gradualism
Change through increments
Gradualism is the principle that change happens slowly and incrementally rather than through sudden transformation.
In politics, gradualists favor reform over revolution: The party embraced gradualism rather than radical upheaval.
In geology and evolutionary biology, gradualism holds that major changes result from accumulated small steps over vast time periods, contrasting with theories of punctuated or catastrophic change.
Proceeding by small additions
- slowLacking in speed
- steadyFixed, not fluctuating
- phasedIntroduced or removed incrementally
- stepwiseProceeding by degrees
piecemeal · bit by bit · progressive · sequential · measured · methodical · systematic · cumulative
Improve by correcting faults
- incrementalismChange through small steps
- reformismGradual political change doctrine
- legislative processHow statutes get enacted
- compromiseAgreement through mutual sacrifice
bipartisanship · progressive reform · social democracy · constitutional amendment · welfare state · amelioration · Popper
Differential reproductive success
- adaptationFitting to new conditions
- speciationFormation of distinct species
- DarwinBritish naturalist, species theorist
- macroevolutionEvolutionary change above species
microevolution · fossil record · common ancestry · divergence · uniformitarianism · geological time · neo-Darwinism
Implementing by stages
- stagingPreparing for presentation
- roadmapDetailed plan forward
- planningArranging for future events
- implementationPutting plans into effect
rollout · pilot program · scaling · transition plan · milestone · timeline · risk mitigation
Uninterrupted progression or coherence
- LeibnizBaroque-era polymath philosopher-mathematician
- infinitesimalQuantity approaching zero
- smooth transitionGradual, unnoticeable change
- developmentalRelated to growth stages
teleological · becoming · flux · continuum
incremental
Proceeding by small additions
stepwise · piecemeal · bit by bit · progressive · sequential · measured · methodical · systematic · cumulative · iterative
reform
Improve by correcting faults
- incrementalismChange through small steps
- reformismGradual political change doctrine
- legislative processHow statutes get enacted
compromise · bipartisanship · progressive reform · social democracy · constitutional amendment · welfare state · amelioration · Popper
natural selection
Differential reproductive success
- adaptationFitting to new conditions
- speciationFormation of distinct species
- DarwinBritish naturalist, species theorist
macroevolution · microevolution · fossil record · common ancestry · divergence · uniformitarianism · geological time · neo-Darwinism
phasing
Implementing by stages
implementation · rollout · pilot program · scaling · transition plan · milestone · timeline · risk mitigation
continuity
Uninterrupted progression or coherence
- LeibnizBaroque-era polymath philosopher-mathematician
- infinitesimalQuantity approaching zero
- smooth transitionGradual, unnoticeable change
developmental · teleological · becoming · flux · continuum
- evolutionevolution, natural selection, mutation, adaptation, speciation
- -ismsatomism, postmodernism, feminism, Marxism, Darwinism
- Abolitionabolitionists, Frederick Douglass, abolitionist movement, Underground Railroad, Emancipation Proclamation
- Social Democracysocial democracy, social democrats, democratic socialism, welfare state, mixed economy
- macroevolutionmacroevolution, speciation, extinction, fossil record, common descent
- Transition EconomiesPoland, Hungary, Czech Republic, Romania, Bulgaria
gradualismcatastrophism
Theory of sudden geological change
sudden change · revolution · discontinuity · saltation · rapid change
gradualismrevolution
Violent governmental overthrow
radicalism · revolutionary change · insurrection · upheaval · radical transformation