Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Fred
Interesting and somewhat confusing::
Autarchism (from Greek, "belief in self rule") is a political philosophy that upholds the principle of individual liberty, rejects compulsory government, and supports the elimination of government in favor of ruling yourself and no other.
autarchy A condition of absolute power.
Autarky is the quality of being self-sufficient |
Yes, can be confusing.
Maybe this can help explain it:
Encyclopedia > Autarchism
The term
autarchy has two different meanings. In its first definition, formulated by
Aristotle, it refers either to a form of self-government, or to the absolute rule of an individual over others. The word comes from the
Greek autarkhos (απολυταρχία),
"auto" meaning self and
"arkhos" meaning "ruler". Aristotle (Ancient Greek: Aristotélēs 384 – March 7, 322 BCE) was an ancient Greek philosopher, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. ... Self-governance is an abstract concept that refers to several scales of organization. ...
Traditionally, autarchy refers to a system of
absolutism (
see also: autocracy,
despotism,
dictatorship, monocracy,
tyranny). It also implies a state enjoying absolute
sovereignty. Absolutism is a political theory which argues that one person, who is often generally a monarch, should hold all power. ... An Autocracy is a form of government in which unlimited power is held by a single individual. ... Despotism is a form of government by a single authority, either a single person (ie. ... It has been suggested that Dictator be merged into this article or section. ... A tyrant (from Greek τυραννος) is a usurper of rightful power, possessing absolute power and ruling by tyranny. ... Sovereignty is the exclusive right to exercise supreme political...
In its self-government meaning, autarchy refers to a libertarian idea, championed by
Robert LeFevre, of stateless self-governance, distinct from
anarchism. Robert LeFevre (1911–1986) was a libertarian businessman and radio personality.
More recently
autarchy is the term that came to be used for a national economic policy that aims at achieving self-sufficiency and eliminating the need for imports (by imposing tariffs, for example). It is more often spelled
autarky when referring to such a policy. The goal may be difficult to achieve, if not impossible, for a small country. Countries that take protectionist measures and try to prevent free trade are sometimes described as autarchical.
*********
What is interesting is that autarky is an English word that was derived from a German word, which was originally borrowed from Greek. But when you spell the word as autarchy, then we are talking about the English word that was adopted directly from Greek. And there are also variations within the English language, whereby the word autarchy is more often associated with the concept of economic self-sufficiency in the British usage than the American usage. Keeping in mind that these words were derived from Greek, we must consider that the Greek language has words to express some concepts that do not exist in the English language, so the meanings in Greek may have a slightly different quality than the English versions.
It must be hard for people who don't have English as a first language to sort out all the intricacies of words that are not often used for conversational English. Strang how an off-topic post about the Lightning Bolt can turn into an off topic post about learning language skills.
Best wishes,
J_P