Statism

In political science, statism or etatism (from French état 'state') is the doctrine that the political authority of the state is legitimate to some degree.[1][2][3] This may include economic and social policy, especially in regard to taxation and the means of production.[4]

While in use since the 1850s, the term statism gained significant usage in American political discourse throughout the 1930s and 1940s. Opposition to statism is termed anti-statism or anarchism. The latter is usually characterized by a complete rejection of all hierarchical rulership.[5]

  1. ^ Bakunin 1990.
  2. ^ Cudworth 2007.
  3. ^ Barrow, Clyde W. (1993). Critical Theories of State: Marxist, Neo-Marxist, Post-Marxist. University of Wisconsin Press. ISBN 0-299-13714-7 – via Google Books.
  4. ^ Bakunin (1990); Cudworth (2007); Kvistad (1999); Levy (2006), p. 469; Obadare (2010)
  5. ^ Craig, Edward, ed. (31 March 2005). "Anarchism". The Shorter Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-32495-3.