List of political epithets

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Radical

Originally part of an analogy with the roots of a plant (latin: Raddix), in Britain in the 1830s it referred to those who wanted to change the voting system by starting afresh, rather than incremental reforms. It is now used in relation to any topic and usually describes a person or a policy to the extreme left of the political mainstream, though it may describe people or policies of any political bent with whom the speaker disagrees. A radical is certainly not a conservative, but may wish to reform policy in a rightwards direction.

Related Topics:
Analogy - 1830s

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"Radical" — often shortened to "rad" — became a compliment when used by members of Generation X in the 1980s, its closest synonym being "cool."

Related Topics:
Generation X - 1980s

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