Situationism (20TH CENTURY)

Advocacy of comprehensive revolution. Radical and not always precise proposal for total revolutionary transformation of every aspect of life, beginning with individual experience; much in evidence in France in May 1968. Source: Alan Bullock, Oliver Stallybrass, and Stephen Trombley, eds, The Fontana Dictionary of Modern Thought, 2nd edn (London, 1988) Situationism may also refer to:

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Social choice (20th century)

Application of rational choice theory to the provision of welfare services and public goods and the relation between citizens’ preferences and public policy. There are difficulties in rationally translating people’s choices into public policy, as indicated in the impossibility theorem. Social choice is a theory not so much of the translation of individual into collective decisions as

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Social contract

Theory of political obligation or authority. The duty to obey government and law, and the right to govern and make law, arises from a contract or agreement either between ruler and ruled, or amongst the ruled. It is not normally suggested that there ever was an actual historical contract, but that it would be reasonable to

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Social credit (20TH CENTURY)

A theory of extended and distributed purchasing power. Individuals would be benefited, and the economy stimulated, by the distribution of ‘social credits’. The theory had little impact, and a short life. Source: John L Finlay, Social Credit (London, 1972) Social credit is an interdisciplinary and distributive philosophy developed by C. H. Douglas. It encompasses economics, political science, history, and accounting. Its policies are designed,

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Social democracy (19TH CENTURY- )

Theory of democratic socialism. Although social democracy was used to describe 19th century Marxist parties in continental Europe, the phrase established a distinctive, non-Marxist and non-revolutionary meaning after the 1917 Russian Revolution, socialism can and should be achieved by democratic means, thus extending the meaning of democracy from simple political power to include social and economic power exercised by the electorate through

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Socialism

Theory of the social nature or aspects of production and of its consequences. Socialism is characterized by enormous variety. It generally involves the argument that economic production has an essential social as distinct from individual element, and that this requires public investment and justifies a public share in and distribution of rewards. Source: David

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Socialism in one country (20TH CENTURY)

Theory of revolution associated with the Russian revolutionary and politician Joseph Stalin (1879-1953) and with Stalinism. Against the theory of permanent revolution, it was argued that socialism could and should be built first in one country (the Soviet Union), thus accommodating Marxism to Russian nationalism. Source: David McLellan. Marxism After Marx (London, 1980) Background Further information: Proletarian internationalism, World revolution, and World communism The defeat of several proletarian revolutions in

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Sovereignty

Theory of the location of legal power. In any territory there must be a sovereign, in the sense of an institution or person with the power to make ultimate and unchallengable legal decisions. There is much disagreement as to the location and character of sovereignty. Also see: Austinianism Source: David McLellan. Marxism After Marx (London,

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Stalinism (20TH CENTURY)

Doctrines and policies associated with the Soviet politician Joseph Stalin (1879-1953). A concentration of repressive power in the hands of a single leader and the ruthless suppression of opposition and dissent, combined with the advocacy of socialism in one country. Less a doctrine espoused by Stalin than a style of politics attributed to him and to other despotic communists. Source: David

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State

Central conception of political science. There is no single theory of the state, but the concept of the state either as the institution exercising ultimate legitimate power in a territory, or as the highest expression of the will of the people, has been at the heart of political science and political theory. Source: David

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State capitalism (20TH CENTURY)

Theory of state under communism. In Russia after the revolution of 1917, what developed was not communism but the assumption of the powers and functions of capitalism by the state. In an amended version (as ‘state monopoly capitalism’ or ‘stamocap’), it is argued that in western capitalist society state and capitalism have joined in alliance to create a

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State of nature

Theory frequently employed in conjunction with that of a social contract. Before the formation of society or of states, people lived in a state of nature which has been variously characterized as utopian or brutal. Government is then a damaging limitation of primal innocence, or a necessary check on original depravity. Source: David Miller et

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Subsidiarity (20TH CENTURY)

Theory of allocation of public or governmental functions associated with the European Union. Tasks should never be allocated to a body higher up in a political hierarchy if they can be effectively carried out by a body lower down. Political theory Alexis de Tocqueville’s classic study, Democracy in America, may be viewed as an examination

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Systems theory (20TH CENTURY)

Also termed ‘systems analysis’. Theory of politics and government as a system associated with American political scientist David Easton (1917- ). Government and politics constitute a system of inputs and outputs, with ‘gatekeepers’ who filter demands upon the system in order to avoid overload. Systems analysis like structural functionalism is contrasted with conflict theory. Source: Geoffrey Roberts and Alistair

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Three worlds theory (20TH CENTURY)

With the end of conventional European imperialism, there were three groups of states, or three worlds; the industrial, developed, capitalist world; the socialist world of Eastern Europe and China; and the third world of newly liberated and underdeveloped states. The theory, which with the abdication of communist despotisms in Eastern Europe became out of

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Toryism

Theory of paternalist conservatism. Societies are characterized both by traditional values and institutions; and by division into a skilled and perceptive minority, and a less capable and less wise majority. It is the responsibility of the minority to further the interests of both tradition and the masses. Source: S H Beer, Modern British Politics (London, 1965) History Royalist supporters,

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Totalitarianism (20TH CENTURY)

Theory of despotic government. Totalitarian regimes are characterized by an ambition for permanence; attempted total control over all aspects of the lives of their subjects; concentration of power in a single leader; and use of mass propaganda and public ritual. The theory of totalitarianism attempts to generalize from the characteristics of the German Nazi and Soviet

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Total war (20TH CENTURY)

Theory of modern war. Total mobilization of economies and populations for war is a unique feature of the modern world and of the 19th and 20th centuries. Source: Graham Evans and Jeffrey Newnham, The Dictionary of World Politics (Hemel Hempstead, 1990) Shogun: Total War Main article: Shogun: Total War Released in June 2000, Shogun: Total War is

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Tradition

A central element in the political theory of conservatism. Societies and constitutions are ordered by slowly established and time-tested values and institutions, rather than by rational schemes or plans. The task of government is to cultivate and work with these traditions, amending them where necessary, rather than to devise Utopian blueprints. Source: David Miller et

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Tragedy of the commons (20TH CENTURY)

An illustration of game theory. The tragedy of the commons is an illustration of how the rational pursuit of individual advantage appears to lead to solutions which are in the best interests of neither individuals nor the community as a whole. A group of peasants is assumed to have grazing rights, but if each peasant puts

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