AP Euro -isms

Absolutism

a system of government whereby a monarch has, literally, absolute power

Anarchism

a political movement that calls for doing away with government

Capitalism

an economic system in which individuals retain control of capital

Colonialism

the concept of countries colonizing conquered lands in order to control the economic advantages of the area

Communism

a form of government and economic management system that gives absolute power to the Communist Party

Enlightened Despotism

different from Absolutism because it is secular in nature, used to organize the state from top to bottom during the Enlightenment; examples

Fascism

extreme nationalism; an economic system in which citizens work for the benefit of the state

Feudalism

a system of government and land ownership for agriculture in which vassals held and serfs worked land

Imperialism

the desire of a country to take over a foreign land for economic gain

Mercantilism

an economic development that saw countries seek to increase their holdings, as well as turn toward exporting rather than importing goods

Nationalism

the idea that people of the same religion, heritage, or ethnicity should be self-governed in a state that is solely their own

Socialism

a system of government in which the economy is managed solely by the government

Totalitarianism

a system of government whereby the state has absolute power and the individual only lives to serve the state

Cubism

an early-20th century style (practiced by Picasso, namely) that is considered the most influential movement of the 20th century

Impressionism

an art movement based in France that started around 1871; the style is characterized by visible brush strokes, openness, and depiction of light

Naturalism

a movement in literature, which followed realism and depicted human character as a social construct

Post-Modernism

an artistic, architectural, and critical movement that is earmarked by skepticism and deconstruction

Realism

a movement in art and literature following after Romanticism, marked by the desire to depict subject matter as realistically as possible

Romanticism

a movement in music, literature, and visual art that challenged the classics, depicted emotional themes

Anti-Semitism

prejudice specifically against the Jewish people

Deism

the belief that God created the Earth but holds no control over it now

Jansenism

the idea of some 17th century French Catholics who also regarded the Calvinist interpretation of Christianity

Pantheism

the idea that God and the universe are one and the same

Zionism

the idea that the Jewish people should occupy Israel

Cultural Relativism

the belief that all cultures experience the same problems and solve them in their own ways

Humanism

an intellectual and cultural movement based on readings of Greek and Roman literature during the Middle Ages

Individualism

the belief that the state is less important than the individuals who make up the state

Materialism

the thought that the only things that are real are tangible

Nihilism

the belief in nothing except for science, developed in Russia in the 1860s

Positivism

pioneered by Frenchman Auguste Comte, generally characterized by a concern with absolute facts and thorough questioning of beliefs

Radicalism

an English philosophical movement that sought parliamentary reform

Relativism

the idea that there is no absolute truth

Scholasticism

the system of logic whereby faith and reason could be reconciled; popularized by St. Thomas Aquinas

Social Darwinism

the thought that life is a struggle and the fittest will survive

Structuralism

a 1960s French intellectual movement that asserted the idea that the phenomena of life can only be understood through relationships to larger structures, so to speak