capitalist roader

English

WOTD – 20 April 2023

Etymology

From capitalist +‎ road (figurative) +‎ -er (suffix denoting a person associated with or supporting a particular doctrine, theory, or political movement), as a calque of Chinese 走資派／走资派 (zǒuzīpài, literally “one who takes the road of capital”), a contraction of 走資本主義道路(的)當權派／走资本主义道路(的)当权派 (zǒu zīběnzhǔyì dàolù (de) dāngquánpài, “those in power who take the capitalist road”), first used in Chinese Communist Party literature in 1965.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌkæpɪt(ə)lɪst ˈɹəʊdə/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˌkæpətl̩əst ˈɹoʊdɚ/, [-ɾl̩əst-]
• Hyphenation: cap‧i‧tal‧ist road‧er

Noun

capitalist roader (plural capitalist roaders)

1. (China, Maoism, chiefly historical, derogatory) One (especially a Chinese Communist Party official) who bows to pressure from bourgeois forces and attempts to pull the Cultural Revolution in a capitalist direction. [from 1960s]

Usage notes

• The term is generally associated with the Chinese Cultural Revolution of the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Derived terms

• capitalist roadism

Translations

Translations

• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 走資派／走资派 (zau² zi¹ paai³)

  Hokkien: 走資派／走资派 (chó͘-chu-phài)

  Mandarin: 走資派／走资派 (zh) (zǒuzīpài)

• Finnish: kapitalistisen tien kulkija
• Japanese: 走資派 (sōshiha)
• Korean: 주자파(走資派) (jujapa)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: kapitalistfarer

• Russian: ка̀ппути́ст (ru) m (kàpputíst), ка̀ппути́стка f (kàpputístka)
• Spanish: compañero de ruta capitalista m, compañera de ruta capitalista f, seguidor de la vía capitalista m, seguidora de la vía capitalista f
• Swedish: kapitalistfarare
• Turkish: kapitalist yolcu

Further reading

• capitalist roader on Wikipedia.Wikipedia