PoliticsAugust 15, 2026

emancipatory

ih-MAN-suh-puh-tor-ee

Definition

Relating to or involving the process of liberating someone or a group of people from social, political, or economic constraints and inequalities.

Etymology

The word originates from the Latin 'emancipatus', the past participle of 'emancipare', which means to release from the hand or power of another. It entered English in the early 17th century to denote the act of setting someone free from legal or social bondage.

In the news

The article uses the term to describe a type of politics that seeks to move beyond simply increasing consumption or efficiency, aiming instead to place societal institutions under conscious democratic control.

From Marx to Weber and Marcuse: Alienation, Rationalisation and the Continuing Critique of Capitalism

Read the full article ↗

Countercurrents

Related words

Learn words like this every day

Meet new words every morning.

Newspoken pulls carefully chosen words from the day’s news — with clear definitions, context, and light review that makes them stick. Get it on your phone.