Glossary

A glossary of terms that this site commonly uses.

Often I use these terms somewhat differently than their more common use, so it seemed useful to make a list. The terms are not in alphabetical order, but more in conceptual order.

(I’ll add to the list over time, I expect.) [Last edit: 10 February 2025]

Liberalism – A universalist worldview that proclaims that all people are equal, that humanity has basic inherent rights, that people ought to be free to make personal decisions that don’t disrupt the inherent rights of others, and that history moves progressively towards these ideals.

Modernism – A materialistic understanding of the world in which human nature is changeable, life is a material resource, science and technology bring inevitable change that ought not be impeded, and where standardization and professionalism bring efficiency and cohesion. According to the modernist viewpoint, society functions best as a machine rather than as an organism, and human traditions and natural rhythms ought to accommodate themselves to the advancement of that machine.

Leftism – An umbrella term that includes a range of political and social ideologues that traditionally are considered part of the political left. These include extreme liberals, communists and other egalitarian socialists, anarchists, non-white racial activists, anti-racists, anti-Christians, feminists, and environmentalists. Typically I use the term “Leftist” to label the political activists who advance and promote any of these views.

Conservatism – At the most basic level, conservatism amounts to a political or social resistance to change and the promotion of ideals that uphold the status quo of the generation immediately preceding the present one. Because social changes are continuous, conservative ideals are always changing to accommodate the new status quo, just twenty-odd years previous to the present time. Conservatives tend to believe in consensus and lawfulness to achieve their goals, and to shun changes that might cause too much disruption to the current status quo.

Capitalism – Sometimes I use this term to describe a more specific finance, corporate, and laissez-faire capitalism. Normally I use the term “capitalism” in a derogatory manner, though I do support traditional, basic, national or local capitalism and entrepreneurship. In general, I oppose systems that broadly incorporate usury and compound interest, unrestricted business activities, and any other business practices that allow moneyed oligarchies to grow unaccountable to people and their social institutions and governments.

Fascism – Political reaction against the advancement of Leftism. Fascists take the traditional identity and values of their given society, distill them into simplified and aggressive form, and they facilitate the imposition of these distilled values through a militant societal machine. Fascism takes varied forms according to the societies they are trying to protect and promote, and I include Italian Fascism, German National Socialism, Spanish Falangism, Romanian Legionnaires, etc. in this category.

Americanism – A set of beliefs and attitudes that have held true across American history, for better or worse. These include individualism, free market capitalism, Protestant Christianity, personal self-sufficiency, classical liberalism, ideological expansionism, and military aggressiveness.

Latter-Day Americanism – Today’s version of Americanism, where individualism has devolved into personal atomization; capitalism amounts to financial and corporate supremacy; Protestantism is now a personal consumer-based lifestyle for any form of religion; self-sufficiency is the ability to afford whatever fees and monthly payments for a “lifestyle”; liberty means more consumer choices; ideological expansionism pushes free love, civil rights, and white collective suicide; and militarism is outsourced to Leftists, financiers, corporations, and Jewish elites.

The System (also, The Machine)– The total powers and forces of the reigning human powers in society. The people who call the shots, the people who inspire the shots, the machines that build and maintain the shots, the officials (and unofficials) who shoot the shots, and the commoners who accept the shots, all for the machine of society.

The Dystopia – The psychological engine of the soulless Machine. It is 1984, Brave New World, Fahrenheit 451, Blade Runner, the Hunger Games, and Idiocracy (among others) all rolled into one. The oppressive system of today that isolates the bulk of the people, makes them stupid, manipulates their perceptions of reality, employs psychological checks and balances, which ultimately exploits people for inhuman ends with their full (and often enthusiastic) cooperation, and which marginalizes or punishes those who reject it.

The Elites – Elites, as compared to the common people. These are the people and groups of people with influence and power who have a vested interest in maintaining, more or less, the status quo and/or advancing agendas that serve the agendas of their class.

The Jews – The Jews, as distinct from Jewish people. These are the Jewish elites and those common Jews who more or less back their elites’ collective interests and programs, which therefore, more or less, includes the Jewish people as a whole. These people have disproportionate and often leading influence on finance, business, law, media, communication, academics, political activism, and public administration. Their interests don’t align with the interests of the nations where they live, with the exception of the Zionist state of Israel. In fact, it is in the Jewish interest to break their host nations down, and they collectively do so. While a good many common Jews are decent people, most of them remain loyal to their people and their interests. I compare the situation in the West regarding Jews with the situation in colonial Africa regarding Europeans.

Race – Typically I use this term in the most commonly understood way that people use it today: broad categories of humanity that reflect some common lineage, distinct appearance, and shared genetic traits. These include whites (Europeans and some Indo-Europeans), blacks (sub-Saharan Africans), American Indians (native Americans), and East Asians (historically called “Orientals”). I also include Dravidians as a distinct race, which are the dark-skinned peoples of India, parts of Southeast Asia and the East Indian islands referred to as Melanesia, and the aborigines of Australia. Parts of the world are dominated by mixed-race groups: such as the Middle East, Central Asia, and Latin America, but I typically mention that these are mixed-race areas if I’m talking about race.

Sub-race – Sometimes I further divide races into sub-races. Like race, these are people who share common lineage and shared genetic traits, though they may not share common language or nationhood. For instance, with Europeans, I might refer to the Germanics, Celts, Slavs, and Mediterraneans as sub-races of the larger white race.

Nations – Ethnic nations. People who share history, language, culture, and genetic lineage, and who tend to interbreed among their own members, and who have become sufficiently distinct from other nations of people.

Sub-Nations – Quasi-nations. People who share some distinct history, faith, language, culture, and/or genetic lineage, who tend to interbreed among their own members, but who also belong to a greater ethnic nation. For example, American Southerners and Cajuns, the Amish, and maybe the Swabians of Germany (but probably not the Bavarians, who seem to be a distinct nation), or maybe the Andalusians of Spain (but probably not the Catalans, who again seem sufficiently distinct to form a separate ethnic nation.) Or maybe, as you can see, the distinctions can blur around the edges.

Tribe – People who share history, faith, language, culture, and genetic lineage, but who tend to interbreed among members of other tribes within a nation.

Clan – A group of extended families with common ancestors only a few living generations removed.

Extended Family – In addition to a family unit of a married couple and their children, the extended family also includes aunts, uncles, grandparents, and cousins.

Community – A group of people connected by common interests, who share common ideals, who live interconnected lives for the sake of fellowship, function, and survival. In common use, I often use the term “community” to describe a local group of people that is not necessarily united by family ties but is united in day-to-day life, common values and responsibilities, shared interests, and a degree of mutual trust.

Generations – I use the term generations in the understanding of Strauss and Howe generational theory. In this sense, a generation is a very specific cohort of people who were born in a beginning year and an ending year, at which time there is a coherent generational shift, or turning, in the culture and common mindframe of a nation of people. Each generation tends to share a common attitude and behavioral traits that other groups don’t share with them, similar to different communities or nations.

The People – Normally when I say “the people,” I am referring mainly to the dominant ethnic group that has exercised prime cultural and secular authority in a society or nation, and maybe some related peoples who are historically associated with that group. Sometimes I might use the term in its more common, broad sense, but more often I will, in that latter case, say “peoples.” So if I casually say “the American people,” I’m mainly talking about the European-descended Americans who traditionally dominated the country since it grew from the original British colonies and absorbed others into it. By extension, based on the context, “the American people” might also include American blacks, American Indians, and the Hispanics who were absorbed into the United States in the 19th century, but certainly not the waves of immigrants from the late 20th century and on, and probably not most Jews either, because they have generally maintained an international—and extractive—focus.

Regular People – Usually when I say “regular people,” as compared to when I say common people, I am speaking in a somewhat derogatory manner about average people who are not especially thoughtful, imaginative, intelligent, or creative. That isn’t to say that they are necessarily dull or stupid, but rather that they are quite herdlike in their mindsets and very much focused on the surface of the here and now. To the extent that they think about anything more deeply than the here and now, an outside System has programmed them to think and behave in a certain way that they tend to not question.

The Herd – The typical people in a given society who follow, usually mindlessly, where everyone else is going in their lives, who take cues from herd leaders on what they should think and how they should live their lives. They are concerned with what other people think, and their understandings of life are based more on what is socially acceptable within the “herd” than on any external anchor of truth. The herd is particularly subject to external manipulation because they represent the bulk of society and they collectively have a great deal of power to force conformity. Yet there are larger societal forces that sometimes cause the herd to “stampede” or begin to act as a mob, outside of anyone’s control. Just like cattle.

The Faith – Typically I use this term to describe traditional Christianity in general: Christianity as commonly understood across the Roman Catholics, various Orthodox, and most of Protestantism until modern times. Occasionally, depending on context, I may use the term “the Faith” to refer to Orthodox Christianity in particular.

The Church – As with “the Faith,” I typically use this term to describe the various Christian sects that share the common understandings of the general tenets of the traditional Christian Faith, including the Roman Catholics, various Orthodox, and most of Protestantism until modern times. Occasionally, depending on context, I might use the term “the Church” to refer to the Eastern Orthodox jurisdictions.

The Royal Path – In a strict sense, the term “the royal path” is about Orthodox Christian asceticism, neither following an excessively strict practice, nor an excessively light practice. However, I tend to use the term in a much broader sense, referring to a balanced understanding or practice based on wisdom, restraint, and Christian love, as compared to an understanding or practice that is needlessly too strict or too lax. The “royal path” is by no means synonymous with the terms “temperance,” “moderation,” “compromise,” or “middle of the road,” nor is it necessarily the avoidance of extremes, though the royal path can often look like these attitudes.

Symphony – The ruling balance in an ideal Christian society where the worldly authority takes the form of an authoritarian ruler—usually a king—, and the spiritual authority is exercised by the Church: typically and historically an apostolic, hierarchical church with a traditional bishop or patriarch as head, who exercises indirect moral and spiritual authority over the rulers and the peoples in that society.

The Soil – The fundamental and underlying state of mind of people individually or collectively, referring to the knowledge, health, culture, faith, history, and morality that people inherit commonly or individually. This figurative soil can be enriched over time or it can be poisoned or made barren over time, and the fertility or lack of fertility can be passed on to descendants to be improved or squandered by them.

Truth – What is real in a concrete or logical sense outside of one’s own consciousness, and also that which reflects or corresponds with what is real outside of one’s consciousness.

Reality – What truly exists, measured outside of our own consciousness. This includes physical reality and logical reality, which is concrete and true, and also spiritual reality, but reality can also include commonly understood notions of reality, which can be subjective and include errors that don’t reflect truth, but which have to be recognized as a reality that many people believe.

The Terrain – The combination and overlap of various forms of reality around us. These include physical/concrete and logical realities that exists outside of ourselves, the scope and limitations of realities that exist both outside of ourselves and within ourselves, and those commonly understood, often more subjective, realities that may or may not reflect truth, but which have to be dealt with because enough people believe them. From some vantage or another, this combination of realities gives us a “terrain” that surrounds us or whatever we are trying to focus on, and those realities must be navigated to some extent or another. Some reality is fixed and unchangeable, some reality is changeable with considerable effort, and some reality changes on its own without our efforts (or despite our efforts.) The concept is useful in taking measure of what the possibilities are (or aren’t) for a given situation.

Mindframe or Mindset – The mental framework through which a person or group processes reality.

Worldview – Similar to mindframe or mindset, but a worldview is more comprehensive. A worldview is a set of beliefs or understandings through which people understand how the world and reality works. Everyone has a mindframe or ethos; not everyone has adopted a worldview.

Psyop – A contraction of “psychological operation.” An institutionally planned psychological campaign intended to bring about a change in the perceptions of a target population’s sense of reality.

Adolescence – I usually use this term differently than the most common way it’s used. I’m not merely referring to the years between the start of puberty and full adulthood. I’m referring to a modern mindset where people are held in developmental suspension between a full, mature, responsible, and serious adulthood and fully-dependent, relatively innocent childhood. The traits of modern adolescents include self-focus, shallow consumerism, lack of seriousness, obsession with popularity and “coolness,” senseless idealism, avoidance of responsibility, rebellion against adulthood, and entitled dependence. Modern liberalism and capitalism deliberately try to force adolescence on children as young as possible while trying to keep adults in this stunted state of development for as long as possible, preferably until death. In fact, this mindset forms the basis of today’s concepts of “freedom,” “rights,” and “democracy.”

Youth – Teenagers and young adults, as distinct from “adolescents.” Historically, the youth were employed as apprentices and helpers and given many responsibilities of adults with the guidance and protection of their older, more experienced peers.

Buddy-hood – (As compared to Friendship): A true friendship is based on mutual respect and consideration, on trust and loyalty, sincerely wanting goodness for the other, on attention and interaction both ways. Buddy-hood is merely based on mutual comfort and companionship. A true friend can be a “buddy,” but a “buddy” isn’t necessarily a true friend.

Guy - (As compared to a Man): Someone who primarily directs his focus and energies into satisfying his own pleasures and indulging in his own weaknesses. He is serious about what is unserious, and unserious about what is deadly serious. He neglects or entirely lacks a mission and focus in life that serves a greater productive purpose.