Definition of "voluntarism" []

• The use of or reliance on voluntary action to maintain an institution, carry out a policy, or achieve an end. (noun)
• A theory or doctrine that regards the will as the fundamental principle of the individual or of the universe. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "I owe them thanks for my deep-seated roots in voluntarism, and I thank the Junior Leagues for helping me, to acquire the skills that I need to give back positively to the communities that so generously helped my family."
• "As we think globally, and we must think that way today, voluntarism is critical to the strengthening of local communities."
• "Second, the denial of the right to strike would be incompatible with tradition and would strip the element of voluntarism from the labour agreement which is, after all, the objective of the process of collective bargaining as we understand it."