Socialism, Communism, and Capitalism Flashcards
socialism
a political and economic theory of social organization that advocates that the means of production, distribution, and exchange should be owned or regulated by the community as a whole.
utopia
an imagined place or state of things in which everything is perfect. The word was first used in the book Utopia (1516) by Sir Thomas More.
robert owen
was a Welsh social reformer and one of the founders of utopian socialism and the cooperative movement. He worked in the cotton industry in Manchester before setting up a large mill at New Lanark in Scotland.
karl marx
was a philosopher and economist famous for his ideas about capitalism and communism.
communism
a political theory derived from Karl Marx, advocating class war and leading to a society in which all property is publicly owned and each person works and is paid according to their abilities and needs.
proletariat
workers or working-class people, regarded collectively (often used with reference to Marxism).
democratic
relating to or supporting democracy or its principles.
communist manifesto
is an 1848 political pamphlet by German philosophers Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels.
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
david ricardo
was a classical economist known for his Iron Law of Wages, labor theory of value, theory of comparative advantage and theory of rents. David Ricardo and several other economists also simultaneously and independently discovered the law of diminishing marginal returns.
thomas malthus
An 18th-century British philosopher and economist famous for his ideas about population growth. Malthus’ population theories were outlined in his book, “An Essay on the Principle of Population”, first published in 1798.
dictatorship
government by a dictator.
laissez-faire
a policy or attitude of letting things take their own course, without interfering.
adam smith
is one of the world’s most famous economists. Modern capitalism owes its roots to Adam Smith and his Wealth of Nations, which many consider the single most important economic work in history.
friedrich engles
was a German philosopher, social scientist, journalist, and businessman. He founded Marxist theory together with Karl Marx.
declaration of rights of women
also known as the Declaration of the Rights of Woman, was written in 1791 by French activist, feminist, and playwright Olympe de Gouges
suffrage
the right to vote in political elections.
Romanticism
a movement in the arts and literature that originated in the late 18th century, emphasizing inspiration, subjectivity, and the primacy of the individual.
realism
was an artistic movement that began in France in the 1850s, after the 1848 Revolution. Realists rejected Romanticism, which had dominated French literature and art since the late 18th century. Realism revolted against the exotic subject matter and exaggerated emotionalism and drama of the Romantic movement.
naturalist
an expert in or student of natural history.
beethoven
German composer. Despite increasing deafness, Beethoven wrote prodigiously: nine symphonies, thirty-two piano sonatas, sixteen string quartets, the opera “Fidelio” (1814), and the “Mass in D” (the “Missa Solemnis”, 1823)
mark twain
was a Mississippi River term: the second mark on the line that measured depth signified two fathoms, or twelve feet—safe depth for the steamboat. In 1857, at the age of twenty-one, he became a “cub” steamboat pilot.
cartography
the science or practice of drawing maps
social darwinism
the theory that individuals, groups, and peoples are subject to the same Darwinian laws of natural selection as plants and animals. Now largely discredited, social Darwinism was advocated by Herbert Spencer and others in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and was used to justify political conservatism, imperialism, and racism and to discourage intervention and re
