Political Philosophy: Goldman, Malcolm X, and Rousseau

Vocabulary flashcards covering core political philosophy concepts, technical terms, historical figures, and analytical definitions from Emma Goldman, Malcolm X, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau.

Anarchist (Emma Goldman's Context)

Strictly defined as someone opposed to any and all forms of government; a label embraced by Emma Goldman to advocate for radical causes like women's rights, labor reform, and free public education.

Majority (Goldman's First Technical Definition)

The group of individuals who possess and exercise the majority of political power within a civil society, regardless of their demographic size.

Majority (Goldman's Second Technical Definition)

The large numerical population within a civil society who lack political power but passively approve of or consent to the actions of those in power.

Minority (Goldman's Definition)

Informed, conscientious, and virtuous individuals who lack political power, disapprove of existing authority, and actively resist political and social injustices.

1381 Peasants' Revolt

An English uprising led by John Ball and Wat Tyler, sparked by an oppressive universal tax, the 1351 Statute of Laborers capping wages, and labor shortages following the Black Death.

William Lloyd Garrison

A radical abolitionist publisher of the Liberator who viewed the U.S. Constitution as a slave owner's document, subtitling an article describing it as a 'covenant with death and an agreement with hell.'

John Brown

A fierce abolitionist praised by Goldman who sacrificed everything to fight slavery through direct violent action, including killing slaveholders and seizing a U.S. military installment.

Sanborn

An author quoted by Goldman who stated that homicidal outrages throughout history are the desperate response of goaded and oppressed classes to intolerable wrongs.

Segregated Community (Malcolm X's Definition)

A district or community where a specific group lives, but where external outsiders completely control its political institutions and economic structure.

Civil Rights Act of 1964 Context

A landmark bill filibustered in the U.S. Senate for over 50 days before being approved on June 19, 1964, and signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on July 2, 1964.

Dixiecrats

Southern Democratic members of Congress who retained power by preventing Black men from exercising their constitutional voting rights and strategically blocked civil rights legislation.

The Ballot or the Bullet (First Meaning)

The principle that politicians who gain office through the Black community's votes must deliver on their political promises or face armed violence.

The Ballot or the Bullet (Second Meaning)

The strategy requiring voters in the Black community to become politically educated and cast ballots with precise aim only at viable, accountable targets.

The Ballot or the Bullet (Third Meaning)

The warning that if the government fails to enforce Black citizens' constitutional right to vote, the community must use violence against oppressive institutions.

Magistrate (Rousseau)

Any individual who holds a political office, administrative position, or official governmental responsibility within civil society.

Private Will

The psychological drive in an individual that seeks personal advantage and self-interest; it is the most concentrated and influential will within a magistrate.

Corporate Will

The shared interest of magistrates that seeks the advantage, expansion, and self-preservation of the government itself rather than the broader public.

Prince (Rousseau)

A technical term used as a synonym for the entire body of governmental institutions executing executive functions within a state.

State (Rousseau)

The comprehensive political whole that encompasses the total population of citizens, all governmental structures, and the magistrates.

Assembly (Rousseau)

The gathering of citizens where sovereign general will is deliberated, foundational values like equality are affirmed, and public laws are enacted.

Rousseau's Critique of English Democracy

The argument that the English people are free only during the election of members of parliament, returning to a condition equivalent to political enslavement once representatives take office.

State of Nature (Rousseau)

A peaceful original condition of human independence marked by abundant resources, minimal social interaction, and an absence of constant property or war.

Alienation Without Reservation

The foundational act of Rousseau's social contract wherein each individual voluntarily surrenders themselves and all their rights whole and entire to the community.

Moral Transformation (Rousseau's Social Contract)

The psychological shift occurring upon entering civil society that replaces instinct with justice, physical impulse with duty, and appetite with moral right.

Forced to Be Free

Rousseau's concept in which individuals who deviate from the general will are compelled by civil society to adhere to its just laws while developing true moral autonomy.

Factions (Partial Societies)

Subgroups or political parties within a state that distort independent citizen reasoning and prevent the formation of a true general will.

The Legislator (Rousseau)

An extraordinary moral and political genius who enlightens an immature populace and establishes a state's foundational system of laws without relying on force or demagoguery.