In-Depth Notes on APE Isms

Isms Overview

• Humanism

  • Scholarly study of Latin and Greek classics; rebirth of ancient norms and values.
  • Advocated studia humanitatis: liberal arts including grammar, rhetoric, history, moral philosophy.
  • Philosophy centers on human dignity and rationality.
  • Civic Humanism: promotes individual virtue and public service.
  • Key figures: Petrarch, Erasmus, Thomas More.

• Absolutism

  • 17th and 18th centuries; dictatorship by a monarch.
  • Key figures: Louis XIV, Elizabeth I.
  • Concept: "I am the state"; control of nobility (e.g., Versailles in France).
  • Thomas Hobbes' Leviathan connects absolutism and conservatism.
  • Associated with mercantilism - government control of the economy.

• Constitutionalism

  • Rule by law; monarch is subject to laws.
  • Limited power for government; focus on individual rights.
  • Examples: England's Parliament, English Civil War, Glorious Revolution.
  • Advocate for Social Contract: laws set by the state; notable thinkers include John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau.

• Mercantilism

  • Economic theory focused on national wealth from gold and silver.
  • Emphasizes trade balance: selling more than buying.
  • Key proponent: Jean-Baptiste Colbert; prevalent from the 15th to 18th centuries before transitioning to capitalism.

• Capitalism

  • Economic system with privately owned production means.
  • Market determines supply, demand, price; profit motive drives businesses.
  • Key ideas from Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations include:
  • Laissez faire: minimal government interference in economics.
  • Invisible Hand: self-regulating nature of the market.

• Socialism

  • Community controls property and wealth distribution.
  • Early and late 19th century divisions: Utopian Socialism vs. Marxist Socialism.
  • Marxism: emphasizes class struggle and revolution; Proletariat representation.
  • Split into Social Democrats and Communists over methods of achieving socialism.

• Feminism

  • Advocates for equal opportunities across social, political, cultural, and economic sectors.
  • Three waves:
  • 1st Wave: Legal and political equality (suffrage).
  • 2nd Wave: Social and economic equality (1960s, 70s).
  • 3rd Wave: Ongoing movement, less cohesive goals.

• Nationalism

  • A sense of unity based on shared culture, language, and ethnic pride.
  • Historical milestones: liberal revolutions and independence movements post-WWII.
  • Extreme nationalism leads to militarism, anti-Semitism, and fascism; key figures include Napoleon and Bismarck.

• Modernism

  • Artistic and literary movement embracing change and challenging traditional standards.
  • Associated artists: Picasso, Van Gogh; writers: Joyce, Woolf.

• Fascism

  • Anti-democratic, nationalist, totalitarian movements of the early 20th century.
  • Key leaders: Mussolini, Hitler; characterized by a cult of personality.

• Positivism

  • Developed by Auguste Comte; three stages of human thought: theological, metaphysical, and positive.

• Anti-Semitism

  • Historical prejudice against Jews leading to pogroms and the Holocaust; linked to nationalism and European movements.

• Social Darwinism

  • Herbert Spencer's concept: application of Darwin's theories to society.
  • Used to justify social welfare funding cuts, imperialism, and later Nazi ideology.