On the Bright Side

The Book of Isms by Peter St. Andrade defines more than 100 “isms,” from absolutism to Zoroastrianism, many of them long forgotten. By virtue  of their suffix, isms become principles by which people live. Some isms, patriotism or feminism, for example, can evoke a sense of self-worth. Some illustrate personality types: pessimism, optimism, perfectionism. There are isms named after people whose ideas become so widespread that they become doctrines, names like Confucianism, Darwinism and Marxism. Others pit individuals directly against each other: racism, sexism and ageism. Then there are the isms that move from the personal to the political, such as, communism, capitalism, socialism, imperialism, fascism, militarism, nationalism, totalitarianism, fundamentalism... These isms are the most powerful because they cause masses of people to move against masses of “other” people. They are based on fear that another group of people will become more powerful than ‘my’ group. These are the ...