Trahison des clercs (1927- )

Term originally used by the French philosopher and novelist JULIEN BENDA (1867-1956) to describe the betrayal of intellectual values by the right wing. More generally, intellectuals by allying themselves too closely with government, states, or political parties betray the independence which is essential if they are to contribute to public discussion. Source: Roger Scruton,

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Trotskyism (20TH CENTURY)

Views originally developed by Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky (1879-1940). Revolution, once begun, must continue until workers’ power is established worldwide, permanent revolution is thus preferred to socialism in one country. Source: David Miller et al., eds, The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Poltical Thought (Oxford, 1987) Definition The leaders of the Trotskyist Left Opposition in Moscow, 1927 (sitting: Leonid Serebryakov, Karl Radek, Leon Trotsky, Mikhail Boguslavsky and Yevgeni Preobrazhensky;

Tyranny of the majority (19TH CENTURY)

Reservation about democracy expressed by French historian Alexis de Tocqueville (1805-59). An avoidable danger of democracy was a tyranny of majority opinion which would suppress the drive to individual judgment inherent in democratic theories. The term has also been used (as it was not by de Tocqueville) to suggest that democratic states would use coercive and

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Unilateralism (20TH CENTURY)

Theory of (nuclear) disarmament. The competition between nuclear states can be broken by one side reducing or disposing of its nuclear weapons, thus removing the threat which had induced the other side to arm in the first place. Also see: multilateralism Source: David Robertson, The Penguin Dictionary of Politics (London, 1986) Unilateralism is any doctrine or

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Utopianism

Label usually applied in a hostile sense to those who advocate – or are wildly optimistic in thinking they can achieve – a state of affairs perfect in some or all respects. One charge is that the excessive and unrealistic pursuit of some good can lead to gross neglect of other goods and even

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Vanguard party (20TH CENTURY)

Originally a theory justifying Communist Party leadership in tsarist Russia. Because the working class (allegedly) suffer from false consciousness, it was argued by Vladimir Ilyich Lenin (1870-1924) that the Communist Party should take the lead in mobilizing industrial workers and organizing them into a revolutionary body, rather than waiting for workers to arrive themselves at revolutionary opinions.

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Veil of ignorance (1971)

Element in the theory of justice of American political theorist John Rawls (1921-2002). Conditions for just social life can be sketched if people are imagined in an ‘original position’ where they decide upon social rules whilst behind a ‘veil of ignorance’ which prevents their knowing anything about their own situation in the hypothesized society. Source: David

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Virtual representation (18TH CENTURY)

Justification of pre-democratic politics. People are represented, even though they do not choose their representatives, if those representatives have concern themselves with their interests. Thus voting is unnecessary since those who wield power (or choose those who do) ‘virtually represent’ the disenfranchized be they the poor, or women, or non-whites. Source: A H Birch, Representative

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Welfarism (20TH CENTURY)

A pejorative term indicating preference for collective social services. The social provision of goods and services is to be preferred to their purchase or procurement by individual effort and choice. The ‘theory’ is a construct of those who use the term critically, and does not occur in the arguments of those to whom it

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White man’s burden (1898)

Phrase coined by English writer Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936). The government and development of empire is a burden, dutifully accepted by white Europeans, but unappreciated by those over whom they exercise their paternal power. Kipling’s poetic expression neatly encapsulates a theory of imperialism which was often more assumed than articulated. Source: A P Thornton, Doctrines of Imperialism

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Withering away of the state (19TH CENTURY)

Term used intially by the German collaborator of Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels (1820-1895). After the seizure of power by the working class, the dictatorship of the proletariat will be used to abolish capitalism and, hence, classes. Since states only exist to regulate class conflict, the state will thereafter be redundant and will wither away. Source: David McLellan, Marxism after Marx (London, 1980) Origin

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Worker’s control (20TH CENTURY)

Theory of industrial and economic power. Production should be controlled by those directly engaged in it, rather than by nonproductive owners. Workers’ control – of which guild socialism is an example -is to be distinguished from revolutionary doctrines such as syndicalism or anarcho-syndicalism in that it does not seek to use economic power in order to sieze political power. Source: Rodney

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World society (20TH CENTURY)

Theory of international relations propounded by Australian political scientist John W Burton (1915- ). A more ambitious version of the theory of international society. Source: Graham Evans and Jeffrey Newnham, The Dictionary of World Politics (Hemel Hempstead, 1990) Implications Through a series of empirical studies, Meyer and others observed that new states organize themselves in a

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Zero-sum (20TH CENTURY)

Concept in game theory. There are circumstances in which one person can only win at the expense of another, or vice-versa. Such an assumption underlay mercantilism and wages fund theory. Source: Roger Scruton, A Dictionary of Political Thought (London, 1982) Definition Choice 1 Choice 2 Choice 1 −A, A B, −B Choice 2 C, −C −D, D Generic

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Functionalism

Any theory analyzing something in terms of its function; that is, any theory claiming that the best, or only, way of defining something is in terms of what it does or the role it plays in the ongoing course of events. Functionalism tends to define things in terms of their causes and effects, and,

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Isolationism

In aesthetics, the doctrine that a work of art can be appreciated independently of its cultural background, the circumstances of its production, the artist’s intentions, and so on (also see: contextualism). In politics, the doctrine that a nation’s (or some particular nation’s) interests are best served by minimizing its interference in affairs outside its own borders, or

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Exploitation

Exploitation occurs where a person or institution systematically gives to another rewards or services or goods disproportionately smaller than that other person’s efforts or contribution would justify, and retains for them-self a correspondingly greater amount. Source: David Miller et al., eds, The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Political Thought (Oxford, 1987) Exploitation may refer to: Exploitation of

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Mercantilism (17TH CENTURY- )

Theory of the responsibility of the state to protect and promote national wealth by encouraging exports and limiting imports. Since wealth is limited, trade between nations is a zero-sum game, so one country can only benefit at the expense of another. Mercantilism was advocated by a number of English, French and German writers, many of whom were merchants.

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Privatization (20TH CENTURY)

Explanation and/or justification of shift of functions from government to market. Services are better provided and functions better carried out by market enterprises than by public bodies. At the same time the expectations of citizens are shifted from political solutions – which are collective – to economic ones, which are individual. Also see: nationalization, laissez-faire, physiocracy, mercantilism Source:

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Property

Account of rights over the material world. Justifications of property rights vary, as do recommendations on the obligations and restraints which should accompany such rights. Disagreement exists as to whether such rights belong in the first place to individuals or to society. Source: David Miller et al., eds, The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Political Thought (Oxford, 1987)

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