Centralism is a way of running a country or a big organisation so that one group in the middle — a capital, a head office, a ruling party — holds the real power and tells other places what to do. Towns, schools, or branches do not decide much on their own. The word names the system or the belief, not one day’s action; it is a serious, slightly formal noun you meet in civics, history, and news. Though actually, almost every country mixes centre and local power; we say “centralism” when the mix leans hard toward the centre. Some people use it as a plan (same rules everywhere, the country held together). Others use it as a complaint (too much control from above, no room for local life). It is about who gets to decide, not about a building standing in the middle of a city.

中央集權（主義）