BharatNotes Socialistic
adjectiveUsage in a UPSC answer
Critics argue that the dirigiste licence-permit regime of the early decades, though socialistic in intent, ultimately throttled enterprise and entrenched the very inequalities it sought to dissolve.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Word Family
social (adj), socialism (n), socialist (n/adj), socialize (v), sociality (n)
Root
French socialiste → Latin sociālis = of companionship; socius = companion; -ic = adjectival suffix
Etymology
From French socialiste (from Latin sociālis, "of companionship") + the suffix -ic; earliest known use in the 1840s (OED's first evidence from 1848, The Times, London).
Memory Hook
"Social" + "-istic" — society over self: a system tilted towards the SOCIAL collective rather than the private individual.
How This Word Works in UPSC Writing
Tending towards socialism, and the first thing worth saying is that the classification of Directive Principles into socialistic, Gandhian and liberal-intellectual groups is a scholarly convenience that appears nowhere in the Constitution itself. The socialistic group comprises Article 38 on minimising inequalities, Article 39 on distributing material resources for the common good and preventing concentration of wealth, Article 39A on equal justice and free legal aid, Article 41 on the right to work and public assistance, Article 42 on humane conditions of work and maternity relief, Article 43 on a living wage and Article 47 on nutrition and public health. Their constitutional weight has come chiefly through Article 21, since the courts have read the right to life to include livelihood, health, shelter and a clean environment, thereby converting unenforceable directives into enforceable rights by interpretation rather than by amendment, which is the single most consequential development in this area.
Don’t Confuse It With
The classification of Directive Principles as socialistic, Gandhian and liberal-intellectual is a scholarly convenience and appears nowhere in the text. Directive Principles under Article 37 are not enforceable by any court yet are declared fundamental in the governance of the country, whereas Fundamental Rights are enforceable, which is the formal distinction between Parts III and IV. Article 31C gave particular protection to laws implementing Article 39(b) and (c). Harmonious construction is the technique by which courts reconcile the two Parts instead of treating them as rivals.
Hindi Meaning
समाजवादी (samājvādī); नीति निदेशक तत्व (nīti nirdeshak tattva) for Directive Principles.
Common Questions
- Is the classification of Directive Principles found in the Constitution?
- No. The grouping into socialistic, Gandhian and liberal-intellectual principles is a scholarly convenience and does not appear in the text at all.
- How have socialistic principles become enforceable?
- Chiefly through Article 21, since courts have read the right to life as including livelihood, health, shelter and a clean environment, giving effect to directives by interpretation.
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