“Political Vocabulary”

In this lecture we discover the origins and trace the evolution of some of the most common words of our current political debates. Words include: politics, liberal, conservative, capitalism, communism, socialism, left-wing, right-wing, Fascist, Nazi, democracy, republic, and terrorism. Special attention is paid to “The Great Switch” in the late 19th century when the political vocabulary of Europe underwent a drastic reversal in meaning.