From Fallen London Wiki
I love the small story hidden in the gameplay elements of the refugee options. The Liberationist one has a lower Persuasive check but a higher Mithridacy check while the Non-Liberationist option is the inverse: Higher Persuasive but lower Mithridacy. It gives you a good idea what the differences in ideology are without outright saying it. You have to convince more people and be more stringent with your refugee choices when the City isn't Liberationist but it also means you can be more open about the type of people you're helping. When you're Liberationist, on the other hand, you don't need to convince as many people but you do need to better hide the refugees because their ideologies are far less accepted outside the city.