View all terms
abjure
(en)
(verb) to renounce upon oath / (verb) to reject solemnly / (verb) to abstain from; avoid
adjudication
(en)
(noun) a judicial decision or sentence / (noun) a decree in bankruptcy / (verb) to settle judicially / (verb) to act as judge
apogee
(en)
(noun) the point in the orbit of an object (as a satellite) orbiting the earth that is at the greatest distance from the center of the earth / (noun) the point farthest from a planet or a satellite (as the moon) reached by an object orbiting it / (noun) the farthest or highest point; culmination
arrant
(en)
(adjective) being notoriously without moderation; extreme
churlish
(en)
(adjective) of, resembling, or characteristic of a churl; vulgar / (adjective) marked by a lack of civility or graciousness; surly / (adjective) difficult to work with or deal with; intractable
dialectic
(en)
a discourse between two or more people holding different points of view about a subject but wishing to establish the truth through reasoned arguments
financialization
(en)
the process whereby the financial industry becomes more prominent
fractious
(en)
difficult to control; unruly; irritable and quarrelsome
heterotopic
(en)
(adjective) occurring in an abnormal place / a concept in human geography elaborated by philosopher Michel Foucault to describe places and spaces that function in non-hegemonic conditions
inchoate
(en)
just begun and so not fully formed or developed; rudimentary
insalubrious
(en)
(adjective) not conducive to health; unwholesome
inter alia
(la)
among other things
interstice
(en)
(noun) an intervening space
Kondratieff cycles
(en)
a proposed economic phenomenon whereby profits decrease over time (as monopolistic forces decline), in a cycle; phases: expansion, stagnation, and recession
lacuna
(en)
an unfilled space; a gap (plural: lacunae)
legitimation crisis
(en)
a decline in the confidence of administrative functions, institutions, or leadership; first introduced in 1973 by Jürgen Habermas, a German sociologist and philosopher
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
mediated
(en)
intervened with, through an intermediary
neoliberalism
(en)
the postulate that markets are organised most effectively by private enterprise and that the private pursuit of accumulation will generate the most common good; accomplished by opening international markets and financial networks, and downsizing the welfare state
obviate
(en)
(verb) to anticipate and prevent (as a situation) or make unnecessary (as an action)
Paris Commune
(en)
a radical socialist and revolutionary government that ruled Paris from 18 March to 28 May 1871. Following the defeat of Emperor Napoleon III in September 1870, the French Second Empire collapsed, and the French Third Republic rose up in its place (initially intended as a provisional government but it ended up lasting until 1940) to continue the war with Prussia, which resulted in a 4-month-long siege of Paris (ending Jan 28), which laid the groundwork for the Commune
potlatch
(en)
(noun) a ceremonial feast of the American Indians of the northwest coast marked by the host's lavish distribution of gifts or sometimes destruction of property to demonstrate wealth and generosity with the expectation of eventual reciprocation / (noun) a social event or celebration / (verb) to give (as a gift) especially with the expectation of a gift in return / (verb) to hold or give a potlatch for (as a tribe or group) / (verb) to hold or give a potlatch
precariat
(en)
(precarious + proletariat) a social class formed by people suffering from precarity, due to lack of job security; emergence of this class has been ascribed to the entrenchment of neoliberalism; Guy Standing has a book on this
a economic theory relating to the origin of capital (Adam Smith saw it as a peaceful process with natural imbalances in wealth distribution; Karl Marx saw it as a violent enclosure of the commons etc etc)
reifying
(en)
make (something abstract) more concrete or real