This page provides definitions and explanations of political terms, concepts, and ideologies to help readers better understand political discourse.
Authoritarianism - a form of government characterized by the concentration of power in the hands of a single ruler or a small group, suppressing political freedoms and civil rights. It often involves strong central control, minimal political pluralism, and the suppression of dissent
Capitalism - an economic and political system in which a country's trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by the state
Communism - a theory or system of social organization based on the holding of all property in common, actual ownership being ascribed to the community as a whole or to the state. a system of social organization in which all economic and social activity is controlled by a totalitarian state dominated by a single and self-perpetuating political party.
Democracy - government by the people; a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system.
Fascism - a far-right, authoritarian political ideology and movement that emerged in the early 20th century, characterized by a strong emphasis on nationalism, militarism, and a cult of personality around a leader. It opposes democratic liberalism, communism, and socialism, often promoting violence and suppressing opposition
Identity Politics - politics in which groups of people having a particular racial, religious, ethnic, social, or cultural identity tend to promote their own specific interests or concerns without regard to the interests or concerns of any larger political group
Kakistocracy - a government run by the worst, least qualified, or most unscrupulous citizens
Liberalism - a political philosophy based on belief in progress and stressing the essential goodness of the human race, freedom for the individual from arbitrary authority, and protection and promotion of political and civil liberties
Marxism - a social, political, and economic philosophy named after Karl Marx, which examines the effect of capitalism on labor, productivity, and economic development and argues for a worker revolution to overturn capitalism in favor of communism
Oligarchy - a government by the few, especially despotic power exercised by a small and privileged group for corrupt or selfish purposes.
Plutocracy - a government that is ruled or controlled by people of great wealth or income
Politics - the science or art of political government; the practice or profession of conducting political affairs
Republic - a state in which the supreme power rests in the body of citizens entitled to vote and is exercised by representatives chosen directly or indirectly by them; any body of persons viewed as a commonwealth; a state in which the head of government is not a monarch or other hereditary head of state
Socialism - a theory or system of social organization that advocates the ownership and control of the means of production and distribution, capital, land, etc., by the community as a whole, usually through a centralized government. procedure or practice in accordance with this theory. In Marxist theory the stage following capitalism in the transition of a society to communism, characterized by the imperfect implementation of collectivist principles
Statism - the principle or policy of concentrating extensive economic, political, and related controls in the state at the cost of individual liberty. Support of or belief in the sovereignty of a state, usually a republic