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👑 Absolute rule idea 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Male power system
patriarchalism

patriarchalism

9.9
A political idea that says rulers have complete power like a father over his family
  • noun
  • /ˌpeɪtriˈɑrkəlɪzəm/
  • Formal
translation icon : patriarcalismo
  • According to patriarchalism, if any legal limits were to be set on the king, they were to be, like the social limits on the father, entirely self-imposed.

Examples

  • Patriarchalism came to institutional realization in England under King James I in the late sixteenth century.

    Academic text (2009)

  • (n103) "Patriarchalism, at its base, treated status as natural and supported authority and duty without reciprocity."

    Academic text (2009)

  • Such criticisms of the king were an extension of the dissatisfaction that was common around the time of the Revolution with patriarchalism's general claims of manly authority.

    Academic text (2009)

  • LOCKE'S ATTACK ON PATRIARCHALISM AND ABSOLUTE MONARCHY

    Academic text (2009)

  • See Gordon J. Schochet, Patriarchalism in Political Thought: The Authoritarian Family and Political Speculation and Attitudes Especially in Seventeenth-Century England 86 (1975).

    Academic text (2009)

  • Patriarchalism asserts that rulers derive their authority from their position, much like a father's authority over his children, reflecting the belief in absolute control.

  • In many historical societies, patriarchalism influenced the governance structure, reinforcing the idea that kings had familial-like control over their subjects.

  • Critics of patriarchalism argued that it perpetuated an imbalance of power, likening the absolute rule of kings to a father dictating the family's directives.

Synonyms

patriarchy
vspatriarchalism
31 7.0

A system where men have most power in family and public life

focuses on rulers having absolute authority likened to a father's control

Antonyms

democracy
782 1.6

A system of government where people choose leaders by free elections

egalitarianism
6 7.9

A belief that all people in society should have equal rights and chances

Surface Forms

patriarchalism singular
patriarchalisms plural

Morphology

patriarchalism = patriarchal (transparent) = patriarch + al + ism

Formed by adding -ism to 'patriarchal' to denote a doctrine or system; the derivation follows normal English suffixation.

Etymology

Patriarchalism comes from parts meaning 'father' (patri-) and 'rule' (-archy), the same idea you see in monarchy. A helpful image is a king saying he should have the same full control as a father in his home, so patriarchalism is the political idea that rulers have father-like authority.