kakistocracy
/kakɪsˈtɒkɹəsɪ/
kakistocracy means government under the control of a nation's worst or least-qualified citizens. It carries an Arena rating of 1622, earned across 3 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, kakistocracy ranks #67 of 17,126 for Most Satisfying to Say, #244 of 17,128 for Most Ponderous Words, #1,360 of 17,131 for Scariest Words, #2,709 of 17,104 for Most Storied Words.
kakistocracy is pronounced /kakɪsˈtɒkɹəsɪ/.
Why “kakistocracy” is a great word
Government by the worst or least-qualified citizens of a state. From the Ancient Greek κάκιστος (kákistos, "worst"), superlative of κακός (kakós, "bad") + -κρατία (-kratía, "power, rule, government"), coined in 1829 by Thomas Love Peacock. Unlike "aristocracy" (rule by a hereditary elite, the presumed "best") or "meritocracy" (rule by the demonstrably able), a kakistocracy is the systematic elevation of deficiency itself—the appointment of the incompetent sycophant, the voice of the charlatan drowning out the expert, and the slow, grinding replacement of institutional memory with performative ignorance. It is the grim spectacle of a society selecting, through its own mechanisms, the precise qualities that ensure its malfunction.
Etymology
From Ancient Greek κάκιστος (kákistos, “worst”), superlative of κακός (kakós, “bad”) + -κρατία (-kratía, “power, rule, government”) (corresponding to -cracy). The word was used, perhaps re-coined, by the English author Thomas Love Peacock (1785–1866) in his 1829 novella The Misfortunes of Elphin as the opposite of aristocracy (see second quotation).
noun
- Government under the control of a nation's worst or least-qualified citizens.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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