Radical politics denotes the intent to transform or replace the principles of a society or

political system In political science, a political system means the type of political organization that can be recognized, observed or otherwise declared by a state. It defines the process for making official government decisions. It usually comprizes the govern ...

, often through social change,

structural change In economics, structural change is a shift or change in the basic ways a market or economy functions or operates. Such change can be caused by such factors as economic development, global shifts in capital and labor, changes in resource availabil ...

, revolution or radical reform. The process of adopting radical views is termed

radicalisation Radicalization (or radicalisation) is the process by which an individual or a group comes to adopt increasingly views in opposition to a political, social, or religious status quo. The ideas of society at large shape the outcomes of radicalizat ...

. The word derives from the Latin ("root") and Late Latin ("of or pertaining to the root, radical"). Historically, political use of the term referred exclusively to a form of

progressive Progressive may refer to: Politics * Progressivism, a political philosophy in support of social reform ** Progressivism in the United States, the political philosophy in the American context * Progressive realism, an American foreign policy par ...

electoral reformism, now known as classical radicalism, that had developed in Europe during the 18th and 19th centuries. However, the denotation has changed since its 18th century coinage to comprehend the entire political spectrum, though retaining the connotation of "change at the root".

History

The '' Oxford English Dictionary'' traces usage of 'radical' in a political context to 1783. The '' Encyclopædia Britannica'' records the first political usage of 'radical' as ascribed to Charles James Fox, a

British Whig Party The Whigs were a political faction and then a political party in the Parliaments of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom. Between the 1680s and the 1850s, the Whigs contested power with their rivals, the Tories. T ...

parliamentarian who in 1797 proposed a 'radical reform' of the electoral system to provide universal manhood suffrage, thereby idiomatically establishing the term '

Radicals Radical may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics *Radical politics, the political intent of fundamental societal change *Radicalism (historical), the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and ...

' as a label denoting supporters of the reformation of British Parliament. Throughout the 19th century, the concept of radical politics broadened into a variety of political notions and doctrines. Party politics in England began to favour moderate positions, marginalising other movements into more politically aggressive factions. As open advocacy of republicanism was illegal in France following the Napoleonic Wars, Radicals emerged under similar reformist ideals as their British counterparts, though they later branched out to form the Radical-Socialist movement with a focus on proletarian solidarity. With the rise of Marxism, the notion of radical politics shifted away from reformism and became more associated with revolutionary politics. In United States politics, the term is used pejoratively among conservatives and moderates to denote political extremism, with the 19th-century ''

Cyclopaedia of Political Science ''The Cyclopaedia of Political Science, Political Economy, and the Political History of the United States by the Best American and European Writers'' was an encyclopedia edited by John Joseph Lalor, first published in New York City in 1881 by Mayna ...

'' describing it as "characterized less by its principles than by the manner of their application". During the 20th century, radical politicians took power in many countries across the world. Such radical leaders included Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin in Russia, Mao Zedong in China, Adolf Hitler in Germany, as well as more mainstream radicals such as

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

in the United States and Margaret Thatcher in the United Kingdom.

Positions

''Status quo'' change

The common feature to all radical political forms is a view that some fundamental change is required of the ''

status quo is a Latin phrase meaning the existing state of affairs, particularly with regard to social, political, religious or military issues. In the sociological sense, the ''status quo'' refers to the current state of social structure and/or values. W ...

''. For an array of

anti-capitalist Anti-capitalism is a political ideology and Political movement, movement encompassing a variety of attitudes and ideas that oppose capitalism. In this sense, anti-capitalists are those who wish to replace capitalism with another type of economi ...

forms, this manifests in anti-establishment reactions to modern

neoliberal Neoliberalism (also neo-liberalism) is a term used to signify the late 20th century political reappearance of 19th-century ideas associated with free-market capitalism after it fell into decline following the Second World War. A prominent fa ...

regimes.

Concept of ideology

The ''

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy The ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' (''SEP'') combines an online encyclopedia of philosophy with peer-reviewed publication of original papers in philosophy, freely accessible to Internet users. It is maintained by Stanford University. Eac ...

'' describes the radical concept of

ideology An ideology is a set of beliefs or philosophies attributed to a person or group of persons, especially those held for reasons that are not purely epistemic, in which "practical elements are as prominent as theoretical ones." Formerly applied pri ...

to be that: * While social conditions exist "that are vulnerable to criticism and protest; ideology exists to protect these social conditions from attack by those who are disadvantaged by them." * "Ideology conserves by camouflaging flawed social conditions, giving an illusory account of their rationale or function, in order to legitimate and win acceptance of them." This view reflects "a consensus among radicals of all stripes on the role of law as a force to safeguard the unjust relations of the status quo." This radical critique of ideology is especially prominent within

post-leftism Contemporary anarchism within the history of anarchism is the period of the anarchist movement continuing from the end of World War II and into the present. Since the last third of the 20th century, anarchists have been involved in anti-globalisat ...

. In addressing specific issues, some radical politics may completely forgo any overarching ideological plan.

Difference from extremism

Astrid Bötticher notes several differences between radicalism and extremism, among them in goals (idealistic vs. restorative, emancipatory vs. anti-democratic), morals (particular vs. universal), approach towards diversity (acceptance vs. disdain), and use of violence (pragmatic and selective vs. legitimate and acceptable).

References

* * *

External links

The M and S Collection
at the Library of Congress contains materials on radical movements. {{Authority control Political spectrum Political terminology