Buddhist Theocracy
Rule by a Buddhist monastic hierarchy, with reincarnated leaders and monasteries dominating politics and land, traditional order and moral precepts as law, as in the Tibet of the Dalai Lama before 1950.
Home / Ideologies / Buddhist Theocracy
In one sentence
I want a society ruled by the sangha, with reincarnated lamas in command, the five precepts as law and the traditional order above elections.
Political axes
Profile across the 12 axes
- Leaning · Unitary
Structure
- Very strong · Autocracy
Representation
- Strong · Security
Power
- Strong · Assimilation
Immigration
- Strong · Pacifist
Diplomacy
- Strong · Non-interventionist
Intervention
- Leaning · Private
Economy
- Balanced
Control
- Strong · Protectionism
Trade
- Very strong · Religious
Religion
- Strong · Traditionalist
Morality
- Very strong · Biology
Technology
What sets this ideology apart
Religion
Leans further toward religious than 95% of the 253 ideologies in the catalog.
Ideology median 59This ideology 6
Of all the axes, Religion is where it stands furthest from the rest.
Structure
On Structure, it sits practically at the catalog median.
Ideology median 38This ideology 38
Here it shares common ground with most ideologies.
Personalities
13th Dalai Lama (Thubten Gyatso)
Head of theocratic Tibet, the 13th Dalai Lama expelled the Chinese and proclaimed independence in 1913, built an army, post and currency, backed down before the monasteries by closing the English school, and warned against communism in 1932.
Closest, by dimension
Other compatible profiles
Political theoryPentti LinkolaRadical ecologist85%
PhilosophyMartin HeideggerPhilosopher83%
PhilosophySocratesPhilosopher83%
PhilosophyAristotlePhilosopher78%
PhilosophyArthur SchopenhauerPhilosopher76%
PoliticsMarshal Deodoro da FonsecaMilitary officer and statesman76%
PoliticsS. W. R. D. BandaranaikePrime Minister of Ceylon75%
PhilosophyPythagorasPhilosopher and founder of the Pythagorean community74%
The most distant
Countries
Reference country
Theocratic Tibet
1913–1950A de facto independent state between the fall of the Qing and the Chinese invasion, Tibet was a Buddhist theocracy ruled by the Dalai Lama, with monasteries and aristocracy owning the land, peasants bound to it and deliberate isolation from the modern world.
Other close countries
Bhutan
Buddhist-conservationist monarchyA small Himalayan kingdom, Bhutan combines a Buddhist constitutional monarchy, strong protection of traditional culture and nature, and Gross National Happiness as its compass of government, with cautious openness to the outside world.
Also close, by dimension
PoliticallyMyanmarBuddhist military junta78%
SociallyThailandMilitarized-religious monarchy77%
EconomicallyPennsylvania (United States)Divided industrial region88%
The most distant
Theocratic Tibet
1913–1950A de facto independent state between the fall of the Qing and the Chinese invasion, Tibet was a Buddhist theocracy ruled by the Dalai Lama, with monasteries and aristocracy owning the land, peasants bound to it and deliberate isolation from the modern world.
Also close, by dimension
PoliticallyTokugawa Japan1603–186889%
SociallySpartac. 900–192 a.C.89%
EconomicallyMeiji Japan1868–191292%
The most distant
Ideological proximity
Close ideologies
Closest within Far-Right
- Far-Right
Aristocratism
Doctrine of the rule of the best, entrusting power to a minority qualified by virtue, education or birth, rejecting political equality and majority rule as surrendering the city to incompetence.
- Far-Right
Platonism
Plato's political philosophy, entrusting the city's government to a philosophical elite formed by virtue and knowledge, with strong control over education, property and customs in the name of justice and social harmony.
- Far-Right
Traditionalism
A current of René Guénon and Julius Evola that sees modernity as the decay of a universal spiritual tradition, defending sacred hierarchy, castes, initiatory order and the primacy of spirit over economics and mass politics.
Closest in other spectrums
- Right
Confucianism
Doctrine that grounds political order in the ruler's virtue, ritual hierarchy and filial piety, favouring bureaucratic merit and moral education over coercive law or popular participation.
- Center
Socratism
Socrates' dialectical method, examining beliefs through rational questioning and the pursuit of virtue, distrustful of mass politics and the rhetoric of demagogues, yet respectful of the city's rule of law.
- Right
Aristotelianism
Aristotle's political philosophy, defending a mixed constitution of monarchical, aristocratic and popular elements to avoid both tyranny and radical democracy, reserving full citizenship for those with virtue, property and the education to deliberate.
The most distant ideology
Techno-CommunismAnarchist30%