Portrait of Niall Ferguson
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Niall Ferguson

Scottish-American historian

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A historian of empire and finance who argues that Western success rests on institutions such as competition, property rights and science, and warns of decline.

Niall Ferguson sits in the right-authoritarian part of the Caucus economy and liberty compass: strongly free market and slightly authoritarian. The clearest positions are strongly free market on economy, strongly institutional on institutions and strongly interventionist on interventionism.

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Where Niall Ferguson sits on ten dimensions

Each scale runs from one pole to the other, and the dot shows the overall tendency of this person's record and public life. These are simplified estimates and open to debate.

💰EconomyStrongly free market
State-ledFree market
⚖️Liberty and authoritySlightly authoritarian
LibertarianAuthoritarian
🎭CultureLeaning traditional
ProgressiveTraditional
🌍NationSlightly nationalist
GlobalistNationalist
🌱EnvironmentSlightly growth-first
Growth-firstNature-first
🤖TechnologyLeaning tech-optimist
Tech-cautiousTech-optimist
🕊️War and peaceLeaning strength-first
Peace-firstStrength-first
🏛️InstitutionsStrongly institutional
Anti-establishmentInstitutional
🙏ReligionSlightly religious
SecularReligious
🛡️InterventionismStrongly interventionist
Non-interventionistInterventionist

People most like Niall Ferguson

Rishi Sunak Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, 2022 to 202499%Mitt Romney US Senator from Utah, 2019 to 202599%Friedrich Merz Chancellor of Germany, 2025 to present99%Dwight D. Eisenhower US President, 1953 to 196199%Stephen Harper Prime Minister of Canada, 2006 to 201599%Liz Cheney US Representative from Wyoming, 2017 to 202399%David Cameron UK Prime Minister, 2010 to 201699%José María Aznar Prime Minister of Spain, 1996 to 200499%

People furthest from Niall Ferguson

Emma Goldman Russian-born anarchist and writer, 1869 to 19405%Murray Bookchin American social theorist, 1921 to 20067%John Lennon British musician and peace activist, 1940 to 19807%Leo Tolstoy Russian novelist and moral thinker, 1828 to 19107%

Political views closest to Niall Ferguson

Liberal conservatismCombines free markets and limited government with respect for institutions, tradition…99%NeoconservatismPairs free markets and traditional values with an assertive, democracy-promoting foreign…98%Realism in foreign policySees international politics as a contest of power and interests in which states act to…95%Hawkish realismSees the world as a contest between states, where military strength and alliances secure…95%

Read more about Niall Ferguson

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Biographies of Niall FergusonBooks on liberal conservatism

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Percentages show how close two profiles are across all ten dimensions. Including a person here is for study and comparison, not approval. Portrait: ARC Forum, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons; see all photo credits.