Unit 2: Rejection of Liberalism

Absolute monarchy

A form of monarchy in which the monarch rules in their own right or power.

Abdicate

An organization of workers who have common goals, such as working conditions and wages.

Annex

To declare territory belongs to another country.

Anti-semitism

Racism toward Jewish people.

Authoritarian

A form of government in which the leader is not elected and does not respect the will of the people.

Autocracy

A system of government by one person with absolute power.

Bolshevik Party

A political party created by Lenin with the goal to overthrow the Czar and establish communism based on Lenin's slogan, "Peace! Land! Bread!".

Bolsheviks

Russian revolutionaries, led by Lenin, who followed the ideas of Marx.

Bourgeoisie

A French word that refers to the social class that evolved in Europe during the Middle Ages with the development of cities and the growth in trade. Business-owning class.

Censorship

Restricting freedom of expression or freedom of access to ideas or works, usually by governments, to protect the perceived common good; may be related to speech, writing, art, religion, or military matters.

Centrally planned economy

An economy based on a central government making all economic decisions for the country.

Collectivization

A policy adopted by Stalin that combined small farms into larger, government-controlled farms.

Command economy

An economy that is controlled by a central government, as in the former Soviet Union.

Communism

An ideology based on the belief that the oppressed working class must overcome its property-owning oppressors through revolution to work towards becoming a classless society where property is owned by the community.

Communist Party

A political party that promotes equality of rights under strict government control.

Coup d'état

French for 'stroke of state', also known as an overthrow, seizure, and removal of a government and its powers.

Dictatorship

A form of government in which one person or a small group possesses absolute power, often maintained through intimidation, terror, repression of civil liberties, and propaganda.

Discrimination

The act of making distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong that are disadvantageous.

Duma

An elected legislative assembly established by Czar Nicolas II in 1905.

Economic equality

An attempt to make the distribution of resources fairer between all members of society.

Elitism

The advocacy or existence of an elite as a dominating element in a system or society.

Eugenics

A fringe set of beliefs and practices that aim to improve the genetic quality of a human population, historically attempting to alter human gene pools by excluding people judged to be inferior or promoting those judged to be superior.

Fascist System

An authoritarian system of government that includes extreme militaristic nationalism, a belief in the rule of elites, and a totalitarian society where individual interests are subordinated to the good of the nation-state.

Fascism ideology

A political ideology characterized by an extremely right-wing view and supported by a totalitarian government.

Famine

Severe lack of food causing widespread starvation.

German Labour Front

A German organization that replaced unions and made new labour laws that went against liberal values.

Genocide

The intentional destruction of a people in whole or in part. In 1948, the United Nations Genocide Convention defined genocide as acts committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial, or religious group.

Gosplan

The state planning committee responsible for the economic planning of the Soviet Union.

Gulags

A system of Soviet labour camps and accompanying detention and transit camps and prisons.

Holocaust

Also known as the Shoah, it was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe, around two-thirds of Europe's Jewish population.

Hyperinflation

Extreme inflation in which the price of a product increases at an alarming rate.

Indoctrination

The process of teaching a person or group to accept a set of beliefs uncritically.

Inflation

A rise in prices related to an increase in the volume of money and resulting in the loss of value of the currency.

Junta

A military or political group that rules a country after taking power by force.

KGB

Soviet secret police and intelligence agency.

Kremlin

A government building in Russia/the Soviet Union.

Kulaks

Prosperous farmers from Ukraine who opposed collectivization.

Marxism

A socialist ideology that evolved from interpretations of Karl Marx's idea that the working class should overthrow the capitalist class and establish a classless society where property is owned by the state.

National Socialist German Workers' Party (Nazi Party)

A political party founded by Adolf Hitler that ruled Germany from 1920 to 1933. The predecessor to the Nazi Party was the German Workers' Party.

Nationalization

Complete government control of industries.

New Economic Policy (NEP)

Lenin's economic policy of limited private ownership.

Nuremberg Laws

The legalization of persecution of Jewish citizens.

Oligarchy

A small group of people having control of a country, organization, or institution.

One-party state

A government that legalizes only one political party.

Private enterprise

A way of organizing business based on private ownership of property, operated by individuals who hope to make a profit from their activities and bear any risk associated with those activities.

Proletariat

A term used by Karl Marx to refer to the class of industrial workers whose only asset is the labour that they sell to an employer. Industrial workers.

Propaganda

Information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote or publicize a particular political cause or point of view.

Provisional government

A temporary government in place until a general election can be held.

Purge

Removal of individuals who are deemed to be a threat to power or a menace to society.

Pseudoscience

Consists of statements, beliefs, or practices that claim to be both scientific and factual but are incompatible with the scientific method.

Quota

A predetermined amount of product a person or group must produce.

Racism

Discrimination and prejudice towards people based on their race or ethnicity. Racism can be present in social actions, practices, or political systems that support the expression of prejudice or aversion in discriminatory practices.

Revolution

A sudden, radical, or complete change in political organization.

Ruble

Soviet currency (money).

Scapegoat

A person who is blamed for the wrongdoings, mistakes, or faults of others.

Social Darwinism

The idea that certain people become powerful in society because they are innately better. Social Darwinism has been used to justify imperialism, racism, eugenics and social inequality at various times over the past century and a half.

Socialism

An ideology based on the belief that collectivist values should be the foundation for political, economic, and social life.

State

A central government or authority.

Supreme Soviet

Highest organ of state power.

Totalitarian

Relating to a system of government that is centralized and dictatorial and requires complete subservience to the state.

Trade union

An organization of workers who have common goals, such as working conditions and wages.

War Communism

An economic and political policy in Russia from 1918 to 1921 that included nationalization of industries, food rationing, and required labour duties.

War Reparation Payments

Germany's obligation to give money for the reconstruction of countries damaged by war.

Weimar Republic

A name used to describe Germany from 1919 to 1933.