Political violence The use of violence sometimes in situations in which people have
reasonable avenues of peaceful protest.
Politics A public process that involves resolving conflicts of interest. Politics is
undermined by force, and is inherent at every level in all societies.
Post-liberalism A theory that accepts liberalism but goes beyond it, by extending
liberal values to all individuals and thus challenging the need for a state.
Postmodernism A theory that goes beyond modernism and therefore challenges
the dualisms and one-sidedness expressed in the modernist tradition.
Power The capacity to exert pressure on a person or group so that they do
something they otherwise would not have done.
Prejudice Used in a specific sense by conservatives to mean judging the right action
by appealing to habit and experience rather than to rational analysis.
Pre-modern A theory and practice that has yet to obtain the institutions and to
support the values of liberalism (or modernism).
Private The sphere of life in which conflict is imperceptible or embryonic.
Private property The division of material goods according to which individuals
have an entitlement to a certain good, and can exclude other people from its use.
Public The sphere of life in which conflict is manifest and has to be resolved.
Punishment The infliction of hard treatment by the state as the result of breaking
the law.Race The categorisation of people based on biological (genetic) ancestry.
Radicalism An approach that seeks to examine the roots of a phenomenon,
disparaging rival approaches as superficial in character.
Reconstruction The reworking of concepts so that an alternative to the status quo
is charted.
Relational An approach that stresses that individuals and collectivities only find
their identity in relationships with one another.
Relationship A linkage that is vitiated by force but whose mutuality is necessarily
hierarchical in character and sustained by coercion and constraint.
Relativism The rejection of universalism: moral norms are dependent on a cultural
context.
Religion An organised system of belief and practice centred around an idea of
‘holiness’ – that is, something outside historical experience.
Revolution A fundamental transformation of something: revolutions can be social,
economic, intellectual and political.
Rightness That which is obligatory: for example, you should keep your promises.
A person can do the right thing for bad reasons, so rightness must be distinguished
from goodness.508 Glossary