The theory or practice of paternal government. See Paternal government, under Paternal.
From the Latin pater, meaning to act like a father. In the context of the American South, paternalism generally refers to the attitude of many white southerners toward African Americans in the nineteenth century and continuing into the twentieth. According to the paternalist defense of slavery, African Americans were childlike and unable to take proper care of themselves; therefore, they needed white "masters" to take care of them and guide them through life. After the Civil War, the paternalist argument continued to be used as a pretext for the exploitative working conditions of sharecropping, as well as for the strict code of laws and etiquette known as Jim Crow.
Making decisions for others against or apart from their wishes with the intent of doing them good.
a "parental" relationship of the government of a country over its aboriginal citizens by which the government makes most essential decisions on their behalf
governing or controlling a group, either employees or citizens of a state, in a way that suggests a father dealing with his children. In the U.S., employees generally resent being subject to paternalism, because it smacks of charity and condescension. They would rather be treated like equals and negotiate their own agreements. Other cultures, notably Japan, may feel differently about paternalism.
the attitude (of a person or a government) that subordinates should be controlled in a fatherly way for their own good
Treating another person the way a parent treats a child in an attempt to promote the other's good either without acknowledgment or against the other's wishes.
the making of judgments by government about what is good for people to have, rather than letting people choose on their own
Forced decision-making without adequate information or consent from the patient.
Paternalism refers usually to an attitude or a policy stemming from the hierarchic pattern of a family based on patriarchy, that is, there is a figurehead (the father, pater in Latin) that makes decisions on behalf of others (the "children") for their own good, even if this is contrary to their wishes.