Edexcel A-Level Politics | Paper 2 | 2026 Predicted Paper | Question 3(a) Mark Scheme
Question 3 Mark Scheme: Anarchism
Question 3 is a 24-mark Political Ideas essay, with 8 marks each for AO1, AO2 and AO3. The command phrase “To what extent” requires students to compare areas of agreement and disagreement within anarchism, use the prescribed thinkers to support those strands, and reach a substantiated judgement about the degree of agreement.
Pearson's mark scheme makes two requirements especially important: students must consider both sides, and they must refer to specific thinkers from the relevant specification section. If either requirement is missing, the response cannot progress beyond Level 2. The Edexcel specification identifies collectivist anarchism, including anarcho-communism, mutualism and anarcho-syndicalism, and individualist anarchism, including anarcho-capitalism and egoism. The prescribed thinkers are Stirner, Proudhon, Bakunin, Kropotkin and Goldman.
Levels of response
Level | Marks | Characteristics |
Level 1 | 1–4 | Superficial knowledge, limited comparison and largely descriptive judgements. |
Level 2 | 5–9 | Some accurate knowledge and emerging comparison, but arguments are only partly developed and evaluation is limited. |
Level 3 | 10–14 | Mostly accurate knowledge, focused comparison and generally effective evaluation with some substantiated judgements. |
Level 4 | 15–19 | Accurate, carefully selected knowledge, consistent comparative analysis and mostly substantiated judgements leading to focused conclusions. |
Level 5 | 20–24 | Thorough knowledge, perceptive and sustained comparison, consistently substantiated evaluation and fully focused, justified conclusions. |
These are the current Edexcel level boundaries and descriptors for Paper 2 non-core Political Ideas.
Question 3(a)
Question
To what extent do collectivist and individualist anarchists agree that human nature makes political authority unnecessary?
The best answers should not simply describe collectivist anarchism and then individualist anarchism. Students need to identify particular points of agreement and disagreement about human nature, directly compare the strands and judge how significant those similarities and differences are.
Indicative content
The following is indicative rather than exhaustive. Other accurate arguments grounded in the specification should be credited.
Arguments supporting agreement
Both strands reject the need for coercive political authority.
Anarchism rejects the state and political authority because coercion restricts liberty.
Both collectivist and individualist anarchists believe human beings can exist without a coercive state.
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