Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Radičová, Iveta, 1956–, Slovakian political leader, b. Bratislava. A sociologist, she graduated from the Univ. of Bratislava (B.A., 1979; Ph.D., 1981), later teaching at Comenius Univ. and doing r...

(Encyclopedia) Ramgoolam, Sir Seewoosagur, 1900–1985, Mauritian political leader. A physician, he was a leader of the Labor party and active in the Mauritian independence movement. Ramgoolam served as chief minist...

(Encyclopedia) reductions, Span. reducciones, settlements of indigenous peoples in colonial Latin America, founded (beginning in 1609) to utilize efficiently native labor and to teach the natives the ways of Spanish...

(Encyclopedia) Thomas, James Henry, 1874–1949, British statesman and labor leader. A railroad worker, he held various offices in the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants and was a leader of the railway strike o...

(Encyclopedia) Great Leap Forward, 1957–60, Chinese economic plan aimed at revitalizing all sectors of the economy. Initiated by Mao Zedong, the plan emphasized decentralized, labor-intensive industrialization, ty...

(Encyclopedia)  CE5 Malta môlˈtə [key], officially Republic of Malta, republic (2015 est. pop. 428,000), 122 sq mi (316 sq km), in the Mediterranean Sea S of Sicily. It comprises the islands of Malta (95 sq mi/...

(Encyclopedia) marriage, socially sanctioned union that reproduces the family. In all societies the choice of partners is generally guided by rules of exogamy (the obligation to marry outside a group); some societie...

(Encyclopedia) capitalism, economic system based on private ownership of the means of production, in which personal profit can be acquired through investment of capital and employment of labor. Capitalism is grounde...

(Encyclopedia) wages, payment received by an employee in exchange for labor. It may be in goods or services but is customarily in money. The term in a broad sense refers to what is received in any way for labor, but...

(Encyclopedia) Li Keqiang, 1955–2023, Chinese political leader. He became a member of the Communist party while performing manual labor in th...