Capitalism
An economic system in which means of production and distribution are privately
or corporately owned and development is proportionate to the accumulation and
reinvestment of profits gained in a free market. Private ownership and free
enterprise can lead to more efficiency, lower prices, and better products.
Socialism
A theory or system of social reform which contemplates a complete reconstruction
of society, with a more just and equitable distribution of property and wealth. In
practice, such a distribution of wealth is achieved by social ownership of the
means of production, exchange and diffusion.
Communism
A system of government in which the state plans and controls the economy and a
single, often authoritarian party holds power, claiming to make progress toward a
higher social order in which all goods are equally shared by the people. In its
ideal form, social classes cease to exist, but there are not supposed to be
coercive governmental structures.
Totalitarianism
The government is in the hands of a minority who often rule through military
might and extreme political repression. The Chilean government under General
Pinochet (1973-1990) is an example of a totalitarian government.
Fascism
A philosophy or system of government that is marked by stringent social and
economic control, a strong, centralized government usually headed by a dictator,
and often a policy of belligerent nationalism (e.g. Adolf Hitler and Nazi
Germany).
Democracy
Democracy is a political system which has many different meanings and can take
different forms. It can be incorrectly used as a synonym for capitalism.
Fundamentally, it means a government of, by and for the people.
Federalism
A political system that divides powers between the national and state
governments (“shared governance”).
Culture
The arts, customs, and habits that characterize a particular society or nation;
the beliefs, values, behavior and material objects that constitute a people's
way of life.
Cultural identity
The identity of a group or culture, or of an individual as far as one is influenced
by one's belonging to a group or culture. Our cultural identity defines who we are
and how we are viewed by other people. It is constructed in terms of your
association with a number of important social groups, including family, gender,
place of residence, economic position, and ethnicity.
Ethnicity
Ethnicity is a social construction that indicates identification with a particular
group which is often descended from common ancestors. Members of the group
share common cultural traits (such as language, religion, and dress) and at times
they can be an identifiable minority within a larger nation-state.
Nation
A self-identifying people who share a common history, often language, a common
culture and a homeland. A nation is the most persistent and resistant
organization of people-culture- territory. There are more than 7,000 nations on
our planet.
Nationalism
Close identification with the social, economic, historical and political concerns of
a particular country or nation.
State
A territory built by conquest in which one culture, one set of ideals and one set of
laws have been imposed by force or threat over diverse nations by a civilian or
military bureaucracy. States can be ephemeral and may originate and disappear
with the stroke of a pen (e.g. end of the U.S.S.R. on December 25, 1991).
Nation State
You have a nation state if a nation’s homeland corresponds exactly to a
state’s territory.
Multinational State
You have a multinational state when several distinct nations are found together
in the same political state.
Ethnonationalism
Strong feeling of belonging to a minority dominated by a more powerful nation.
Ethnocentrism
The belief that one's culture is superior to all others.
Separatism
Desire to break away and form one’s own (nation) state.
Secession
The act of breaking away.
Irredentism
If a nation’s homeland spills over into another state and the people on the
“wrong side” wish to join the territory.
Centripetal Forces
A force (e.g. ideology, religion) that holds a state (nation/multinational) together
Centrifugal Forces
A force that disrupts a country’s unity.
Raison D’être
The purpose that justifies a state’s existence
Imperialism
The practice of one country extending its control over the territory, political
system, or economic life of another country. Political opposition to this foreign
domination is called "anti-imperialism.”
Liberalism
A 19th-century political idea which championed individual rights, civil liberties,
and private property.
Globalization
Globalization refers in general to the worldwide integration of humanity and the
compression of both the temporal and spatial dimensions of planet wide human
interaction. It has aggravated many of the already existing chronic problems on
our planet--such as the degree of economic exploitation and social inequality.
Colonialism
Colonialism is the establishment, maintenance, acquisition and expansion of
Colonies in one territory by people from another territory in order to control
their human and natural resources
Neocolonialism
The state of third-world countries which enjoy formal political independence,
but continue to remain economically dependent on rich, industrialized countries
which are often former colonial powers.
Dependency
A situation in which the economy of certain countries is conditioned by the
development and expansion of another economy to which the former is subject.
Revolution
Means an alteration in the personnel, structure, supporting myth, and functions
of government by methods which are not sanctioned by prevailing constitutional
norms. These methods almost invariably involve violence or the threat of violence
against political elites, citizens, or both and often with a resulting abrupt and
significant change in the distribution of wealth and social status.
Hegemony
Domination, influence, or authority over another, especially by one political group
over a society or by one nation over others (internationally among nation-states,
and regionally over social classes, between languages or even culture).
Right of Self-Determination
The right of a people to determine its own destiny. In particular, the principle
allows a people to choose its own political status and to determine its own form
of economic, cultural and social development.
Dignity?
What is it? What does it have to do with “geopolitics and ethnic conflicts”?
Why is it so important?
Just For Fun: Cow-Artly-Definitions
SOCIALISM:
You have 2 cows and you give one to your neighbor.
COMMUNISM:
You have 2 cows, the Government takes both and gives you some milk.
FASCISM:
You have 2 cows. The Government takes both and shoots you.
TRADITIONAL CAPITALISM:
You have two cows. You sell one and buy a bull. Your herd multiplies, and the economy
grows. You sell them and retire on the income.
ENRON/BP/WALL STREET STYLE VENTURE/VULTURE CAPITALISM:
You have two cows. You sell three of them to your publicly listed company, using letters of
credit opened by your brother-in-law at the bank, then execute a debt / equity swap with an
associated general offer so that you get all four cows back, with a tax exemption for five
cows. The milk rights of the six cows are transferred via an intermediary to a Cayman Island
company secretly owned by the majority shareholders who sell the rights to all seven cows
back to your listed company. The annual report says the company owns eight cows, with an
option on one more. Sell one cow to buy a new president of the United States, leaving you
with nine cows. No balance sheet provided with the release. The public buys your bull.