Concise Definitions of Political Labels/Epithets

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Since political terms get thrown around so loosely, sometimes even on this forum, I figured I'd offer a first attempt at concise definitions for these labels, which are sometimes used as epithets. Most of this is written with a bias towards usage in the contemporary United States.

• Socialist: A socialist believes the means of production (i.e., capital) should be publicly owned to the benefit of the common good; in more moderate forms, only key industries may be socialized or businesses may remain largely under private ownership but with regulation and oversight sufficient to direct private enterprise towards the common weal. Socialism can take the form of voluntary cooperatives/syndicates where work is organized democratically or through a more top-down statist approach.
• Communist: There are two somewhat distinct senses in which one may be a communist: (1) A communist may be an adherent of Marxist or, more likely, Marxism-Leninism (i.e., Bolshevism) or one of its ideological descendants; (2) a communist may also believe in a stateless society of voluntary cooperation (ostensibly the ultimate goal of communists in Sense 1, who may wish to establish a highly statist form of socialism in the interim). Communism is usually considered a more extreme variant of socialism or an advanced stage of society after socialism. A communist usually denounces all forms of private industry and ownership (personal property—not capital—being permissible).
• Fascist: Foremost the fascist believes in total obedience to the state, usually as personified through a charismatic leader. Impartial law and institutional authority are replaced with charismatic authority along with paramilitary force and lawless mob vigilantism. A national collective identity is established and severely enforced through informal persecution as well as direct action from the state. Traditional sources of authority in a culture become fetishized and used as a means to control the masses. An aggressive, nationalistic foreign policy is endorsed. A thread of social Darwinism, the strong having a duty to conquer the weak, runs through fascist thought. Capitalism is not destroyed, but the industrial elite is brought into close cooperation with government officials. Projection and scapegoating of minorities and out-groups is used to misdirect public criticism into blind hate. Fascism was the Right's attempt to undermine the appeal of Bolshevism among the wider populace.
• Nazi: Nazism is a variant of fascism particularly known for genocide of persons who were outside the national identity (the foremost being Jews). Racial/national purity and hatred of minorities/outgroups tend to blot out other features of Nazism among its contemporary adherents (i.e., Neo-Nazis).
• Anarchist: An anarchist believes all unequal power relations are wrong: between the state and the individual, between the employer and the employee, etc. Left-anarchists value voluntary mutual association and earned relations of mutual respect. Government and a formal system of law are seen as unnecessary.
• Totalitarian: A person who believes the individual must totally submit to the state/collective, regardless of underlying ideology (Stalinists and Maoists on the Left; fascists and Nazis on the Right).
• Authoritarian: An individual who gives wide deference to authority figures or institutionalized authority. An authoritarian may be willing to abrogate civil liberties and cover up the truth to empower authority at the cost of other goods.
• Statist: A statist is a notably strong supporter of the state against the individual or anyone is not an anarchist or libertarian among those respective groups.
• Liberal: A liberal is an heir to the Enlightenment project, opposing concentrations of power that chain people: outmoded traditions and institutions (monarchy, established religious authority, aristocracy, slavery, gender and racial inequality, etc.). A liberal may support markets as well as social welfare. Liberalism lies between socialism and anarchism to its left and conservatism to its right.
• Progressive: A bit to the left of the liberal, the progressive believes in actively improving the quality of society, emphasizing civil rights for minorities, environmental protections, consumer and labor protections, animal rights, etc.
• Libertarian: Outside the United States, libertarian means something akin to anarchist. Inside the United States, a libertarian believes private property and free markets are sacrosanct; individuals should compete and strive to advance their status in a capitalist society through their own efforts—without governmental assistance. Any welfare should be handled through private charities, religious institutions, family, etc. Libertarians tend to be especially suspicious of the role of government in any affair; this contrasts them with the liberal who can see a positive social role for government.
• Conservative: A conservative is suspicious of change, thinking well-intentioned policy changes may have unintended side-effects. They prefer to stick to the status quo—its institutions, traditions, and authorities—because its risks and benefits are known. A conservative prefers order and predictability in society and its customs but is generally less comfortable using the kind of coercion a fascist may advocate.
• Neoconservative: An ascendant component of the Right in the United States during the administration of President George W. Bush. A neoconservative believes in the spread of American-style democracy through military adventure. A neoconservative is more comfortable with using government incentives to promote conservative social values (e.g., school vouchers) and the racking up of the federal debt for war spending.
• Paleoconservative: Somewhat closer to a libertarian than is a neoconservative. They tend to be distrustful of the federal government and prefer a foreign policy of isolation. There may be an undertone of racism or paranoia.
• Neoliberal: A neoliberal is a strong supporter of globalization and free trade.
• Leftist: A supporter of left-of-center causes, political parties, or ideology (e.g., a socialist, a communist, an anarchist, a labor activist, or an environmentalist).
• Tea Partier: An active supporter of or sympathizer with the U.S. right-wing populist movement known as the Tea Party. A mixture of social/religious conservatism and economic libertarianism, the Tea Party wants to "restore" what they consider to be foundational American values.
• Democrat (small d): A believer in popular participation, on a roughly equal basis, in the institutions of government.
• Republican (small r): A supporter of a system of government that eschews hereditary or elective monarchy for a form that somehow represents the people at large.
• Individualist: A believer in individual autonomy and responsibility, that individual rights should trump group loyalties.
• Collectivist: A believer that group loyalties and identity trump individual concerns.
• Populist: A supporter of the masses against an elite. Populism can come from either the left (promoting solidarity among labor, minorities, and the like while railing against the rich, banks, and corporate interests) or from the right (scapegoating minorities and foreign countries, the government, banks, etc.). Populist sentiment is often exploited by demagogues for political gain.
• Communitarian: A communitarian is something of a collectivist who values institutions and conventions that reenforce a sense of community.
• Green: An activist for a politicized form of environmentalism, usually allied with other left-wing or progressive concerns.
• Radical: A supporter of fundamental change in society.
• Revolutionary: A supporter or active participant in the overthrow of an existing government or social system.

More like your blatent leftist bias showing through rather than legitimate definitions.

I agree with Inuyasha. Why do you hate America, Neanthumain? Why do you hate freedom? Why do you hate families?

Dead wrong. Those were pretty accurate definitions.

You see only through your right eye.

I hoped you noticed that Socialism, Fascism, Communism all have one thing in common. They are Collectivist in nature. The idea that the State is greater than the Individual or has more importance or ought to be primary is the pernicious meme of the Statists. That is why the worst oppression have come from governments, not individuals.

ruveyn