AP Euro "isms"

Feudalism

A hierarchical system of government and agriculture based on private contract. Land, worked by serfs attached to it, was held by vassals in exchange for military service and other duties to lords.

Scholasticism

The system of logic, philosophy, and theology of medieval university scholars that includes the idea of reason and faith being reconciled. St. Thomas Aquinas is the most famous practitioner. It is based on the writings of Aristotle and the early Christian fathers.

Humanism

An intellectual and cultural movement growing out of the study of Greek and Roman literature at the end of the Middle Ages. A key factor in the rise of the Renaissance, it emphasizes human interests and characteristics rather than the natural world or religion.

Civic Humanism

A branch of humanism that emphasized involvement in civic affairs. It promoted the idea that citizens should be active and contribute to the well-being of their city-state.

Secularism

The principle of separating government institutions and individuals from religious institutions and religious figures. It emphasizes reason and scientific inquiry over religious dogma.

Individualism

The idea that the individual is more important than the state or any other group.

Naturalism

A literary movement following realism, demonstrating the determination of human character by the natural and social environment.

Christian Humanism

A Renaissance movement that combines classical learning with the goal of reforming the Catholic Church.

Catholicism

The doctrines and practices of the Catholic Church.

Lutheranism

The religious doctrine that Martin Luther originated, which includes the idea that salvation comes through faith rather than good works; it also includes the Bible as the ultimate authority.

Calvinism

A branch of Protestantism based on the teachings of John Calvin, emphasizing the sovereignty of God and the doctrine of predestination.

Anabaptism

A Protestant movement characterized by the belief that baptism is valid only when candidates freely confess their faith in Christ and want to be baptized. They also advocated for the separation of church and state.

Religious Pluralism

A condition in which numerous distinct religious groups coexist within a society.

Mercantilism

An economic policy where nations increase wealth and power by obtaining gold and silver and by favoring exporting over importing.

Absolutism

A form of government in which the king has complete control.

Constitutionalism

A form of government in which power is distributed and limited by a system of laws that must be obeyed by the rulers.

Empiricism

The theory that knowledge arises from sensory experience. It emphasizes observation and experimentation in acquiring knowledge.

Skepticism

The philosophical position that questions the possibility of certainty in knowledge. Skeptics often suspend judgment due to the limitations of human understanding.

Atheism

Disbelief in the existence of God or gods.

Rationalism

The principle that actions should be based on reason and knowledge. It is a method or process of thinking that is considered as the basis for beliefs or actions.

Deism

The belief that God exists and created the world but does not control it or people's lives; God is a 'watch maker.'

Enlightened Absolutism

Absolute rule justified on secular grounds, exemplified by Frederick the Great as 'the first servant of the state,' used to organize the state from the top down during the Enlightenment; Joseph II of Austria is another example.

Radicalism

An English movement of philosophers who wanted to 'deduce the right form of institutions from the very nature and psychology of man himself.' Favored universal manhood suffrage and reform of Parliament.

Neoclassicism

The revival of a classical style or treatment in art, literature, architecture, or music.

Pietism

A religious movement within Lutheranism that emphasized personal piety and devotion.

Economic Liberalism

An economic system in which economic decisions and the pricing of goods and services are guided solely by the aggregate interactions of a country's individual citizens and businesses.

Liberalism

A 19th-century political philosophy supported mostly by business and professional men. It favors freedom for the individual, emphasizes property rights, supports laissez-faire economics, advocates free trade, opposes militarism, and favors constitutionalism and nationalism with the consent of the governed.

Conservatism

The idea that change should come slowly, if at all.

Nationalism

The idea that people of the same language, religion, ethnicity, or heritage should have their own government on their own land.

Capitalism

An economic system where capital is controlled by individuals, not the state. The economy grows through individual profit-seeking. Property ownership is foundational for personal independence and political liberty.

Socialism

The idea that the government should manage the economy, or aspects of the economy, for the good of the people. It opposes competition, rejects laissez-faire, and questions private property.

Utopian Socialism

A type of socialism based on the idea that social ownership of the means of production can be achieved by voluntary and peaceful surrender of their holdings by propertied groups.

Utilitarianism

The idea of Jeremy Bentham that the object of conduct and legislation is to achieve 'the greatest good for the greatest number.' It defines 'good' as that which gives pleasure or stops pain.

Communism

A form of government and economic management that puts all power in the hands of the Communist Party, ostensibly to manage the country for the good of the 'people' according to the principle 'From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.'

Anarchism

A political theory favoring the abolition of governments.

Romanticism

A movement in art, music, and literature that was a reaction against the classical period. Themes included emotion, the supernatural, nationalism, historical themes, nature, true love, and death.

Realism

An art and literature movement following Romanticism, closely allied with realpolitik. It is a 'kind of unrealistic faith in the constructive value struggle and a tough-minded rejection of ideas and ideals.'

Impressionism

A French art movement started around with Monet's 'Impression of the Sunrise' at Salon des Refuses in Paris.

Post-Impressionism

Predominantly French art movement that developed roughly between 1886 and 1905, from the last impressionist exhibitions to the birth of Fauvism. Post-Impressionism extends Impressionism while rejecting its limitations: they continued using vivid colours, thick application of paint and real-life subject matter, but were more inclined to emphasise geometric forms, distort form for expressive effect, and use unnatural or arbitrary colour.

Chartism

A working-class movement in Britain that focused on achieving political and social reform

Feminism

The belief that women should possess the same political and economic rights as men.

Cultural Relativism

The idea that all cultures have the same problems and solve them differently based on their special geographical and historical conditions, with no culture being inherently better than another.

Pan-Slavism

The idea that Slavic peoples should identify with each other and have their own nation, heavily promoted by Russia in the late th century to promote her imperialistic aspirations in the Balkans.

Positivism

A philosophy identified with Auguste Comte, insisting on verifiable facts, avoidance of wishful thinking, questioning of assumptions, and dislike of improbable generalizations.

Social Darwinism

The idea that life is a struggle and only the fittest groups of people can survive.

Consumerism

The protection or promotion of the interests of consumers

Anti-Semitism

Prejudice against Jews.

Zionism

The idea that Jews should have a nation in the land of Israel, first articulated by Theodor Herzl in in response to anti-Semitism.

Orientalism

A Western style for imitations and depictions of aspects in the Eastern world. These relate to the people, the manner, customs and the landscapes.

Militarism

The belief or desire of a government or people that a country should maintain a strong military capability and be prepared to use it aggressively to defend or promote national interests.

Modernism

A set of cultural tendencies and an array of associated cultural movements, originally arising from wide-scale and far-reaching changes to Western society in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.

Cubism

An early 20th-century art movement practiced by Picasso and others.

Expressionism

A modernist movement originating in Germany at the beginning of the 20th century, it initially focused on poetry and painting. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it radically for emotional effect to evoke moods or ideas.

Surrealism

A 20th-century avant-garde movement in art and literature that sought to release the creative potential of the unconscious mind, for example by the irrational juxtaposition of images.

Existentialism

A philosophical theory or approach that emphasizes the existence of the individual person as a free and responsible agent determining their own development through acts of will.

Democratic Socialism

A political ideology advocating a democratic political system alongside a socialist economic system, involving substantial state intervention.

Fascism

'Nationalism on steroids,' a hierarchical economic system where everyone works at the behest of and for the benefit of the state.

Totalitarianism

The organization of a state with complete control over every aspect of the individual's life, where the goal of the individual is to serve the state.

Socialist Realism

The official and uniform style of art that was developed in the Soviet Union after and was imposed in other socialist countries thereafter. Socialist realism was characterized by the glorified depiction of communist values, such as the emancipation of the proletariat.

Abstract Expressionism

An American post–World War II art movement. It was the first specifically American movement to achieve international influence and put New York City at the center of the Western art world, a role formerly filled by Paris.

Natalism / Neonatalism

Pro-birth policy

Postmodern

In culture, it is associated with surfaces and superficial style, including self-conscious parody and quotation, as a reaction to the naive confidence in progress and objective