Definition of "statism"

statism

/ˈsteɪdɪzm/

noun
countable and uncountable, plural statisms
1. (often derogatory) The belief that most or all political power should be centralized in national governments.
  Quotations
  Bismarck... believes in State insurance in State activities, in place of individual action. But this is not Socialism. It is Statism.
  1890, W.D.P. Bliss, What is Christian Socialism?, page 21
  Republican Senator Charles L. McNary concluded his Vice-Presidential campaign tonight with the charge the New Deal is ‘taking deeper and deeper refuge in paternalism and statism’.
  1940 November 5, The Sun, Baltimore, p. 5
  As the economic derivative of libertarianism, laissez-faire capitalism is an economics of life, of rationality. […] And, like libertarianism, it is the only viable solution to the catastrophe of statism in the modern age.
  1971 January 10, Stan Lehr, Louis Rossetto, “The New Right Credo–Libertarianism”, in The New York Times‎
  […] ; social welfare policies reward parasitical living rather than risk-taking; a truly atavistic, sick attachment to the compulsion and non-meritocratic elitism of statism as a way of life; […] have all retarded and will continue to retard Europeans.
  1996, Louis Rossetto, “19th Century Nostrums are not Solutions to 21st Century Problems”, in Mute, volume 1, number 4
2. (often derogatory, uncommon) The belief that most or nearly all political power should be decentralized to provincial governments.
  Quotations
  The joint note of Austria and Prussia... appears thus to have worked more good than moderation and good sense generally achieve over faction and petty-Statism.
  1854 July 1, The Times, London, p. 9
  To him... we owe that sentiment of nationalism prevailing over statism... without which the Union would have parted.
  1875, A.H. Bullock, Intellectual Leadership Illustrated in American History, page 37
3. (rare, obsolete) Synonym of statecraft or statesmanship.
  Quotations
  My great Cousin hauing euermoreFrom my greene yeares accepted my aduiseIn points of statisme...
  1608, J. F. Le Petit, translated by Edward Grimeston, General History of the Netherlands, page 1113
4. (derogatory, obsolete) Synonym of secularism: subservience of religious issues to political officials and expediency.
  Quotations
  Religion turned into Statisme, will soone prooue Atheisme.
  1609, William Barlow, An Answer to a Catholike English-man, page 370
5. (obsolete) Synonym of government or governance.
  Quotations
  [The Ten Commandments] have formed the basis of every system of statism adopted by the civilized communities of the earth.
  1839, John Hobart Caunter, Poetry of the Pentateuch, page 189