ochlagogy means manipulation of a mob by use of inflammatory rhetoric, casting opprobrium, and by appeal to the lowest common denominator generally; extreme and wholly unscrupulous demagogy; the practice of an ochlagogue. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 83 out of 100.
ochlagogy is pronounced /ˈɒkləˌɡɒd͡ʒi/.
Why “ochlagogy” is a great word
OCHLAGOGY — [Noun] The unscrupulous art of directing a mob through incitement, slander, and appeals to primal emotion. From Ancient Greek ὄχλος (ókhlos, "mob, crowd") + ἀγωγός (agōgós, "leading, guide"), patterned after 'demagogy'. Unlike "demagogy" (which typically courts popular sentiment) or "pedagogy" (which seeks to instruct), ochlagogy is the pedagogy of the pitchfork, a curriculum of chaos. It is the calculated shout that turns a grievance into a riot, the hissed lie that transmutes a neighbor into a demon, and the raised fist that converts a crowd into a single, mindless force—a grim proof that the most ancient form of politics is not conversation, but conflagration.
noun
- Manipulation of a mob by use of inflammatory rhetoric, casting opprobrium, and by appeal to the lowest common denominator generally; extreme and wholly unscrupulous demagogy; the practice of an ochlagogue.“One can imagine what Epicurus would have thought of the ochlagogy of Herodes Atticus and his contemporaries, and the noisy demonstrations which it evoked.”