Meanings
MacDonaldism1
- UKuncountableThe centrist political policies of Ramsay MacDonald, especially after his split with the Labour Party in 1931.
The allegation of 'MacDonaldism' would still be spat at Jenkins himself as late as the 1980s.
2014, John Campbell, Roy Jenkins2 more examples
Initially substance was limited but, eventually, moves to resolve this issue came with the publication of For Socialism and Peace which proposed a move away from MacDonaldism towards a highly planned economy and large state.
2012, Matt Cole, Political Parties in Britain, page 29In a sense this pretence is a form of 'intellectual MacDonaldism'. Where 'MacDonaldism' consists in the betrayal of the needs of the movement for personal position, the 'doctrine' commentators betray the party in a more subtle and more fundamental way.
2018, H. M. Drucker, Doctrine and Ethos in the Labour Party
Macdonaldism2
- CanadauncountableThe policies recommended by the Macdonald Commission, especially the neoliberal economic policies and emphasis on free trade.
And since 1993, the Liberals have practiced “Macdonaldism” with a vengeance.
2015, Richard Roman, Edur Velasco Arregui, Mel Watkins, Continental Crucible, page 272 more examples
The second development revolved around the growth of a radical alternative to Macdonaldism.
1994, Neville Kirk, Labour and Society in Britain and the USA, page 75And over and above this blatant injustice, through an ever-expanding global network the dehumanizing consequences of a certain uniform model of culture (call it cultural Macdonaldism) are spreading to the whole of the planet and eroding away the original local cultures.
2004, Luiz Carlos Susin, Jon Sobrino, Felix Wilfred, A different world is possible, page 71
Origin
MacDonaldism · noun
From MacDonald + -ism after Ramsay MacDonald, founder of the British Labour Party.
Full word history & related roots →Macdonaldism · noun
From Macdonald + -ism, from Donald Stovel Macdonald, the chair of the Royal Commission on the Economic Union and Development Prospects for Canada (the Macdonald Commission).
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
MacDonaldism. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/MacDonaldism
“MacDonaldism.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/MacDonaldism. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “MacDonaldism,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/MacDonaldism.
Source: MacDonaldism on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.