What Does chauvinism Mean
Chauvinism , also accepted as chauvinism , is a term that refers to an exacerbation of the national as opposed to the foreign . The etymological root of the notion is found in the French word chauvinisme .
Origin of the concept
The concept comes from Nicolas Chauvin , an apocryphal soldier who represents the patriotism of France . Chauvin embodies the courage and sentiment of those who made up the first army of the republic and the forces under Napoleon Bonaparte .
Donald Trump's term evoked chauvinism too often
Legend has it that, when he was 18 years old, Chauvin enlisted to defend his country. He was wounded almost twenty times in combat, with which he suffered various serious injuries . However, there are no historical records of his existence, which means that he is a fictional character.
Nowadays
Chauvinism currently has a negative meaning. The idea is used to refer to an exaggerated exaltation of everything that has to do with one's own nation , to the detriment of what comes from abroad.
Chauvinism is often a resource used by rulers to, by appealing to feelings and emotions, to convince the population that the ills of the country are caused by immigrants or by actions carried out beyond national borders. The construction of chauvinism is linked to the supposed existence of an identity that is considered exclusive or proper to a community or a people and that is ranked as superior or better than the others.
US President Donald Trump , for example, is often accused of resorting to chauvinism to move citizens. It is customary that the president blame the immigration of economic problems and proclaim their intention to make "great again" to the United States , to mention one branded chauvinistic attitude.
Other types and their consequences
Given the meaning that this term has at its root, many intellectuals have taken advantage of it as the root of different phenomena . For example, we can speak of male chauvinism to refer to the way of thinking that considers the male sex superior to the female. In fact, in some contexts we can use it as a synonym for machismo .
Male chauvinism is believed to arise from regressive desires, Oedipal anxiety, unresolved desires during childhood, hostile envy toward the opposite sex, and dependency and power conflicts tied to their own self-esteem as men. This stereotype- laden misogyny runs counter to what some call female chauvinism , although it is important not to confuse feminism with female superiority , as it simply pursues equal conditions and opportunities.
In any case, chauvinism can lead to discriminatory situations, extreme ways of thinking, and physical or verbal violence . Supporting such closed ideas is never a good decision, something that the mistakes that our ancestors made, believing that they had the truth in their hands, show us century after century.
Is carbon the basis of life on any planet?
Carbon chauvinism
This concept was coined in the second half of the 20th century and refers to the conviction that life on other planets must resemble what we have on Earth. Being more precise, it is used to describe the assumption that the molecules that are behind the chemical processes of living organisms must rely on carbon as a fundamental element .
In other words, the people who support this idea seem to lack the ability to imagine other forms of biochemistry beyond what they are familiar with. The renowned astronomer and science popularizer Carl Edward Sagan was the first to use this term, in 1973. At that time he also spoke of other forms of chauvinism that built walls to limit our creativity.