Absolutism
noun
A political system in which a ruler has total power.
Many nations today still practice absolutism, with the power of the state held by one person or family.
Often appears as...
- absolute monarchy
- political absolutism
Usage tips
Formal
Academic
noun
The principle or the exercise of complete and unrestricted power in government.
He accused the president of pursuing a policy of bureaucratic absolutism.
Often appears as...
- bureaucratic absolutism
- moral absolutism
Usage tips
Formal
Academic
noun
In philosophy, the belief that truth is not relative but universal and not dependent on individual perspectives.
In moral absolutism, certain actions are viewed as inherently right or wrong, regardless of the circumstances.
Often appears as...
- moral absolutism
- epistemic absolutism
Usage tips
Formal
Academic
noun
A political system in which a ruler has total power.
Many nations today still practice absolutism, with the power of the state held by one person or family.
Often appears as...
- absolute monarchy
- political absolutism
Usage tips
Formal
Academic
noun
The principle or the exercise of complete and unrestricted power in government.
He accused the president of pursuing a policy of bureaucratic absolutism.
Often appears as...
- bureaucratic absolutism
- moral absolutism
Usage tips
Formal
Academic
noun
In philosophy, the belief that truth is not relative but universal and not dependent on individual perspectives.
In moral absolutism, certain actions are viewed as inherently right or wrong, regardless of the circumstances.
Often appears as...
- moral absolutism
- epistemic absolutism
Usage tips
Formal
Academic
Definition 1 of 3
Pro Tip 1/3Historical Context
Understand 'absolutism' often refers to historical periods, like the reign of Louis XIV.
The textbook covered the era of absolutism in France.
Pro Tip 2/3Not Modern
'Absolutism' is rare today but can describe some current governments critically.
His governance was criticized as a form of modern absolutism.
Pro Tip 3/3Negative Connotation
The term often implies abuse of power or a lack of democracy and freedom.
People protested against the president's absolutism.
Pro Tip 1/3Historical Context
Understand 'absolutism' often refers to historical periods, like the reign of Louis XIV.
The textbook covered the era of absolutism in France.
Pro Tip 2/3Not Modern
'Absolutism' is rare today but can describe some current governments critically.
His governance was criticized as a form of modern absolutism.
Pro Tip 3/3Negative Connotation
The term often implies abuse of power or a lack of democracy and freedom.
People protested against the president's absolutism.
Pro Tip 1/3Historical Context
Understand 'absolutism' often refers to historical periods, like the reign of Louis XIV.
The textbook covered the era of absolutism in France.
Pro Tip 2/3Not Modern
'Absolutism' is rare today but can describe some current governments critically.
His governance was criticized as a form of modern absolutism.
Pro Tip 3/3Negative Connotation
The term often implies abuse of power or a lack of democracy and freedom.
People protested against the president's absolutism.
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Video examples
Dear Facebook, this is...
And I believe that's what most of us want. So what I see happening online today is especially heartbreaking and a much harder problem to tackle. We are being manipulated by the current information ecosystem entrenching so many of us so far into absolutism that compromise has become a dirty word.
Video examples
Ethical dilemma: Would...
the moral importance of lying. Suppose a murderer were hunting Carey down. If the killer asked you about Carey’s whereabouts, it seems odd to say that you must tell the truth at the cost of your friend’s life. From this perspective, absolutism seems too rigid.
Video examples
Dear Facebook, this is...
And I believe that's what most of us want. So what I see happening online today is especially heartbreaking and a much harder problem to tackle. We are being manipulated by the current information ecosystem entrenching so many of us so far into absolutism that compromise has become a dirty word.
Video examples
Ethical dilemma: Would...
the moral importance of lying. Suppose a murderer were hunting Carey down. If the killer asked you about Carey’s whereabouts, it seems odd to say that you must tell the truth at the cost of your friend’s life. From this perspective, absolutism seems too rigid.
Example 1 of 2
Quote examples
Charlie Sykes
American
For years, Republicans have effectively outsourced their thought leadership to the loudmouths at the end of the bar. But perhaps the most extreme example of that trend has been the issue of guns, where the party has ceded control to a gun lobby that has built its brand on absolutism.
Quote examples
Adrienne Rich
American Poet
I want to gesture toward a poetry of ourselves and others under the conditions of twenty-first-century absolutism, making us dimensional in a time when the human concrete is continually erased by state and religious violence and by disingenuous jargon serving state power.
Quote examples
Andy Serkis
English Actor
If I hear someone say something, and they're 100 per cent about it, then it's almost inevitable that I'll take the opposite view. I guess I feel at odds with things like society. Absolutism is always a trigger for me.
Quote examples
Kevin de Leon
American Politician
Unlike Washington, the California legislature has proved that cooperation is both possible and essential to successful policymaking, while stubborn absolutism will have you trailing head lice in popularity polls.
Quote examples
Murray Rothbard
American Economist
Philosophically, I believe that libertarianism - and the wider creed of sound individualism of which libertarianism is a part - must rest on absolutism and deny relativism.
Quote examples
Christopher Hitchens
American Author
George Bush made a mistake when he referred to the Saddam Hussein regime as 'evil.' Every liberal and leftist knows how to titter at such black-and-white moral absolutism.
Quote examples
Thomas Cochrane
English Politician
Relativity must replace absolutism in the realm of morals as well as in the spheres of physics and biology.
Quote examples
Pierre-Joseph Proudhon
French Economist
All parties without exception, when they seek for power, are varieties of absolutism.
Quote examples
Lajos Kossuth
Hungarian Lawyer
The principle of evil in Europe is the enervating spirit of Russian absolutism.
Quote examples
Charlie Sykes
American
For years, Republicans have effectively outsourced their thought leadership to the loudmouths at the end of the bar. But perhaps the most extreme example of that trend has been the issue of guns, where the party has ceded control to a gun lobby that has built its brand on absolutism.
Quote examples
Adrienne Rich
American Poet
I want to gesture toward a poetry of ourselves and others under the conditions of twenty-first-century absolutism, making us dimensional in a time when the human concrete is continually erased by state and religious violence and by disingenuous jargon serving state power.
Quote examples
Andy Serkis
English Actor
If I hear someone say something, and they're 100 per cent about it, then it's almost inevitable that I'll take the opposite view. I guess I feel at odds with things like society. Absolutism is always a trigger for me.
Quote examples
Kevin de Leon
American Politician
Unlike Washington, the California legislature has proved that cooperation is both possible and essential to successful policymaking, while stubborn absolutism will have you trailing head lice in popularity polls.
Quote examples
Murray Rothbard
American Economist
Philosophically, I believe that libertarianism - and the wider creed of sound individualism of which libertarianism is a part - must rest on absolutism and deny relativism.
Quote examples
Christopher Hitchens
American Author
George Bush made a mistake when he referred to the Saddam Hussein regime as 'evil.' Every liberal and leftist knows how to titter at such black-and-white moral absolutism.
Quote examples
Thomas Cochrane
English Politician
Relativity must replace absolutism in the realm of morals as well as in the spheres of physics and biology.
Quote examples
Pierre-Joseph Proudhon
French Economist
All parties without exception, when they seek for power, are varieties of absolutism.
Quote examples
Lajos Kossuth
Hungarian Lawyer
The principle of evil in Europe is the enervating spirit of Russian absolutism.
Example 1 of 9
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