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Kakistocracy

created by Webster 1913

(idea) by Pseudo_Intellectual (2.6 d) (print)   ?   3 C!s I like it! Wed Apr 19 2000 at 20:55:14

Sounds a lot like government by poop to me. I imagine the word caca has the same roots as the prefix of this one.

But let's think about things a bit here...

Bad men seek power over other men. The more legitimate the power, the harder it is to be stripped from him, so frequently people enter politics so they can get up to all sorts of corruptolicious goodness - nepotism, insider bids and contracts, diplomatic immunity, cover-ups and all that sort of stuff.

A classical political science analysis of a democracy tells us that the most just men will run for office, being unwilling to tolerate being governed and subject to the rule of the more immoral members of society. I believe 20th century politics have effectively refuted that, showing us that the people who most want to get into positions of power - and to be able to get into all the sorts of trouble they inevitably end up in after systematic abuse - are the ones who should least end up in a position of power.

So in a way, the results of our elections are in fact a form of government by the worst.

If you're unwilling to admit this cynical view of politics (though that would take nigh-invulnerable idealism) you should at the very least admit that what we have (well, what you in the States have) is effectively an oligarchy, where you get to choose the rich white guy who you think will screw you over the least.


(definition) by Webster 1913 (print) 7 C!s I like it! Wed Dec 22 1999 at 0:37:28

Kak`is*toc"ra*cy (?), n. [Gr. worst + to rule.]

Government by the worst men.

 

© Webster 1913.


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