures on this page, and which three are closest to you.

FAQ

Economic left: questions

What does left-wing mean on this page?

Economic views left of the centre band of the compass: an economic score below -15 on a scale of -100 to 100, from ownership, markets and welfare. 96 figures qualify.

How are these positions worked out?

Each person is placed on the 12 axes of the 12 Axes Political Test from their own speeches, writings, votes and record in office, with sources on every profile page. The map shows two of those measures: economic views across, and the mean of the civil and society axes up and down. Axes with no reasonable basis are left blank and do not count.

Is this a ranking or a judgment?

No. The placements describe stated positions and policies, not character or success in office. Every profile sets out what admirers and critics say, so you can read both sides.

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