Conflict A clash of interests that can be tackled through violence, but only resolved
through non-statist pressures. Conflicts of the latter kind are inevitable and arise
from the fact that we are all different from one another.
Consent Uncoerced acceptance of something, such as state authority.
Conservatism An ideology which is sceptical about reason: because human beings
have limited rational capacities they must rely on tradition to guide them.
Constraint A natural or social pressure that ensures we do something that we had
not intended to do.
Contestability A concept that points to the fact that an idea is controversial, or
can be challenged.
Contractarianism A stream of liberal thought that imagines the state to be the
product of a decision between individuals to agree to submit to it. Contractarianism
implies individuals’ consent to the state.
Culture The often taken-for-granted web of social relations which encompasses
many domains of experience, shapes a person’s character and may provide him or
her with a set of values by which to live.Deep ecology A form of ecologism, stressing both the interdependence of nature
and the need for fundamental human change; it is contrasted with ‘shallow ecology’,
which is essentially environmentalism.
Democracy A society in which people govern themselves.
Difference Identifications that separate people and inevitably cause conflict to
arise.
Division Differences that undermine common interests and necessitate the use of
force.
Dualism A gulf between two entities, conceptual or real, that is impossible to
cross. It points to a divide rather than a difference.Ecologism An ideology centred around ‘ecology’, stressing the interdependence of
all forms of life.
Egalitarianism A type of political theory which makes equality a fundamental
concept.
Emancipation The capacity of people to act freely, and thus govern their own
lives.
Environmentalism A movement which highlights the importance of preserving the
earth’s natural resources and guaranteeing a fair share of those resources for future
generations. Unlike ecologism it can be combined with many different ideologies.
Equality Treating ‘like cases alike’; different types of equality depend on how we
define what is meant by ‘like cases’ (seelegal equality and equality of opportunity).504 Glossary