Glossary for Political Thought

Glossary

Aristocracy: A state in which governing power is held by the nobility.

Behaviouralism: Advocacy of or adherence to a behavioural approach to social phenomena.

Bourgeoisie: The capitalist class who own most of society’s wealth and means of production.

Classless Society: The ultimate condition of social organization, expected to occur when true communism.

Dialectic: An enquiry into metaphysical contradictions and their solutions.

Dictatorship of the Proletariat: In Marxism, rule by the proletariat—the economic and social class consisting of industrial workers who derive income solely from their labour—during the transitional phase between the abolition of capitalism and the establishment of communism.

Enlightenment: A European intellectual movement of the late 17th and 18th centuries emphasizing reason and individualism rather than tradition.

General Will: In political theory, a collectively held will that aims at the common good or common interest.

Glorious Revolution: The events of 1688–89 that resulted in the deposition of James II and the accession of his daughter Mary II and her husband, William III, prince of Orange and stadholder of the Netherlands.

Individualism: A social theory favouring freedom of action for individuals over collective or state control.

Majoritarianism: A form of democracy which upholds the rule of the majority.

Oligarchy: A small group of people having control of a country or organization.

Political Economy: It is a branch of social science that studies the relationships between individuals and society and between markets and the state.

Proletariat: The working-class people regarded collectively.

Rationality: The quality of being based on or in accordance with reason or logic.

Reformation: A 16th-century movement for the reform of abuses in the Roman Church ending in the establishment of the Reformed and Protestant Churches.

Romanticism: A movement in the arts and literature which originated in the late 18th century, emphasizing inspiration, subjectivity, and the primacy of the individual.

State of Nature: In political theory, the real or hypothetical condition of human beings before or without political association.

Statecraft: The skilful management of state affairs; statesmanship.

Timocracy: A form of government in which possession of property is required in order to hold office.