Corporatism
Etymology
From Latin corpus, “body,” the idea being society organized into functional “bodies” or corporations. The term has two lineages: an older Catholic and authoritarian version that folded groups into the state, and a modern “neo-corporatist” usage describing peaceful bargaining among unions, employers, and government in several democracies. Note that it does not mean simply “rule by business corporations,” a common confusion.
noun · /KOR-pur-uh-tiz-um/
A system in which major interest groups — such as business, labor, and the state — negotiate policy together as organized blocs.
What it names
A model of how decisions get made when big organized interests, rather than individual voters or free markets, do the bargaining.
Example
The country’s corporatism meant wage levels were set less by markets than by yearly talks among unions, employers, and ministers.
Related idea
Syndicalism would put the workers’ own unions in direct control of industry; corporatism instead seeks bargained cooperation among labor, capital, and the state.
See also