Syndicalism (19TH CENTURY- )

Theory of direct working class or trade union power, founded in the theories of French social philosopher Georges Sorel (1847-1922). Since political power arises from economic power, capitalism is most effectively replaced by workers organizing on the basis of their occupation or workplace, and then using their economic power either through strikes or occupations. A popular movement in

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Real self

Theory of people’s wants and wills found in idealism. People have a real self or ‘real will’ which is what they would want if they reflected in a fully rational way on their interests. It will frequently differ from their expressed will, or what they say and believe that they want. Some other person or institution,

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historical materialism

Historical materialism, also known as the materialist conception of history, is a methodology used by scientific socialist and Marxist historiographers that focuses on human societies and their development through history, arguing that history is the result of material conditions rather than ideals. This was first articulated by Karl Marx (1818–1883) as the “materialist conception of history”.[1] It is principally a theory of history which asserts that the material conditions of a

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public choice

Application of economic models to politics. Political and governmental decisions can be understood as rational choices of persons and institutions seeking to maximize their self-interest. Source: Patrick Dunleavy, Democracy, Bureaucracy and Public Choice (Brighton, 1991) Background and development An early precursor of modern public choice theory was the work of Swedish economist Knut Wicksell (1896),[7] which treated

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Thatcherism

Thatcherism is the name given to the laissez-faire policy of Margaret Thatcher (1925-), British prime minister from 1979 to 1990. An advocate of supply-side economics, among Thatcher’s policies were: reductions in tax; manipulation of the money supply to reduce inflation; privatization of public industry; reduction of trade union power; reduction of government’s role in the economy; and encouragement of

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Marxism

Marxism is a method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand class relations and social conflict as well as a dialectical perspective to view social transformation. It originates from the works of 19th-century German philosophers Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. As Marxism has developed over time into various branches and schools of thought, there is currently no single definitive Marxist theory.[1]

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greatest happiness principle

The canonical statement of Mill’s utilitarianism can be found in his book, Utilitarianism. Although this philosophy has a long tradition, Mill’s account is primarily influenced by Jeremy Bentham and Mill’s father James Mill. John Stuart Mill believed in the philosophy of utilitarianism, which he would describe as the principle that holds “that actions are right in the proportion as they tend

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catastrophe theory

In mathematics, catastrophe theory is a branch of bifurcation theory in the study of dynamical systems; it is also a particular special case of more general singularity theory in geometry. Bifurcation theory studies and classifies phenomena characterized by sudden shifts in behavior arising from small changes in circumstances, analysing how the qualitative nature of equation solutions depends on the parameters that appear in the equation.

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cyclical theory

The cyclical theory refers to a model used by historians Arthur M. Schlesinger Sr. and Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. to explain the fluctuations in politics throughout American history.[1][2] In this theory, the United States’s national mood alternates between liberalism and conservatism. Each phase has characteristic features, and each phase is self-limiting, generating the other phase. This alternation has repeated itself several times over the history of the United

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distributism

Distributism is an economic theory asserting that the world’s productive assets should be widely owned rather than concentrated.[1] Developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, distributism was based upon the principles of Catholic social teaching, especially the teachings of Pope Leo XIII in his encyclical Rerum novarum (1891) and Pope Pius XI in Quadragesimo anno (1931).[2][3][4] Distributism views both laissez-faire capitalism and state socialism as equally flawed and exploitative, favoring economic

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equality

Society Political equality, in which all members of a society are of equal standing Consociationalism, in which an ethnically, religiously, or linguistically divided state functions by cooperation of each group’s elites Egalitarianism, a trend of thought that favors equality for all people Equal opportunity, a stipulation that all people should be treated similarly Equality

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feminist linguistics

History Linguistic activism and feminist authorship stemming from second wave feminism in the 1960s and 70s began to draw attention to gender bias in language, including “the uncovering of the gendered nature of many linguistic rules and norms”.[6] Scholarship such as Dennis Baron’s Grammar and Gender and Anne Bodine’s “Androcentrism in Prescriptive Grammar” uncovered historical male regulation to promote male-centric language such as the use of “he” as

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feminist methodology

The feminist method is a means of conducting of scientific investigations and generating theory from an explicitly feminist standpoint.[1] Feminist methodologies are varied, but tend to have a few common aims or characteristics, including seeking to overcome biases in research, bringing about social change, displaying human diversity, and acknowledging the position of the researcher.[2] Questioning normal scientific reasoning is another

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game theory

Game theory is the study of mathematical models of strategic interaction among rational decision-makers.[1] It has applications in all fields of social science, as well as in logic, systems science and computer science. Originally, it addressed zero-sum games, in which each participant’s gains or losses are exactly balanced by those of the other participants. In the 21st century, game theory applies to a wide range

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general strike

A general strike (or mass strike) is a strike action in which a substantial proportion of the total labour force in a city, region, or country participates. General strikes are characterised by the participation of workers in a multitude of workplaces and tend to involve entire communities. General strikes first occurred in the mid-19th century and have characterised many historically important

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grounded theory

Grounded theory is a systematic methodology that has been largely, but not exclusively, applied to qualitative research conducted by social scientists. The methodology involves the construction of hypotheses and theories through the collecting and analysis of data.[1][2][3] Grounded theory involves the application of inductive reasoning. The methodology contrasts with the hypothetico-deductive model used in traditional scientific research. A study based on grounded

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materialist theory of history

Historical materialism, also known as the materialist conception of history, is a methodology used by scientific socialist and Marxist historiographers that focuses on human societies and their development through history, arguing that history is the result of material conditions rather than ideals. This was first articulated by Karl Marx (1818–1883) as the “materialist conception of history”.[1] It is principally a theory of history which asserts that the material conditions of a

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neo-corporatism

Corporatism is a political ideology which advocates the organization of society by corporate groups, such as agricultural, labour, military, scientific, or guild associations, on the basis of their common interests.[1][2] The term is derived from the Latin corpus, or “human body”. The hypothesis that society will reach a peak of harmonious functioning when each of its divisions efficiently performs its

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PCism

Pejorative term for an overly rigid or token adherence to a liberal canon of beliefs. This novel orthodoxy first surfaced in the USA as lobbyists for disadvantaged minorities began exerting significant political influence; and, consequently, as issues of gender, ethnicity and physical disability were widely promoted as legitimate subjects for sympathetic academic scrutiny. Opponents

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plutocracy

Now little used, this term describes a situation where political power, in fact rather than in law or constitutional theory, lies with the wealthy. A plutocracy (Greek: πλοῦτος, ploutos, ‘wealth’ and κράτος, kratos, ‘power’) or plutarchy is a society that is ruled or controlled by people of great wealth or income. The first known use of the term in English dates from 1631.[1] Unlike systems such as democracy, liberalism, socialism, communism or anarchism,

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