Edexcel A-Level Politics | Paper 2 | 2027 Predicted Paper | Question 3(a) Mark Scheme
Question 3 Mark Scheme: Anarchism
Question 3 is a 24-mark Political Ideas essay, worth 8 marks each for AO1, AO2 and AO3. “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 sustained judgement about how far the ideology is united.
Pearson's current mark scheme confirms that candidates must consider both sides and refer to specific thinkers from the relevant section of the specification. If either requirement is missing, the response cannot progress beyond Level 2. The specification defines anarchism through rejection of the state and political authority, and specifically requires liberty, anarchy is order, collectivist and individualist anarchism, plus Stirner, Proudhon, Bakunin, Kropotkin and Goldman.
Levels of response
Level | Marks | Characteristics |
Level 1 | 1–4 | Superficial knowledge, limited comparison and largely descriptive or unsupported judgements. |
Level 2 | 5–9 | Some accurate knowledge and some comparative analysis, but arguments and evaluation are only partly developed. |
Level 3 | 10–14 | Mostly accurate knowledge, generally focused comparison and some substantiated judgements. |
Level 4 | 15–19 | Accurate, carefully selected knowledge, coherent comparative analysis and mostly substantiated judgements. |
Level 5 | 20–24 | Thorough knowledge, perceptive and sustained comparison, consistently substantiated evaluation and fully focused conclusions. |
Question 3(a)
Question
To what extent do collectivist and individualist anarchists agree that individual liberty is incompatible with political authority?
A strong answer needs to distinguish between agreement that coercive authority threatens liberty and disagreement over what liberty actually means in practice. Students should not simply explain collectivist anarchism and then individualist anarchism separately.
This question is particularly well supported by the specification. Edexcel explicitly states that anarchist liberty is incompatible with political authority in the state, society and economy, while also requiring students to understand different anarchist interpretations of liberty and human nature.
Indicative content
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