“One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter.”
A POLITICALLY INCORRECT LOOK AT THE
EVOLUTION OF POLITICAL VOCABULARY
IN WESTERN POLITICS
An Adult Education Lecture by Dr. William J. Neidinger
- -- attributed to Menachem Begin, et al.
A POLITICALLY INCORRECT LOOK AT THE
EVOLUTION OF POLITICAL VOCABULARY
IN WESTERN POLITICS
An Adult Education Lecture by Dr. William J. Neidinger
We have all heard of the vast left and right wing conspiracies of recent
decades, but, one wonders, what are they to the left and right of? Some
archetypal moderate who believes in nothing or assents to everything?
Are left and right the same as liberal and conservative? Socialist and
Fascist? If you think yes, remember the Nazis were, by their own
definition, socialists. So then, what kind of creature is an “Islamo-
fascist?” The fact is, unlike medieval scholastic definition, political
vocabulary changes over time and across national boundaries. The
definition of a liberal, for example, has changed 180° since the late
nineteenth century. What occasioned such a shift is startling and will be
a major focus of the lecture. Are pundits accurate when they equate “big
business” with “capitalism?” What do political commentators think that
the distinctions are between a democracy, majoritarian rule, and a
republic? Then there is everyone’s favorite word, “terrorist.” News
readers and editorialists use the word with such abandon when trying to
vilify their enemies, that they have succeeded in rendering the word close
to meaningless, which may account for the United Nations being so
etymologically constipated that it had such severe political cramps in
figuring out a definition for the word.
In this lecture we will examine the origins, evolution, and use, abuse and
misuse of some of the most charged words in our political vocabulary.
#201DVD: One lecture on DVD $10.00.
#202 CD. One lecture on audio CD $6.00.
decades, but, one wonders, what are they to the left and right of? Some
archetypal moderate who believes in nothing or assents to everything?
Are left and right the same as liberal and conservative? Socialist and
Fascist? If you think yes, remember the Nazis were, by their own
definition, socialists. So then, what kind of creature is an “Islamo-
fascist?” The fact is, unlike medieval scholastic definition, political
vocabulary changes over time and across national boundaries. The
definition of a liberal, for example, has changed 180° since the late
nineteenth century. What occasioned such a shift is startling and will be
a major focus of the lecture. Are pundits accurate when they equate “big
business” with “capitalism?” What do political commentators think that
the distinctions are between a democracy, majoritarian rule, and a
republic? Then there is everyone’s favorite word, “terrorist.” News
readers and editorialists use the word with such abandon when trying to
vilify their enemies, that they have succeeded in rendering the word close
to meaningless, which may account for the United Nations being so
etymologically constipated that it had such severe political cramps in
figuring out a definition for the word.
In this lecture we will examine the origins, evolution, and use, abuse and
misuse of some of the most charged words in our political vocabulary.
#201DVD: One lecture on DVD $10.00.
#202 CD. One lecture on audio CD $6.00.
| Political Vocabulary One ninety-minute lecture 201 DVD: $10.00. 202 CD. $6.00. |
 | |  | |  | |  | |  |
Stylus Productions
| COMPLIMENTARY PREVIEW |
| To view this ten-minute preview in Windows Media Player, click on the image above. |
