Libertarian municipalism

The Confederalist

«Real power belongs to the neighborhood assembly.»

Proposes replacing the state with a confederation of citizens' assemblies, bringing together ecology, feminism and direct democracy.

In short

On the traditional scale, this ideology sits in the libertarian left camp. The clearest positions are on democracy: strongly towards “direct democracy”; devolution: strongly towards “federalism”; environment: strongly towards “ecology”; economy: strongly towards “equality”. On technology it stays balanced. Among the other ideologies, the closest is libertarian socialism (98%).

Principles

Sovereign municipal assemblies
Social ecology
Gender equality

Cities and towns self-governed by assemblies, confederated with each other, in harmony with nature.

Common criticisms

Exhausting assembliesIt requires constant participation that few people can keep up.

Limited scaleIt's unclear how it would handle national or global problems.

A one-off exampleRojava is often cited, but in a wartime context that's hard to replicate.

Where it comes from

It grew from Murray Bookchin's ideas in the 1970s and 1980s and inspired the Rojava experiment in northern Syria.

Key figures: Murray Bookchin

Further reading: The Ecology of Freedom — Murray Bookchin; Democratic Confederalism — Abdullah Öcalan

Position on the 13 axes

Similar ideologies

Libertarian socialismThe Self-Manager98%Anarcho-communismThe Communard96%Eco-socialismThe Red Sower95%

Closest parties in Europe

Green PartyUnited Kingdom95%

PodemosSpain94%

RazemPoland93%

SumarSpain92%

Closest figures

Murray BookchinPhilosopher99%

Peter KropotkinGeographer and philosopher96%

Noam ChomskyLinguist and intellectual96%

Yanis VaroufakisEconomist96%

Errico MalatestaAnarchist94%

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Positions are estimates based on documented ideas, platforms and actions, updated to October 2026.