Culture axis
Progressive vs Traditional
Should society keep changing, or hold on to what it has?
Covers the issues usually called the culture war: LGBTQ+ rights, abortion, historic statues, family values. It is one of the four axes used for your ideology match.
Progressive
Society should keep changing to become fairer, and traditions have no value just because they are old.
Statements that score Progressive
- “We should pay reparations for the descendants of slaves.”
- “I support the LGBTQ+ movement.”
- “I support the BLM movement.”
Traditional
Customs, family values and inherited culture hold society together and should be protected from rapid change.
Statements that score Traditional
- “The Enlightenment should never have happened.”
- “Sex before marriage is immoral.”
- “To chase progress at all costs is dangerous.”
In practice
Where it shows up
It drives the debates usually called the culture war: same-sex marriage, abortion, gender and family policy, drugs and sex work, historic monuments, and how schools teach national history.
A common misunderstanding
Traditional does not mean opposing all change, and Progressive does not mean rejecting every tradition. The axis measures your default: whether society should keep evolving or hold on to what has worked so far.
Reading your score
This is one of the four axes in your ideology match. Scores between 40% and 60% suggest you take each issue on its own; above 75% Progressive or Traditional you start most cultural debates from a firm position.
Historical figures at each end
Where the thinkers and leaders in our figure set stand on this axis.
Result labels
Your score is the percentage toward Progressive. The label shown on your result depends on which band it falls in.
- 91-100%Revolutionary
- 76-90%Culturally Left
- 61-75%Progressive
- 40-60%Moderate
- 25-39%Conservative
- 10-24%Traditionalist
- 0-9%Reactionary
Where do you land on culture?
Take the test to see your score on this axis and the other eleven.
Take the 12 Axes test