Edexcel A-Level Politics | Paper 2 | 2026 Predicted Paper | Question 3(b) 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(b)
Question
To what extent are anarchists united in the view that economic freedom requires the rejection of existing economic arrangements?
Students must distinguish the broad agreement that coercive state control of the economy should disappear from the much deeper disagreement over private property, collective ownership, markets and the organisation of a future economy.
The specification defines anarchist economic freedom as an economy where free individuals can manage their own affairs without state ownership or regulation, but explicitly requires students to understand different criticisms of existing economic systems and different ways economic freedom can be achieved.
Indicative content
Arguments supporting unity
All anarchists reject state control over economic life.
Economic freedom requires individuals to manage their own affairs without state ownership or regulation.
Both collectivist and individualist anarchists therefore oppose an economy structured through coercive political authority.
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