RADICALISM. (from radical: Fr., from LL. radicalis, having roots, from L. radix, root). Movement that seeks profound reform in the political, scientific, moral, and religious order, and is opposed to the position of possibilism. Historically, radical parties appeared in the political life of European and American countries of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, occupying the left flank within the democratic movement, and regarding economic liberals as the right flank. Radicals supported the republican principles of universal suffrage, secular education, advanced social legislation, and other human rights. Radicals have taken part in numerous political revolutions, forming political alliances with socialists and actively participating in the struggle against fascism and totalitarianism, and in general working for the modernization of society.

In contemporary political science, the term r. is used to stress a propensity to use political force in vigorous extra-legal actions, and a distinction is made between r. of the right (fascism, fundamentalism) and r. of the left (anarchism, communism).

RECIPROCITY. (from reciprocate: L. reciprocatus, pp. of reciprocare, from reciprocus, from re-, back and from pro-, forth; hence, going back and forth). Takes place between two or more persons or groups when an action realized or given by one is equivalent to that received from the other. N.H. follows the principle of r. in its relationships with the other organizations, parties, and groups with which it establishes common objectives for carrying out concrete activities.

REFORMISM. (from reform: cf. L. reformare, from re- and formare, to reassume primary form). A current or approach that seeks to carry out social, political, and/or religious reforms. This political approach proposes the modernization of society, not through revolutions but through reform and gradual change. It considers a continuing process of social reforms as the least painful method of change. R. promotes social progress, while rejecting violence and civil war.

N.H. agrees with this movement in placing value on reforms and the rejection of extremism, but points out the historical narrowness of r., which ascribes absolute value to legal forms and has its entire reason for being in democratic societies, yet at the same time lacks any effective approach to dealing with totalitarianism, despotism, colonialism, or imperialism. R. also tends to underestimate the value of initiatives and movements that come from the base and their non-violent forms of struggle such as civil disobedience, civil resistance, and non-cooperation.

REGIME. (Fr. régime; from regimen: L., rule, government, from regere, to rule). System of governing or ruling; constitution or practices of a government. Refers to a certain type of power and social administration as distinct from the stage of socioeconomic development and the social nature of the State. It is a historical form of power, of the mechanism of power understood as the process of administration or governing. There are democratic (presidential and parliamentary), authoritarian, and totalitarian regimes.

A given form of State (monarchy, republic, etc.) can have different political regimes during different periods of its existence, ranging from parliamentarian to dictatorial. Thus, the concept of r. possesses a high degree of dynamism, and the social nature of the State may remain unchanged even while the political r. may vary.

RELIGION. (L. religio (-onis), religion, piety, conscientiousness, scrupulousness; from religare, to bind back; re-, and ligare, to bind, bind together). In broad terms it can be said that r. is based on a belief in spiritual beings. However, this does not apply fully to the original Buddhists or to Confucianists, for whom r. is a code of conduct and a style of life. Religions express what exists in their respective landscapes of formation (*), through descriptions of their gods, heavens, hells, etc. They burst onto the scene of a given historical period, and it is usually said that at that moment God "reveals" himself to humanity. But something has taken place in that historical moment (*) to cause such a "revelation" to be accepted. A whole debate then ensues concerning the social conditions of that moment. While this form of viewing the phenomenon of r. has importance, it does not explain what the inner register is like in the members of a society during such times as they set out toward a new religious moment. If r. is based on a psychosocial phenomenon, then it is appropriate to study it from that perspective as well (*religiosity).

We can speak of the "externality" of religions in studying the system of images that are projected in icons, paintings, statues, buildings, and relics (which correspond to visual perception), or in the canticles and prayers (corresponding to auditory perception), or in the gestures, postures, and bodily postures (corresponding to kinesthetic and coenesthesic perception) (*perception).

From the point of view of the "externality" of a r. we can study its theology, its sacred books and sacraments, as well as its liturgy, its organization, its holy days, and the situation of believers with respect to their age or physical state at which they carry out certain functions and operations.

Finally, and also from the point of view of religious "externality," it is interesting to note the frequency of errors in both description and prophecy. In this light, almost nothing that has previously been said about religions still applies today. If some have been used to thinking of r. as the opiate of the people in political and social activities, today they are faced with the powerful impulse of r. in both of those areas; if others imagined religions imposing their message, today they find that the message of r. has changed; those who thought r. would be here forever, today find themselves with doubts about the "eternalness" of r.; and those who supposed that r. would disappear in short order are now witnessing with surprise the sudden proliferation of religious forms that are either overtly or implicitly mystical. Nothing that used to be said about religions in earlier times can be applied today, because both apologists for and detractors of r. have placed themselves externally, without taking notice of the internal register, the system of ideation of human societies. And logically, without an understanding of the essence of the religious phenomenon, everything related may turn out to be either marvelous or absurd, but virtually always unexpected.

Customarily, religions are regarded as universal if they have begun in one more or less limited territory, or within a particular ethnic group, and have subsequently spread to a number of other geographical areas or ethnicities. What is characteristic of world or universal religions is the impulse to convert new members without territorial, linguistic or, in general, any cultural limitations. For example, Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam are universal religions. It should be noted, however, that all such religions initially appear as heresies in cultural milieu in which a local religion predominates. Over time, moreover, other heretical movements appear within these new, universal religions, giving rise to diverse sects (Hinayana, Mahayana, Lamaism, etc., within Buddhism; Catholicism, Protestantism, Orthodox, etc. within Christianity; Sunni, Shia, etc. within Islam).

In addition to the great division between universal and local or national religions, there is a general recognition of the existence of a system of beliefs and practices which are spread more or less universally and that fall into the categories of Animism or Shamanism. The fact that these religions do not have a systematized literature does not invalidate the fact and character of their category of r.

For N.H., whether or not one subscribes to a specific r., just as whether one adheres to atheism, may be reduced to a problem of individual conscience. In any case, N.H. cannot begin the development of its theory or practice based on either the belief or lack of belief in any particular religious questions. Instead, the point of departure for the entire conception of N.H. rests on a comprehension of the structure of human life. This point leads to important differences with previous humanisms.

RELIGIOSITY. System of internal registers by means of which a believer orients his or her mental contents in a transcendent direction. R. is closely linked to faith (*), which can be oriented in naive, fanatical and destructive, or useful ways (from the point of view of which references are used) in relation to a contemporary world whose rapidly changing or painful stimuli are leading to an increasing destructuring (*) of human consciousness.

R. does not necessarily involve belief in a divinity, as can be seen, for example, in the case of the original Buddhist mysticism. From this perspective, it is possible to understand the existence of a "r. without religion." But in any case, r. involves an experience of "meaning" in events and in human life. Nor can such an experience be reduced to a philosophy, a psychology or, more generally, to any system of ideas.

RENAISSANCE. (OFr. renaissance, renaiscence, from LL. renascentia, new birth). Rebirth, revival. The term R. refers to the spiritual and moral renewal observed in Europe in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, which came about through the restoration of the humanist cultural tradition of the ancient world, especially of the Hellenic and Roman cultures, and through affirming the decisive role of living national languages (Italian, French, English, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Czech, Polish, Hungarian, etc.). The contemporaneous invention of the printing press allowed the wide dissemination of this cultural legacy and the achievements of these young national literatures, while the spread of engraving made works of art accessible to the people.

This new movement undertook the struggle against medieval Scholasticism, and contributed to the affirmation of experimental science, the development and spread of secular morality and education, monetary economies with trade and commerce, and humanist art and literature.

In that epoch, humanism appeared as a comprehensive conception of the world which affirmed the supreme value of the human being, of human life. The inspiration of humanist ethical criteria were clearly indicated in the increased concern for personal and social well-being and the defense of liberty and human rights.

During the R. there was an extraordinary outpouring of inspired works by scientists, artists, poets, philosophers, and political thinkers. Celebrated Italian artist, scientist, engineer, architect, and writer Leonardo da Vinci stands as a symbol of the R. On the basis of astronomical experiments and observations, Polish scientist Nicolaus Copernicus and Italian mathematician and physicist Galileo Galilei established the heliocentric model of the solar system, for which Galileo suffered persecution by the Church. German astronomer Johannes Kepler formulated the fundamental laws of planetary motion.

English philosopher and political figure Francis Bacon was one of the creators of the experimental method in science, which contributed decisively to the break with Scholasticism. French philosopher and moralist Michel de Montaigne denounced the vanity of dogmatism. Celebrated Dutch jurist and diplomat Hugo Grotius published his treatise On the Law of War and Peace. Italian historian, writer, and politician Niccolò Machiavelli laid the foundation for the idea of the nation state, and contributed to the study of the procedures of political life.

In literature and art, the principal focus was on human beings and their inner world, and on the role of the personality (*personalism) in social life. We should also mention Italian poet Petrarch, English dramatist William Shakespeare, Spanish writer Miguel de Cervantes, and French writer François Rabelais.

R. civic humanism became the pillar of all subsequent Western conceptions of humanism. By generalizing the traditions of classical Greek philosophy and ethics and joining them with advances in the natural sciences and practical experience in life, R. humanism (*) formulated a series of fundamental ethical criteria, defined human liberty as a primary value, revealed the beauty and grandeur of the human person and, for the first time, established the priority of the personality and its interests, demonstrating the bond between personal and social needs.

REPRESSION. (from repress: L. repressus, pp. of reprimere, to check, hold back; re-, back, and premere, to press). System of sanctions and discrimination exercised against internal and at times external adversaries of an existing regime, which views them as disloyal or subversive elements. R. is also at times exercised against particular ethnic or religious groups, students, intellectuals, or other social groups.

R. is a discriminatory sanction that is distinct from judicial sanctions and administrative measures, which prosecute ordinary criminals in accordance with the penal code in order to protect the safety of citizens. In today’s world, however, national laws and particularly administrative measures in many cases violate human rights and display markedly repressive characteristics. The growing corruption in judicial systems and administrative bodies, civil and armed forces, as well as social prejudices based on ethnocentrism, race, religion, etc., are transforming the struggle against crime into repressive campaigns that are directed against the poor, dissidents, minorities, etc.

There are a broad array of repressive measures ranging from the blow from a policeman’s club to legal proceedings and trials, incarceration, involuntary deportation, and even the physical elimination of adversaries.

REVANCHISM. (OFr. revenger, revencher; re-, again, and venger, vengier, to take vengeance, from L. vindicare). Policies directed toward the recovery of territory, status, or power. Those who follow the politics of r. resort to any means, even the most radical and violent, to achieve their objectives.

In foreign policy, policies of r. engender wars that lead to national tragedy for the people, as happened in Germany following the First World War or Yugoslavia following the breakup of the Tito regime. In domestic politics, r. leads to counterrevolutions, coups d’états, and even civil wars.

Policies of r. are characteristic of extremist forces, who try to recover through violence positions they have previously lost. R. is dangerous because it can mobilize broad strata of the population under the banner of patriotism and defense of the national interest. It is capable of creating real threats to democracy, peace, and international security.

REVOLUTION. (OFr.; LL. revolutio (-onis), a revolving, from revolutus, pp. of revolvere, to turn over, revolve). A sudden, profound change that implies an important break with the previous model and the emergence of a new one. There are a number of different types of r.: social, political, cultural, scientific, technological, etc. In social life we observe social, national, and anti-colonial revolutions, among others.

Social revolutions differ from military and political coups in that they lead to profound transformations of the entire social, economic, and political structure of a system, and to the rise of a new type of sociopolitical culture.

Today the term r. often implies swift, radical change, generally achieved through violence. This is not, however, the essence of r., and thus it is possible to conceive of non-violent r., such as that proposed by N.H. and others (*worker ownership).

Revolutions are frequently accompanied by civil wars and mass destruction of society and accumulated wealth, resulting in impoverishment and hunger for much of the population which, in turn, provokes setbacks and reversals, and the eventual triumph of counterrevolutions.

REVOLUTIONARY DEMOCRACY. A term introduced into international political language in the 1960s when, in several emerging states of Asia and Africa that arose out of the ruins of the colonial system, the leaders of the most radical wings of national liberation movements came to power through armed struggle. Generally, they proclaimed a non-capitalist path of development for their countries, making use of the Cold War between the Eastern and Western blocs, and negotiating with both sides to their own advantage. Some moved openly into the Soviet orbit, others chose to adhere to Maoism. Still others formed part of the nonaligned movement. In general, these leaders rejected democratic principles and human rights, establishing cruel autocratic regimes (for example in Somalia, Ethiopia, Burma, South Yemen, etc.). Taking revolution (*) as an absolute and violence (*) as the preferred method of government, they emptied the term democracy (*) of all meaning, leaving only the adjective, and understanding by the term "revolution" solely the approach of armed struggle.

With the end of the Cold War, the term r.d. lost its reason for being and is no longer used.

      |A |B |C |D |E |F |G |H | I |J |K |L |M |N |O |P |Q |R |S |T |U |V |W |X |Y |Z |

We invite everyone to participate with us in putting into practice the moral principle that says: "Treat others as you would like to be treated."
More information:
www.dialogo.org , [email protected] or [email protected]