Civilization 7 possibly has hundreds of social policies, excluding unique traditions from leaders. There are too many to keep track of, but that is what makes every Civilization playthrough great. Almost every game will feel fresh.
Given there are so many, here’s a full list of all the available social policies, including some of the best social policy combinations you can use in Civilization 7.
List of All Social Policies in Civilization 7
Antiquity
| Policy | Required Civic | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Charismatic Leader | Chiefdom | +2 Culture on the Palace |
| City Guard | Public Life | +3 Combat Strength for Fortified Districts |
| Honor | Discipline | +3 Combat Strength against Independent Powers |
| Hospitality | Citizenship II | +3 Culture for every City-State you are Suzerain of |
| Priesthood | Mysticism | +2 Gold in all Settlements |
| Rites and Rituals | Mysticism | +2 Happiness in all Settlements |
| Survey | Discipline | +1 Scout movement and sight |
| Tool Making | Chiefdom | +1 Production and Science on the Palace |
Exploration
| Policy | Required Civic | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Commune | Piety | +20% Production towards Overbuilding, +3 Combat Strength for Fortified Districts |
| Evangelism | Theology | Civilian Unit Movement, Missionary Charge |
| Maritime Law | Economics | +30% Production towards training Naval Units |
| Vassalage | Authority | +3 Culture and Gold for every City-State you are Suzerain of |
Modern
| Policy | Required Civic | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Avant Garde | Progressivism | Culture and Happiness from displayed Great Works |
| Fireside Chats | Democracy | Happiness from Specialists, Gold in Towns |
| Free Press | Liberalism | Towns get Culture equal to your Culture Attribute, Science in Cities |
| Free Speech | Political Theory | +100% Food and Happiness towards maintaining Specialists |
| New Deal | Progressivism | Production towards Wonders |
| Suffrage | Democracy | Culture from Specialists, Production in Towns |
| Their Finest Hour | Progressivism | Production towards Air Units, Combat Strength for Air Units in your territory |
| Welfare State | Liberalism | Towns get Happiness equal to your Diplomatic Attribute, Production in Cities |
Others
| Policy | Effect |
|---|---|
| Ambassadors | +6 Influence per turn. |
| Bourgeoisie | +4 Culture and Gold in Cities in your Homelands |
| Castes | +25% Food in Towns |
| Charters | +1 Gold on Each Gold adjacency |
| Chivalry | +40% Production towards training Cavalry Units |
| Civil Engineering | +30% Production towards Overbuilding |
| Clan Networks | +2 Food in all Settlements |
| Coinage | +1 Gold for each imported Resource |
| Colonial Surplus | +1 Production on Each Production adjacency |
| Commissioned Officers | +30% Commander Experience, +1 movement for Fleets and Armies |
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| Commodities | +1 Resource Capacity in Cities |
| Conscription | -1 Maintenance for Units |
| Constitution | +50% Food and Happiness towards maintaining Specialists |
| Cultural Imperialism | +6 Culture and Gold for every City-State you are Suzerain of |
| De Facto | +3 Combat Strength for all Units in Distant Lands, Units heal +5 HP |
| De Jure | +3 Combat Strength for all Units in Homelands |
| Demagogy | Gain Happiness on the Palace equal to your Cultural Attribute |
| Divine Right | +10 Happiness and +4 Influence on the Palace |
| Draft | +25% Gold towards purchasing Units, -1 Gold Maintenance for Units |
| Drama and Poetry | +50% Production towards constructing Culture Buildings |
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| Drills | +30% Production towards training Infantry and Ranged Units |
| Enlightenment | +1 Science on Each Science adjacency |
| Ethics | +1 Culture from Specialists |
| Heqin | +5 Culture per Alliance |
| Humanism | +2 Culture from Specialists, +50% Specialist Happiness Maintenance |
| Indenture | +1 Food on Each Food adjacency |
| Laissez-Faire | +2 Gold and +1 Happiness for every imported Resource |
| Land Heritage | +2 Happiness on Mountains, +6 Culture on Natural Wonders |
| Levies | +25% Gold towards purchasing Military Units, -1 Gold Maintenance for Units |
| Literature | +50% Production towards constructing Science Buildings |
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| Living Standards | +25% Gold and Happiness towards maintaining Buildings |
| Materiel | Units heal +10% HP, +1 Movement for Armies and Fleets |
| Medicine | Units Heal +5 HP |
| Metropole | +1 Resource Capacity in Homeland Cities, +10 Range for all Trade Routes |
| Monopolies | +3 Gold in every Settlement with a Factory, +1 Resource stat |
| Oratory | +2 Influence per turn |
| Patronage | +1 Culture on Each Culture adjacency |
| People’s Army | +25% Production towards Land Military Units, +1 Gold Maintenance for those units |
| Preservation Societies | +3 Science from Great Works |
| Projection of Force | +50% Production towards Naval Units, +1 Gold Maintenance for those units |
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| Regulars | +40% Production towards training Infantry and Ranged Units |
| Renaissance | +10% Production towards Wonders, +2 Culture Displayed on Great Works |
| Scholars | +1 Science from Specialists |
| Social Science | +2 Science from Specialists, +50% Specialist Food Maintenance |
| Sphere of Influence | Gain Culture equal to your Diplomatic Attribute per Alliance |
| Tariffs | +50% Trade Income, -3 Happiness in Cities |
| Trade Winds | +1 Gold and Happiness for every imported Resource |
| Trenchworks | +3 Combat Strength for Fortified Units and Districts |
| Uposatha | +1 Happiness on Each Happiness adjacency |
| Yeomanry | +4 Food and Production in Towns in Distant Lands |
Related: What Does Ageless Mean in Civilization 7?
Best Social Policies to Implement in Civilization 7
Priesthood, Scholars, Rites and Rituals, Clan Networks, and Ethics
These are all amazing Social Policies because they give flat bonuses without consequences. Priesthood, Scholars, Rites and Rituals, Clan Networks, and Ethics give gold to each settlement, additional Science from Specialists, bonus Happiness for each settlement, food to all settlements, and Culture from Specialists, respectively.
These policies produce more of what you need without sacrificing anything. While some policies yield better benefits, you don’t have to consider the consequences of choosing these policies.
Clan Networks and Ethics skyrocket your Science and Culture if you have a dedicated city or capital with tons of Specialists.
Conscription
For those warmongering leaders, Conscription is almost a mandatory social policy as it gives -1 maintenance for units. Combine Conscription with other policies like Draft (+25% gold costs in purchasing units; -1 gold maintenance on units), and you’ll gain a much larger army with lesser maintenance. A bigger army means world domination, right?
Trade Winds, Coinage and Commodities
As someone who loves to trade and take over the market, Coinage and Commodities are among the best policy combinations for income. The Coinage policy gives +1 gold for each imported resource. Trade Winds give gold and Happiness for each imported resource. Any settlement counts. Commodities increase your resource capacity, giving you more slots to store unique resources.
You can also add Metropole to increase your resource capacity and get a better range for setting up a trade route. Getting these policies together will give you so much currency, and you can reap the benefits of additional resources for your civilization.
A passive playstyle adds more value to these policies as you want to dominate the economy and an impenetrable civilization. You can get the City Guard policy to fortify your districts and secure trade routes by building fortifications with a few units. This way, you don’t have to train a big army, as you are just playing defensively.
While there are many more great social policies, it depends on your goal. Remember, you cannot change social policies without gaining a slot, so these decisions are almost permanent.
Published: Feb 14, 2025 03:05 am