kəˈlektə̇ˌvizəm noun
( -s )
Etymology: French collectivisme, from collectif collective + -isme -ism
1.
a. : a politico-economic system characterized by collective control especially over production and distribution of goods and services in contrast to free enterprise
forces that have led to individualism have in the last fifty years been successfully opposed by the forces of collectivism — M.R.Cohen
b. : extreme control of the economic, political, and social life of its subjects by an authoritarian state (as under communism or fascism)
c. : a doctrine or system that makes the group or the state actively responsible for the social and economic welfare of its members
2. : a social theory or doctrine that emphasizes the importance of the collective (as the society or state) in contrast to the individual and that tends to analyze society in terms of collective behavior — see holism
3. : collective II 2, 3