Key Terms

authoritarianism

an ideology that may allow freedoms in nonpolitical life but does not permit any political challenge to the ruler

civil religion

a common religious sentiment, usually promoted by the state, that defines citizens as brothers and sisters and teaches respect for religious differences

class consciousness

a recognition of one’s membership in an economic class, which Marx argued can engender a sense of profound camaraderie among the proletariat based on the recognition of common economic conditions

classical liberalism

an ideology emphasizing natural rights, limited government, and capitalism

communism

in Marxism, the eventual condition that will emerge from the fall of capitalism, characterized by peace, justice, freedom from repressive laws and political supervision, and equality of material resources in a society without economic classes

conservative populism

an ideology on the right that calls for winning elections so that the government can regulate media and corporate elites in order to protect traditional Western culture and what adherents see as “ordinary” citizens

cosmopolitanism

the idea that one should define oneself primarily as a citizen of the world and not of any particular nation

critical race and gender theory

a contemporary movement to expand rights and equity by compensating past victims of injustice through law and public policy in order to achieve a current condition that is judged to be fairer

democratic liberalism

an ideology that merges elements of classical liberalism, especially its endorsement of capitalism and individual rights, with a high regard for equality of treatment and democratic decision-making through elected representatives

democratic socialism

a New Left movement defined by a deep appreciation of socialist ideology and democracy

dictatorship of the proletariat

in Marxist thought, a temporary period in which workers would organize, take control of the state, and engage in the cleanup operations needed to usher in communism

direct democracy

a system in which the populace decides political matters by direct majority vote

environmentalism

a movement that aims to preserve and protect the natural environment

fascism

an ideology that combines reverence for the state with nationalism, anti-communism, and skepticism of the parliamentary form of government

first-wave feminism

a movement in the 19th and 20th centuries to advance women’s rights, such as the rights to vote, to enter into contracts, and to work in all professional fields

fusionism

a political movement combining moderate economic libertarianism and moderate social conservatism

general will

Rousseau’s term for laws that advance the true good of every person in society

globalism

an ideology that calls for either enhancing the power of existing global institutions, such as the United Nations, or creating new international bodies with effective governing authority

harm principle

the idea advanced by John Stuart Mill that laws should not restrict the freedom of adults, even if adults exercise their freedom in ways that cause them personal physical or moral harm, as long as that exercise does not harm another person

hegemony

the prevailing cultural norms that serve to reinforce the economic domination of the upper class

indigenism

a movement asserting that Indigenous tribal communities have special virtues and deserve to be preserved by the state

intersectionality

the belief that individuals may have characteristics that make them members of more than one oppressed group and that these groups intersect, exacerbating the oppression that such individuals experience

laws of nature

according to Hobbes, rules based on human reason that would allow people to achieve peace and live free from worries in the state of nature

Maoism

the ideology advanced by Mao Zedong that the Chinese peasantry, and not the industrial workers, could and should be the agents ushering in communism and that the peasants need only to be led by a powerful political party

mercantilist

economic policies that discriminate against other countries’ imports and subsidize exports

multiculturalism

an ideology arguing that all or almost all of the cultures in the world are valid and should be respected, that many individuals derive a great sense of their identity and self-worth through their membership in a particular culture, and that the state should affirm this diversity of cultures

nationalism

pride in and celebration of a national identity based on shared blood, history, and soil, usually to the exclusion or detriment of other identities

natural rights

according to Locke and other thinkers, rights that individuals have as a consequence of the natural law

Nazism

a form of fascism that governed Germany from 1934 to 1945

neoliberalism

a movement to encourage developing countries to adopt a free market, open their economies to international trade, avoid significant inflation, and enhance the rule of law and the rights of individuals

political ideologies

consciously held ideas about both how political life is structured and how it should be structured

political secularism

the view that explicitly religious sets of principles should not administer government

second-wave feminism

a form of feminism that emerged in the 1970s and focused primarily on bodily freedoms and safety surrounding sex and personal relationships, especially the right to abortion, the right to a divorce without having to show cause, prevention of domestic violence, and critiques of pornography

social conservatism

a school of political thought that emphasizes the need for the government to uphold traditional moral standards based on the natural law or on the long-standing traditions of a given area

social contract

according to Hobbes, an agreement among the people to give power to an authority that can ensure that everyone follows the laws of nature and can punish those who do not

social relations of production

social norms, such as marriage, that have been shaped by the capitalist economy

socialism

an ideology committed to remaking society to ensure more or less equal material wealth, and especially equal possession of the goods that individuals need to reach their full potential

state of nature

a term used by thinkers such as Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau to describe what they suppose life would be like if there were no government ruling over the people

structural racism

a form of racism thought to be manifest when actions are taken within a legal, political, and cultural context that has been shaped by the past racist decisions of others, regardless of the individual actors’ personal beliefs or intent

third-wave feminism

a form of feminism that argues that society is marked by embedded cultural patriarchy and works to upend these patriarchal norms

totalitarianism

a political system in which the state seeks to control the totality of its citizens’ lives as a means to achieve state objectives