Harm Damage to somebody or something; normally, damage to a person’s
fundamental interests.
Hierarchy An asymmetrical linkage that is inherent in relationships. It is normally
assumed to be repressive, but it need not be.
Human rights Entitlements to treatment which it is claimed individuals have
simply by virtue of being human.
Humanitarian intervention Military intervention in order to prevent the serious
violation of human rights.Identity The sense of belonging to something or of sharing an attribute, such as
religious belief, gender or ethnicity, with other people.
Ideology A set of beliefs that are tied to either defending, placing demands upon
or bringing about a state.
Individual A person who is separate from others but who finds his or her identity
through relating to these others.
Intuition The sense that something is right and wrong, despite the inability to
articulate reasons for that view. Much political theory entails appeal to intuitions.Justice Distributive justice is concerned with the fair distribution of the ‘benefits’
and ‘burdens’ of cooperation (retributive justice is a quite separate concept – it is
the idea that a punishment should ‘fit’ a crime).Law A norm passed by a specific procedure and recognised as binding. A law
does not necessarily need force as a sanction.
Legal equality Each person has the right to a fair trial, and sanctions, such as
imprisonment, are similar for all people.
Legal moralism The view that the law should be used to enforce moral beliefs or
practices – opponents of legal moralism do not reject morality, but argue that non-
harmful acts should not be illegal.
Legitimacy Power that has been authorised through an appeal to a wider
constituency.
Liberalism An ideology that takes freedom (or liberty) to be a fundamental value;
it also regards individuals as naturally equal, although natural equality is, for many
liberals, compatible with significant material inequality.
Libertarianism A form of liberalism which takes private property rights to be of
fundamental importance.
Liberty Seefreedom.
Linguistic analysis A view that theoretically challenging problems are problems
arising from the use of language.506 Glossary