anomie (en)

lack of the usual social or ethical standards in an individual or group, which lessens social cohesion and fosters decline; popularized by French sociologist Émile Durkheim in his influential book Suicide

apparatchiks (en)

members of a communist party apparat (apparatus)

caging effect (en)

when some human groups are forced into new, more extensive and elaborate forms of social organisation (e.g., serfdom, slavery, tribute payments) due to a lack of an escape route as well as active coercion from the ruling class

creative destruction (en)

the incessant product and process innovation mechanism by which new production units replace outdated ones; coined by Joseph Schumpeter in 1942 as "the essential fact about capitalism"

double-dip recession (en)

when GDP growth slides back to negative after a quarter or two of positive growth

establishmentarian (en)

of, relating to, or favoring the (present) social or political establishment

garrison states (en)

a state organized to serve primarily its own need for military security; also : a state maintained by military power

Hobbesian (en)

referring to the 17th century English author Thomas Hobbes, whose best-known work, Leviathan, describes a situation of unrestrained, selfish and uncivilized competition

liquidationism (en)

defined as "the pursuit of austerity measures in order to destroy inefficient firms, industries, investors, and workers" by Michael Mann

Marxian (en)

pertaining to Karl Marx and ideas he explicitly explored in his writings; differs from Marxist in that the latter includes ideas developed by others in the same vein of thought

neoclassical economics (en)

a mainstream approach to economics focusing on the determination of goods, outputs, and income distributions in markets through supply and demand; contrast with heterodox economics

Neolithic (en)

(or Agricultural Revolution) the wide-scale transition of many human cultures from a lifestyle of hunting and gathering to one of agriculture and settlement, making possible an increasingly larger population; began around 10,000 BC

porto franco (en)

(Italian or Portuguese for "free port") a port or an area of a port in which imported goods can be held or processed free of customs duties before reexport.

Pyrrhic victory (en)

a victory that inflicts such a devastating toll on the victor that it is tantamount to defeat

ratchet effect (en)

(labor markets) when workers subject to performance pay choose to restrict their output, because they rationally anticipate that firms will respond to higher output levels by raising output requirements or cutting pay

spatial fix (en)

(in the context of capitalist crisis) avoiding the low-growth phase problem by exporting manufacturing to places with cheaper labour, thereby raising profits for a while

subproletarians (en)

not a commonly-used term; most likely refering to households considered "lesser" than proletarian households in terms of socieconomic power

value rationality (en)

defined by Max Weber in opposition to instrumental rationality: "determined by a conscious belief in the value for its own sake of some ethical, aesthetic, religious, or other form of behavior, independently of its prospects of success"