Social Terms Dictionary

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SOCIAL TERM: Υπαρξισμός / Existentialism
APPROVED DEFINITIONS FOR TERM: 2
TERM TYPE: Theoretical
DEFINITION (1): Existentialism, in the sense of the word, is a doctrine that makes human life possible. It is also a doctrine that affirms that every truth and every deed implies both an environment and a human subjectivity. The main accusation against people is of course the excessive emphasis on the "bad" side of human life (Sartre, 1956).
DEFINITION TYPE: Nominal
DEFINITION WRITER: Mastropetrou Margarita
REFERENCE: Sartre, J.P. (1956.) Existentialism is a humanism. World publishing company.
DEFINITION (2): Existentialism is a tradition of philosophical research that begins from the experience of the human subject, not just from the thinking subject, but from the subject that acts, feels and lives as a human being (Warnock, 1970).
DEFINITION TYPE: Nominal
DEFINITION WRITER: Mastropetrou Margarita
REFERENCE: Warnock, M. (1970). Existentialism. New York: Oxford university press.
SOCIAL TERM: Πάγιο κεφάλαιο / Fixed capital
APPROVED DEFINITIONS FOR TERM: 2
TERM TYPE: Methodological
DEFINITION (1): In finance and accounting the fixed capital or capital is the money we invest in fixed assets. In other words, it is money that we invest in assets that are resilient in nature. These are assets that we use repeatedly over a long period of time. We can also use the term fixed investment (Roemer, 1979).
DEFINITION TYPE: Nominal
DEFINITION WRITER: Mastropetrou Margarita
REFERENCE: Roemer, J.E. (1979). Continuing controversy on the falling rate of profit: fixed capital and other issues. Cambridge journal of economics, 3(4), pp. 379-398.
DEFINITION (2): Fixed capital includes assets and capital investments needed to set up and operate a business, even at the smallest stage. These assets are considered fixed in the sense that they are not consumed or destroyed in the production of a good or service, but have a value for reuse (Dean, 1964).
DEFINITION TYPE: Nominal
DEFINITION WRITER: Mastropetrou Margarita
REFERENCE: Dean, J. (1964). The stock of fixed capital in the United Kingdom in 1961. Journal of the royal statistical society, 127(3), pp. 327-351.
SOCIAL TERM: Ελεύθερη αγορά / Free market
APPROVED DEFINITIONS FOR TERM: 2
TERM TYPE: Theoretical
DEFINITION (1): The free market is an economic system based on supply and demand with little or no control by the government. It is a brief description of all the voluntary exchanges that take place in a given economic environment. Free markets are characterized by a spontaneous and decentralized order of regulations, from which individuals make economic decisions. Based on its political and legal rules, a free economy can range from a large to an entirely black market (Anderson and Leal, 1991).
DEFINITION TYPE: Nominal
DEFINITION WRITER: Mastropetrou Margarita
REFERENCE: Anderson, T.L. and Leal, D.R. (1991). Free market environmentalism. N.P., United States.
DEFINITION (2): In economics, the free market is a system in which prices of goods and services are self-regulated from the open market and from the consumers. In a free market, the laws and forces of supply and demand do not subject to any intervention by the government or by any other authority and by all forms of economic privileges and monopolies (Popper, 1994).
DEFINITION TYPE: Nominal
DEFINITION WRITER: Mastropetrou Margarita
REFERENCE: Popper, K. (1994). The open society and its enemies. Routledge classics.
SOCIAL TERM: Συλλογική δράση / Collective action
APPROVED DEFINITIONS FOR TERM: 2
RELATED TERMS: Συγκρουσιακή πολιτική/Contentious politics
TERM TYPE: Theoretical
DEFINITION (1): «Collective action can take many forms – brief or sustained, institutionalized or disruptive, humdrum or dramatic. Most of it occurs within institutions, on the part of constituted groups acting in the name of goals that would hardly raise an eyebrow […] Collective action is not an abstract category that can stand outside of history and apart from politics»(Tarrow, 1998, p. 3-4).
DEFINITION TYPE: Nominal
DEFINITION WRITER: Νίκος Σερντεδάκις
REFERENCE: Tarrow, Sidney. 1998. Power in Movement. Social Movements and Contentious Politics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
DEFINITION (2): “Collective action is a fundamental to social movements. People in social movements do things that promote or resist social change, and the things they do are collective action. Social movements are made up of multiple collective actions. When we focus on collective action, we focus on how each individual march or rally or riot happened, and on the general principles about how they happened. At its core, the concept of collective action means just what the words imply: anything people do in groups or with other people. Within this, some theoretical perspectives have emphasized a collective orientation or purpose of action, while others have emphasized its collective form (i.e., multiple people doing something together). […] Collective action can be done by spontaneous crowds and temporary gatherings, reform campaigns, charitable and voluntary organizations, institutionalized groups like labor unions or political parties, broad social change movements like civil rights, nationalist movements, ethnic conflict, religious groups ranging from institutionalized churches to small sects, and informal friendship groups or families.” (Oliver 2013)
DEFINITION TYPE: Nominal
DEFINITION WRITER: Νίκος Σερντεδάκις
REFERENCE: Oliver, Pamela. 2013. “Collective action (collective behavior).” In The Wiley-Blackwell Encyclopedia of Social and Political Movements. Edited by Snow, D., della Porta, D., Klandermans, B., and McAdam D. New Jersey: Wiley-Blackwell.
SOCIAL TERM: Συγκρουσιακή πολιτική / Contentious politics
APPROVED DEFINITIONS FOR TERM: 1
TERM TYPE: Theoretical
DEFINITION (1): «Contentious politics occur when ordinary people, often in league with more influential citizens, join forces in confrontations with elites, authorities, and opponents. Such confrontations go back to the dawn of history. But mounting, coordinating, and sustaining them against powerful opponents are the unique contribution of the social movement – an invention of the modern era and an accompaniment of the modern state. I argue […] that contentious politics is triggered when changing political opportunities and constraints create incentives for social actors who lack resources on their own. They contend through known repertoires of contention and expand them by creating innovations in their margins. When backed by dense social networks and galvanized by culturally resonant, action-oriented symbols, contentious politics leads to sustained interaction with opponents». Tarrow, Sidney. 1998. Power in Movement. Social Movements and Contentious Politics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 2. ng olitical opportunities and constraints create incentives for social actors who lack resources on their own. They contend through known repertoires of contention and expand them by creating innovations in their margins. When backed by dense social networks and galvanized by culturally resonant, action-oriented symbols, contentious politics leads to sustained interaction with opponents».
DEFINITION WRITER: Νίκος Σερντεδάκις
REFERENCE: Tarrow, Sidney. 1998. Power in Movement. Social Movements and Contentious Politics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

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