Barack Obama
The audacity of hope
Pragmatic progressive liberalism.
Reformist LiberalOne of 729 ideologies · enter the Liberal hall →- Role
- President
- Era
- b. 1961
- Region
- United States
- Social band
- Reformist
- Placement
- −24 · +2 · +55
§ Where Barack Obama stands
3 axesObama pursues market-based reform rather than public ownership. The Affordable Care Act of 2010 expanded coverage through regulated private insurance and Medicaid rather than a single-payer system, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 used fiscal stimulus to fight recession, and the Dodd–Frank Act of 2010 tightened financial regulation. These measures place him left of centre in American terms, but firmly within a market economy.
An institutionalist who worked through Congress, the courts and international alliances, Obama governed within constitutional norms, though when Congress stalled he relied increasingly on executive action, as with the 2012 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy. His administration also continued expansive surveillance and drone programmes, which keeps him close to the centre on this axis.
Obama's presidency moved steadily in a progressive direction on social questions. He signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act in 2009 and the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell in 2010, and in 2012 became the first sitting president to endorse same-sex marriage. His emphasis on civil rights, immigration reform and inclusion places him clearly on the progressive side.
How close are you to Barack Obama?
Three statements, one per axis. Answer them and we’ll drop you on the compass next to them.
§ The story
LivingBarack Hussein Obama (born 1961) served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017, the first African American to hold the office. Born in Honolulu to a Kenyan father and an American mother, he studied at Columbia University and Harvard Law School, where he became the first Black president of the Harvard Law Review. He worked as a community organiser and civil rights lawyer in Chicago, served in the Illinois Senate from 1997 to 2004 and in the US Senate from 2005, and his keynote speech at the 2004 Democratic convention made him a national figure.
Taking office during the deepest recession since the 1930s, Obama signed a large economic stimulus, rescued the US car industry and passed the Affordable Care Act of 2010, the biggest expansion of health coverage since the 1960s, along with the Dodd–Frank financial reforms. He ended the US combat mission in Iraq, ordered the 2011 raid that killed Osama bin Laden and helped negotiate the Paris climate agreement. Critics on the right attacked his healthcare law and spending as government overreach, while critics on the left condemned drone strikes, mass surveillance and high deportation numbers.
Notable for
- 01Affordable Care Act
- 02First Black US president
- 032009 financial-crisis response
Key works & moments
- 2004Delivers the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention and wins a US Senate seat.
- 2008Defeats John McCain to become the first African American elected president.
- 2009Signs the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
- 2010Signs the Affordable Care Act and the Dodd–Frank financial reform law.
- 2012Endorses same-sex marriage and wins re-election against Mitt Romney.
- 2015Concludes the Iran nuclear deal and helps negotiate the Paris climate agreement.
In their own words
“There is not a liberal America and a conservative America – there is the United States of America.”
§ Minds closest to Barack Obama
All minds →
§ Also in the Liberal hall
Enter the hall →§ Common questions
4 answersWhat is Barack Obama's political ideology?
Barack Obama is a pragmatic progressive liberal: on the 99ideologies three-axis compass, a Reformist Liberal. Economically he sits left of centre (−24), favouring regulated markets, fiscal stimulus and expanded health coverage through private insurance. On governance he is near the centre (+2), an institutionalist who also used executive power when Congress stalled, and socially he is clearly progressive (+55), from equal-pay legislation to his endorsement of same-sex marriage.
Is Barack Obama left-wing or right-wing?
Centre-left. By American standards Obama is a liberal Democrat whose healthcare law, financial regulation and social positions put him clearly on the left of the mainstream. By the standards of European social democracy he is more moderate: he rejected single-payer healthcare, kept the Bush-era tax cuts for all but the highest earners, and prized bipartisan compromise. His politics fit the pragmatic, market-friendly wing of liberalism.
Is Barack Obama a socialist?
No. Obama has never described himself as a socialist, and his signature policies relied on markets: the Affordable Care Act expanded coverage chiefly through private insurers and subsidies, the bank and car-industry rescues returned firms to private hands, and he nationalised no industries. Opponents used the label to attack his spending and regulation, but in ideological terms he is a mainstream liberal who believes government should correct the market rather than replace it.
Which minds are closest to Barack Obama?
On the 99ideologies three-axis compass, the minds closest to Barack Obama are Pierre Trudeau (97% alike), John Rawls (93% alike) and Roy Jenkins (92% alike). The furthest is Adam Sutler (18% alike).