kleptarchy

Etymology

From klepto- + -archy.

kleptarchy means kleptocracy; rule by one or more thieves. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 87 out of 100.

Why “kleptarchy” is a great word

KLEPTARCHY — [Noun] A system of governance wherein those in power systematically exploit national wealth for private enrichment. From the combining form klepto- (from Ancient Greek κλέπτης (kléptēs), "thief") + -archy (from Ancient Greek -αρχία (-arkhía), "rule, government"). Unlike plutocracy, which denotes rule by an established wealthy class, or its more common doublet kleptocracy, kleptarchy sharpens the focus to the primal act of plunder as the state's foundational principle. It is the offshore account fattened by embezzled mineral rents, the public utility sold for a pittance to a minister's cousin, and the national treasury functioning as a private vault—a hollowing-out so complete that governance is revealed as the most lucrative form of organized crime.

noun

Kleptocracy; rule by one or more thieves.“First, there is this great outstanding fact: that from the day of our independence the soul of the American people has been growing more and more democratic, and where the spirit of democracy is, whatever the institutional maladjustment, even a kleptarchy cannot go far wrong.”