ancien régime
Former governing system
Ancien régime refers to a political or social system that has been displaced, especially one seen as outdated or corrupt.
The term carries connotations of aristocratic privilege, rigid hierarchy, and resistance to change: The revolution swept away the ancien régime.
Often used critically to characterize entrenched establishments ripe for reform. (Capitalized Ancien Régime refers specifically to pre-revolutionary France.)
Division into distinct levels
- privilegeExclusive right or benefit
- disparityMeasurable difference between things
- casteInherited social division
- classismPrejudice by economic rank
exclusion · elitism · oppression · exploitation · plutocracy · oligarchy · hierarchy · rigid
Preference for existing institutions
- traditionCustom passed through generations
- reactionaryAnti-progress political stance
- restorationReturning something to condition
- counter-revolutionRevolt against recent upheaval
Existing condition of affairs
- establishmentFounded organization or venue
- entrenchedFirmly established, resistant to change
- outdatedNo longer in use
- corruptDishonest, open to bribes
overthrown · displaced · reform · revolution · upheaval · transformation · collapse · decay
stratification
Division into distinct levels
- privilegeExclusive right or benefit
- disparityMeasurable difference between things
- casteInherited social division
classism · exclusion · elitism · oppression · exploitation · plutocracy · oligarchy · hierarchy · rigid · entrenched
conservatism
Preference for existing institutions
- traditionCustom passed through generations
- reactionaryAnti-progress political stance
- restorationReturning something to condition
status quo
Existing condition of affairs
- establishmentFounded organization or venue
- entrenchedFirmly established, resistant to change
- outdatedNo longer in use
corrupt · overthrown · displaced · reform · revolution · upheaval · transformation · collapse · decay · ossified
ancien régimerepublic
State with elected leaders
democracy · constitutional government · popular sovereignty · liberal democracy · revolution
ancien régimeegalitarianism
Philosophy of universal equality
classless society · meritocracy · social equality · bourgeois society · democratic society