Paternalism

2 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Paternalism \Pa*ter"nal*ism\, n. (Polit. Science)
     The theory or practice of paternal government. See {Paternal
     government}, under {Paternal}. --London Times.
     [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:



  paternalism
       n : the attitude (of a person or a government) that subordinates
           should be controlled in a fatherly way for their own good