maximalism

English

Etymology

maximal +‎ -ism, by analogy with minimalism.

Noun

maximalism (usually uncountable, plural maximalisms)

1. The opposite of minimalism: a tendency toward excess.
   • [1981 October 25, Robert Coe, “Philip Glass Breaks Through”, in The New York Times‎^[1], →ISSN:

     With its romantic harmonies out of Berlioz, the 4½-hour “Einstein” score marked a passage out of Minimalism into a new genre that John Rockwell dubbed “Maximalism.”]

   • 2005 December 1, Elaine Louie, “A Maximalist Aesthetic Puts Playfulness to Work”, in The New York Times‎^[2], →ISSN:

     The design trend known as maximalism has arrived in the workplace.

   • 2008, James Boyle, The Public Domain: Enclosing the Commons of the Mind, Yale University Press, →ISBN, page 228:

     Though it proclaims itself to be unaffected by economic thought, it is in fact deeply influenced by the “more rights equals more innovation” ideology of maximalism that I have described in these pages.

   • 2007 April 26, Eric Wilson, “If There’s a Buck in It Somewhere”, in New York Times‎^[3]:

     “Antlers have a kind of maximalism that satisfies our urge for things to be overdesigned,” said David Wolfe, the creative director of the Doneger Group, which forecasts fashion and retail trends.

   • 2023 June 25, Lia Picard, “Barbiecore Is Surging Its Way into Home Décor and Interior Design”, in The New York Times‎^[4], →ISSN:

     Hot pink fits right into maximalism, which experienced a resurgence in recent years as a response to the cool minimalist aesthetic that dominated Instagram feeds for so long.

2. An ideology favoring radical or aggressive action to achieve expansive goals; the stance of maximalists.
   • 1994, Mark A. Tessler, A History of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, Bloomington: Indiana University Press, →ISBN, page 469:

     In other words, in contrast to supporters of Gahal and other advocates of territorial maximalism, they judged peace with their neighbors to be more important than Jewish sovereignty over as much of the Land of Israel as possible.

   • 2007 December 9, K. Deonandan, D. Close, From Revolutionary Movements to Political Parties: Cases from Latin America and Africa, Springer, →ISBN, page 10:

     Maximalism, that is, a predisposition to seek unconditional victory, is one of these. Politico-military movements are almost always revolutionary in the sense that they propose to use violence to change the existing regime.

   • 2019 March 7, Rex Brynen, Echoes Of The Intifada: Regional Repercussions Of The Palestinian-israeli Conflict, Routledge, →ISBN:

     Debates between advocates of territorial maximalism and supporters of territorial compromise place heavy emphasis on considerations of military security.

Related terms

• maximalist

Translations

tendency toward excess

• Catalan: maximalisme m
• Esperanto: maksimumismo
• French: maximalisme (fr) m
• German: Maximalismus m
• Greek: μαξιμαλισμός (el) m (maximalismós)
• Italian: massimalismo (it) m
• Portuguese: maximalismo m
• Russian: максимали́зм (ru) m (maksimalízm)
• Spanish: maximalismo m
• Ukrainian: максималі́зм m (maksymalízm)
• Yiddish: מאַקסימאַליזם (maksimalizm)

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from Russian максимализм (maksimalizm). Equivalent to maximal +‎ -ism.

Noun

maximalism m (uncountable)

1. maximalism

Declension

declension of maximalism (singular only)

	singular
m gender	indefinite articulation	definite articulation
nominative/accusative	(un) maximalism	maximalismul
genitive/dative	(unui) maximalism	maximalismului
vocative	maximalismule