voluntarism
(ˈvɒləntərɪz(ə)m)
[Irreg. f. voluntar-y a. + -ism. Cf. voluntaryism.]
1. = voluntaryism 1.
| 1838 G. S. Faber Inquiry 586 Here..we behold, painted to life, the genuine workings of coarse tyrannical Voluntarism! |
2. Philos. One or other theory or doctrine which regards will as the fundamental principle or dominant factor in the individual or in the universe.
| 1896 Advance (Chicago) 3 Sept., This voluntarism [of Alf. Weber] differs essentially from that of Schopenhauer, according to whom will strives for being and nothing else. 1902 Case in Encycl. Brit. (ed. 10) XXX. 671/2 On the whole, his [Wundt's] voluntarism, though like that of Schopenhauer and Hartmann, is not the same. |
3. orig. U.S. a. The principle of relying on voluntary action rather than compulsion; spec. with reference to political and trade-union activities. Cf. voluntaryism 2.
| 1924 S. Gompers in Rep. Proc. 44th Ann. Convention Amer. Federation Labor 5/2, I want to urge devotion to the fundamentals of human liberty—the principles of voluntarism. 1948 Sun (Baltimore) 6 Dec. 12/3 There is reason to think that voluntarism is preferable to compulsion on racial matters as on everything else. 1973 Times 15 Jan. 18/6 From an almost exclusive reliance on ‘voluntarism’, ie. the promotion of negotiating procedures drawing at most indirectly upon law, Great Britain has now imposed upon the conduct of unions and employers more formal..regulations. 1983 Listener 22 Sept. 5/1 So much for voluntarism, the golden rule of the British TUC. |
b. Denoting the involvement of voluntary organizations in social welfare. Also spec. in U.K. use = volunteerism 2.
| 1957 Observer 8 Sept. 15/4 This is the essence of the American economic achievement to-day: an emphasis on the importance of the individual... And an increasing knowledge of the techniques by which men can co-operate in ‘free collectivism’—voluntary private organisation. Voluntarism in our social structure is tremendously important. Without it the whole system would break down. 1969 Wall St. Jrnl. 21 Mar. 1/1 ‘Voluntarism’—President Nixon's program to enlist the help of private groups in solving social problems. 1979 Guardian 10 Aug., Voluntarism is one of the central characteristics of a number of organisations with which the Prince of Wales has specific connections. 1981 Times Lit. Suppl. 7 Aug. 911/2 When their representatives attained some municipal power, they clung to a weedy sort of voluntarism and missed their chance of creating active local democracy. 1981 Times 7 Sept. 2/4 The Government's emphasis on the role of volunteers in providing social services could be counterproductive... Some Labour councils connected the twin themes of public spending cuts and the strong emphasis on voluntarism. 1982 Chicago Sun-Times 31 Aug. 30 Bernardin could be the key to the rebirth of a larger sense of community—at a time when its implicit sense of voluntarism would be in keeping with the Reagan era and with the voluntaristic spirit alive today. 1984 Listener 14 June 12/2 We are going back to reliance on ‘voluntarism’ in this vital field. |