In
celebration of this, my 400th article published to the
Aquarian Agrarian blog (in its eight-year history), I have decided to
start an encyclopedic dictionary of important political and economic
systems and terms.
I
have begun below with the fifty words I felt most important to
include first, but I plan to augment this list with readers'
suggestions (perhaps stopping at 100). Feel free to comment below
with ideas about which terms I should add, and do not hesitate to
debate the definitions I have used.
While
the definitions you see here may not match those in the Oxford
English Dictionary or Merriam-Webster's, I have provided my own
definitions, which are based on and influenced by others'
definitions. I have done this in order to provide more precise
meanings for the terms contained herein; and I have also included
more policy-specific connotations and explanations of each term (as
well as associated schools, tendencies, theorists, and philosophers).
You
will not find biographies of the individual people, mentioned under
the “see also” terms, in this article. Nor will you find
definitions for every single one of the “see also” political
terms within this article; you may wish to consult other sources for
definitions of terms not defined here.
I
have tried to make the first “see also” terms reflect the
most closely associated labels to the term being defined. The last
“see also” terms listed, on the other hand, reflect either
the least closely associated
labels, or an
“opposite” with which it is commonly paired, because it is
actually somewhat similar
to that “opposite”. I did not include any diametric opposites,
nor significantly different terms, under “see also”.
It
would be difficult to understand the definitions of some of the terms
contained below – especially “socialism” - without first
understanding the classical economic definitions of “the means of
production” and “the factors of production”.
Means
of Production
The resources and facilities which are used to produce
goods. Includes large tools and machine parts and machines,
factories and plants, and farms and the soil. Those who lend
and rent-out MOP are capitalists and bourgeois; those who
borrow and rent MOP are in the proletarian class. Distinct from
the factors of production.
See also: capital goods.
Factors
of Production
The three classical economic factors of production;
land, labor, and capital. Distinct from, but includes, the
means of production.
Encyclopedia
of Terms
Anarchism
The absence of an “archon” that
is, the absence and abolition of dictatorship, rulership,
control, aggression, and hierarchy; and often also
exploitation, and exclusionary, exclusive private property
ownership. See also: anarchy, anideotism (anti-propertarianism), statelessness.
Anarcho-Communism
A
stateless system in which land is managed in common and owned by no
one, in which there are no states, borders, classes, nor money.
See also: anarchism, Marxism, pure communism, social anarchism,
anarcho-syndicalism.
Anarcho-Syndicalism
A
stateless system which focuses on abolishing private property in the
means of production, abolishing the the wage system, and
establishing democratic self-management of workers in as many
workplaces as possible. See also: autonomism, operaismo.
Anarchy
Without Adjectives
The belief that all schools and tendencies of
anarchism should work together against states. See also: Paul
Emile de Puydt, Rudolf Rocker, Voltairine deCleyre, Kurt and
John Zube, Karl Hess, synthesis anarchism, syncretic anarchism,
panarchy / panarchism, polyarchism, personarchy, integral
anarchism, and the Alliance of the Libertarian Left.
Autarky
A
closed economic system in which a country tries to be economically
and productively independent and self-reliant. Distinct from
autarchism. See also: protectionism, corporatism,
ultra- nationalism, fascism, dirigism, tyranny, oligarchy.
Authoritarianism
A
political system in which control and order is enforced through
obedience of authority figures, usually in a highly
structured, hierarchical, and complex chain of command. See
also: tyranny, fascism, corporatism, totalitarianism.
Autonomism
A
form of worker organization which focuses on abolishing the the wage
system, and establishing democratic self-management of workers
in as many workplaces as possible, but which also strongly
protects the rights and independence of individuals in the
workplace. See also: Industrial Workers of the World (I.W.W.), workerism / operaismo, libertarian socialism, anarcho-syndicalism, anarcho-communism.
Capitalism
An
economic system in which the means of production are owned and
operated by private owners, usually on a for-profit basis. Entails the collection of rent, interest, and profit by private owners; and supports minimal restraint upon private transactions. See also: classical
liberalism, corporatism, free market system, libertarianism.
Classical
Liberalism
A political system in which the powers and authorities of
government are limited and diffused, and in which duly delegated
powers are shared, and check and balance one another. See also:
democratic republic, libertarianism,
fusionism.
Collectivism
The belief that the community, or
groups of people, or multiple people, always matter more than
the needs or values of any one particular person (or fraction
of the community or group). See also: communitarianism,
communism, socialism.
Communism
An
economic system in which land (and usually also the means of
production) are seen as primarily belonging to “the commons”;
to nature and/or to the community. Marx called his book “The
Communist Manifesto”, and his philosophy Communism, only at
the urging of the Communist League, which commissioned him to
write the book. See also: Marxism, libertarian communism,
Bookchinism, pure communism.
Conservatism
The belief
that socio-cultural norms and traditions; funds and resources;
and/or progress, should be saved and conserved. Can include
right-wing traditionalist religious “social conservatives”,
but also liberal conservatives and progressive conservatives.
See also: nationalism, right-wing populism, free market system.
Corporatism
A
political and economic system in which production, distribution,
and/or ownership is mostly performed by corporations. Usually
also involves the control of policy and law enforcement by
corporations, and promotes a conception of the people into a
corporate “body politic” which is synonymous, and at one,
with government and state, as well as community, collective,
and/or nation. Usually involves the subjugation of competition
and cooperation, especially when they interfere with the state,
and/or with the dominance of well-established, state-approved
firms. Includes left-wing variants such as social corporatism,
and right- wing variants such as “crony corporatism” /
“crony capitalism”. See also: corporativism, corporative federalism, fascism, and
the social contract.
Democracy
Decision-making,
and management of society, by the majority of the people.
Includes first-past-the-post simple majority democracy, democratic-republicanism, supermajoritarian democracy, social
democracy, progressive democracy, participatory democracy, and many other varieties. See also: neoliberalism, cooperative federalism.
Democratic
Centralism
A system in which a central government controls resources
on the basis of majority rule. Lenin imagined that
centralization of resources and centralization of
decision-making would lead to decentralization
of resources and a more equitable allocation thereof. See also: Leninism, Marxism, Soviet communism, council communism, cooperative federalism, democratic republic, mutualism.
Democratic Socialism
Democratic decision-making and management which pursues socialist aims, often including the centralization of resources which are dominated by monopolies, whether natural or artificial. These usually include banks, farmlands, oil fields and energy plants, and railroads. See also: democratic confederalism, democratic federalism, cooperative federalism, social democracy.
Dirigism
An
economic system in which production and/or distribution are mostly
directed by the government or state. See also: command and
control economy, fascism, protectionism.
Fascism
A political system which combines
ultra-nationalism with racial and/or religious prejudice, and
usually also theocracy (“clerical fascism”). Stems from
the ancient Roman belief that government and national identity
are necessary to bind people together – in the “fasces”
(an axe bound together with a bundle of wooden rods, a symbol of power and order) in order to prevent
conflict between warring factions of society. Italian fascist
dictator Benito Mussolini described fascism as “the merger of
state and corporate power”. Features a strong autocratic figurehead, strict regimentation and
control, and usually also expansionist or imperialist
ambitions. In a general sense, can also refer to any or all of
the imperialist, ultra- nationalist Axis Powers of WWII,
including Spanish dictator Francisco Franco, whose philosophy
was known as “Falangism”. “Soft fascist” refers to
anyone whose views lean towards separatism, hierarchy,
discrimination, or special treatment on the basis of national
origin, race, ethnicity, religion, culture, or social views.
See also: corporatism, corporativisim, dirigism, tyranny,
totalitarianism.
Federalism
A
system in which governmental jurisdictions besides the central
government retain duly-delegated spheres of policy influence
in the areas they control. Types of federalism include dual
federalism, triple federalism, cooperative federalism, and
corporative federalism. Might refer to more, or
less,
central control, depending on the context in which it is used. See also: classical liberalism, corporativism, mutualism.
Fusionism
A
political philosophy which combines traditionalism and social
conservatism with right-leaning economic and political values.
May include, or overlap with, mixtures of libertarian and
conservative thought such as paleoconservatism,
paleoliberterianism, libertarian-conservatism,
right-libertarianism, right-Rothbardianism, Misesian
“free-market capitalism”, and/or mercantilism. See also:
Frank Meyer, and the “libertarian Southern Strategy”.
Free
Market System
An economic system which focuses on individuals'
subjective evaluation of goods and services as a basis for
voluntary exchange and trade in markets. Also emphasizes
entrepreneurship, the acquisition of property through just
means and meritocracy, and the ownership of personal
possessions. Sometimes called “free-market capitalism”.
See also: libertarianism, mutualism, conservatism, capitalism.
Georgism
A
system which features both a market system and the holding of land in
common; the philosophy of social reformer and economist Henry
George. George proposed Land Value Taxation, formerly referred
to as “the Single Tax”. This would involve taxing only land
(in its broad economic definition), rather than taxing labor
and capital. George believed that land should be owned either
by no one, or by the entire community. Aside from charging
private owners rent, payable to the community, George favored
entirely free markets otherwise. See also: geolibertarianism,
geo-anarchism, green anarchism, Geo-Mutualism, Mutualism, and
market socialism.
Individualism
The
belief in the freedom of individuals. Often used in contrast to
collectivism, which most individuals see as antagonistic
towards individualism, and irreconcilable. May be used in a
political, economic, or social sense. See also: individualist
anarchism, libertarianism, autarchism.
Left-Wing
Nationalism
An anti-capitalist, pro-socialist form of nationalism
which rejects the bourgeois, cronyist, and oligarchical
tendencies of right-wing nationalism. See also: Jean-Jacques
Rousseau, the Jacobins, Thomas Hobbes, the social contract,
social-nationalism, corporatism.
Leninism
Russian Communist Party Secretary Vladimir I. Ulyanov's (Lenin's) development of Marxist theory. Lenin wanted a centralized,
federated network of soviet-socialist
(or council-communist) republics. Also referred to as
Marxism-Leninism, or M-L for short, Leninism is characterized by single party rule. See also: Bolshevism,
Vanguardism, democratic centralism, council communism, Soviet
communism, the one-party state, and Stalinism.
Libertarianism
A
political philosophy which focuses on free choice; freedom of, to,
and from association; free will; and the natural liberties and
negative rights of individuals.
Libertarian Socialism
A
category of socialism which rejects the state, and the use of force.
Libertarian socialism aims to achieve the management of the means of
production by the whole of society, but unlike authoritarian
socialists, they aim to do so through non-authoritarian means, and on
a free and voluntary basis. Libertarian socialists reject vertical
hierarchy in favor of horizontality and egalitarianism, and value
making capitalist practices unnecessary, and developing alternatives
to them, instead of using force or the state to ban them. Libertarian
socialists support minimal government (however defined); and
decentralization, localism, and subsidiarism; as well as
participatory democratic frameworks to manage resources. Like social anarchists, libertarian socialists support non-political direct action, such as mutual aid, but unlike social anarchists, libertarian socialists support supplementing that non-political action with gradual political reforms. See also: libertarian Marxism,
libertarian communism / Bookchinism, left-Marxism, Luxemburgism,
Wilhelm and Karl Liebknecht, and left-Marxism.
Maoism
Chinese Communist Party Chairman Mao Zedong's (Mao Tse Tung's) development of Marxism- Leninism,
which focuses on the role of peasants in the revolution more
than other variants of Marxism do. Also called
Marxism-Leninism-Maoism, or M-L-M for short. See also: Leninism, Marxism-Leninism, Communism with Chinese Characteristics.
Market
Anarchism
The political and economic belief that the laws of supply
and demand should not be interfered with by governments, and
that freedom to enter into direct competition against the state
is the ultimate illustration of freedom, anarchism, and
voluntary exchange. See also: Gustave de Molinari, Agorism, free market system, anarchism, anarchy without adjectives, libertarianism, capitalism.
Marxism
The
school of socialist thought founded by Karl Marx; most notably
endorsing the abolition of the bourgeois state, through the
revolutionary dictatorship of the proletariat, which would
wither away amid international cooperation to achieve free
society, thus giving way to stateless anarcho-communism.
Mercantilism
An
economic policy designed to maximize a nation's exports, and to
maximize its accumulation of precious metals and other forms of
hard currency. May involve “limited” or “minimal”
supports for domestic firms and industries. See also:
conservatism, nationalism, fusionism, protectionism, classical
liberalism.
Mutualism
An
economic system in which most resources are owned collectively or
cooperatively, but in which most allocation and distribution is
done through markets
and voluntary exchange. Mutualism deems “economic rent” and
“unearned income” - like surplus profit, rent, and interest
– as unjustifiable, exploitative, and bordering on
fraudulent; because all transactions must be mutually
beneficial as well as voluntary, and must adhere to the
principle “cost the limit of price”. See also:
Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, Josiah Warren, Benjamin Tucker, market
socialism, Dengism, Titoism, Geo- Mutualism, Ricardian
socialism, free-market anti-capitalism.
National
Socialism
A political and economic development of nationalism which
rejects the Marxist conception of socialism, and instead
re-frames the nation as synonymous with society and with the
collective, thus re- framing racist ultra-nationalism as a form
of socialism. Involved shutting large numbers of members of
society out of what were supposed to be “societal” or
“collective decisions”. Also involved government creating
an illusion
of private property ownership through government-directed
privatization and selling-off of resources, but with jackbooted
goons paying routine, intimidating visits to “private”
properties. See also: Nazism, Hitlerism, and the N.S.D.A.P.
(Nazionalsocialistiche Deutsche Arbiterpartei; National
Socialist German Workers' Party).
Nationalism
The
sentiment that peoples should express themselves as nations, usually
in a territorial context with borders; and that peoples should
aim to be politically and economically independent, and if
necessary, restrict the movement of people and resources in
order to protect the nation. Usually involves nationalization,
which is the assumption of the control of productive firms by
some national, federal, or central government authority. See
also: nativism, National-Anarchism, nation-state,
ultra-nationalism, conservatism, fascism, fusionism.
Neoconservatism
A
political philosophy which supports hegemony and global conquest
through a militant imperialist foreign policy, but which
ironically pursues internationalism
under
the guise of nationalism, by advocating military presence in
most or all foreign countries. Usually supports a dirigist,
soft-fascist, or quasi-autarkic economic system, but may be
less staunchly right-wing on issues related to social mores and
the size and scope of government. See also: Irving Kristol,
conservatism, fusionism, neo-liberalism, corporatism, fascism.
Neo-Liberalism
A
system in which a liberal capitalist government has established a
robust social safety net or welfare state, in order to
supplement capitalist production, to relieve economic stress,
to moderate the excesses of the market or capitalist system, and
to provide a basic level and standard for subsistence. Usually
involves high degrees of both economic equality and economic
opportunity, but may also feature market-fetishism, and/or
social mores which are not as enthusiastically inclusive as
those advanced by modern social liberals. Neoliberal European
nations are sometimes inaccurately described as practicing
“European socialism”. See also: ordoliberalism, the Nordic
Model, Rhine Capitalism, neoconservatism.
Populism
Any
movement which appeals to marginalized, overlooked, and
“common” people, who feel they have been disregarded by
the political, economic, and social elite. Includes left-wing
variants such as social democracy and democratic socialism, and
right- wing variants such as fusionism and
libertarian-conservatism.
Progressivism
A
social, economic, and political philosophy which supports
decision- making by majority rule, and which places a strong
focus on progress. This progress can be social, technological,
or pertain to achieving freedom and protecting positive rights (or all or any combination of the above), but the most popular associated position is the belief in economic progress through the progressive taxation of income (in which those earning the most income pay the highest percentages of that income in taxes). See also: democratic socialism, social democracy, left-wing populism, social
liberalism.
Protectionism
The
practice whereby a country extends privileges and protections to
favored domestic industries, in order to attempt to give the
nation as a whole an edge in those industries in the world
markets. Can include subsidization, tax credits, bailouts,
discounts on utilities, tariffs and barriers against foreign
production, extension of L.L.C. status, creating favorable
professional regulations that allow existing firms to shut out
their competitors, and furnishment of easy credit and low
interest rates to encourage investment. See also: mercantilism,
corporatism, crony capitalism, fascism,
dirigism.
Republicanism
A political system in which the
public limits the power of government through a constitution or
compact establishing the rule of law. Includes right-wing
variants like conservative republicanism, as well as
left-leaning variants like democratic-republicanism and social
republicanism. See also: constitution, rule of law, limited
government, libertarianism, social contract.
Right-Wing
Nationalism
The dominant form of nationalism; the bourgeois
Westphalian nation- state. Often features political and economic
isolationism and autarky, oligarchy and crony capitalism, and
exploitation of workers and/or the environment for profit. See
also: nationalism, ultra-nationalism, corporatism.
Social
Anarchism
The belief in social tolerance, equality, equity,
diversity, and multiculturalism; paired with the belief that
the abolition of government or the state will help achieve
these ends. See also: anarchism, socialism, social liberalism.
Social
Democracy
The achievement of a socialist system through democratic
decision- making and other democratic means. In the 19th
century, those described as “social democrats” were mostly
Marx-influenced socialists who were criticized by other
Marxists as “revisionists” for being open to gradualism and
reformism (that is, working with the bourgeois state slowly on
its own terms), and for believing that a revolution can be
bypassed by voting a socialist or pro-worker government into
control of a bourgeois nation-state's government.
Social
Liberalism
The belief in social tolerance, equality, equity, and
usually also diversity and multiculturalism; sometimes paired
with the belief that limiting government will help achieve
these ends. More or less synonymous with modern liberalism. See
also: social anarchism, neo-liberalism.
Social
Nationalism
A variant of socialism which – although it staunchly
opposses industrial capitalism when done by anyone – is also
highly nationalistic or nativist, and which may also subscribe
to racial supremacy. See also:national syndicalism, left-wing
nationalism, social patriotism, patriotic socialism, social
chauvinism, Strasserism, national communism, National Bolshevism, the East German Stasi, and national socialism
(Nazism).
Social
Republic
A political system in which the rule of law is established
through a constitution or compact limiting the powers of
governments, but which focuses on
including as much of society as possible in the drafting of a
“social contract” or “social compact”. See also:
republicanism, left-wing nationalism, social nationalism,
corporatism.
Socialism
The
societal management of the means of production, and/or the factors
of production. An economic system in which the means of
production are managed and operated for the benefit of the
society as a whole, for communities and collectives (or “the
community” or “the collective”), and/or for workers. In a
general sense, can refer to any left-leaning or
socialist-inspired system; or to any system in which
production, distribution, purchase, possession, and/or
management are primarily done by workers, cooperatives,
groups, or collectives. Include authoritarian "right-wing socialist" variants such as Stalinism, as well as libertarian "left-wing socialist" variants such as anarcho-communism and Bookchinism. See also: social democracy, democratic
socialism, libertarian socialism, communism.
Stalinism
Josef
Stalin's development of the Marxist-Leninist ideology. Involves
authoritarian enforcement, establishing strict military and
labor disciplines, mass surveillance and the encouragement of
spying on one's neighbors, little recognition
of human rights and the rights of historically marginalized
peoples (race, ethnicity, religion, sex, sexual orientation,
political opinion, etc.),
and a focus on industrialization. Much more open to war and
imperialism than most other Marxist tendencies. Also called
Marxism-Leninism- Stalinism, and derisively referred to as State
Monopoly Capitalism and “collapsed communism”. See also:
Vanguardism, Bolshevism,
Socialism
in One Country, and “world communism” and the Comintern
(the communist Third International).
Totalitarianism
A
political system in which all political, economic, and social affairs
and interactions are strictly controlled, by a strong (usually
central) government, which often employs harsh
punishments and invasive surveillance, monitoring, and tracking
techniques – as well as thorough record keeping, and the
requirement that permits and licenses be issued for any and all
types of activities - to enforce its order and acquire and
retain control. Mussolini described totalitarianism as "All within the state, nothing outside the state, nothing against the state". See also: fascism, national socialism (Nazism),
imperialism / colonialism, tyranny.
Ultra-Nationalism
The
belief that one's nation of birth makes one intrinsically superior to
people who were born elsewhere, or to those who pledge fealty
to a different sovereign. Usually involves autarkic and
nativist measures like the enthusiastic imposition of barriers
to free movement and free flow of goods from outside of the
nation, often whether the need is pressing or not. See also:
nativism, nation- state.
Originally Written
on August 7th, 9th, and 10th, 2018
Originally Published
on August 10th, 2018
Edited and Expanded on August 13th, 21st, and 23rd,
and September 5th, 2018
