Forms of Government It has been suggested that every government which has ever existed has been a prime example of kakistocracy, or the rule of the worst, but this list of 169 different types of government suggests that that might be a bit too simplistic. Each of the following words indicates a form of government or type of leadership by a certain kind of person or institution. Everyone seems to want to get in on this rulership gig, from saints and mothers to beggars and prostitutes (hmm ...). Etymologically-minded folks should note the difference between the suffix 'archy', meaning 'rulership', and 'cracy', meaning 'power', which both come from Greek roots. This fact, of course, should suggest to any reasonable-minded person that the Greek people are inherently more fit to rule than all other groups. Just a theory, mind you ...

Word Definition acracy government by none; anarchy adhocracy government in an unstructured fashion; an unstructured organization albocracy government by white people anarchy government by none androcracy government by men anemocracy government by the wind or by whim angelocracy government by angels antarchy opposition to government; anarchy argentocracy government by money aristarchy government by the best aristocracy government by the nobility arithmocracy government by simple majority autarchy government by an absolute ruler autocracy government by one individual barbarocracy government by barbarians beerocracy government by brewers or brewing interests bestiocracy rule by beasts biarchy government by two people; diarchy binarchy government by two people; diarchy bureaucracy government by civil servants cannonarchy government by superior firepower or by cannons capelocracy government by shopkeepers chiliarchy government by one thousand people chirocracy government by physical force chromatocracy government by rulers of a particular skin colour chrysoaristocracy government by the wealthy; plutocracy chrysocracy government by the wealthy; plutocracy corpocracy government by corporate bureaucrats cosmarchy rulership over the entire world, esp. by the devil cottonocracy government by those involved in the cotton trade cryptarchy secret rulership decadarchy government by ten individuals; decarchy decarchy government by ten individuals demarchy government by the people; popular government democracy government by the people demonarchy government by a demon demonocracy government by demons or evil forces despotocracy government by despots or tyrants diabolocracy government by the Devil diarchy government by two people dinarchy government by two people; diarchy dodecarchy government by twelve people doulocracy government by slaves duarchy government by two people; diarchy dulocracy government by slaves; doulocracy dyarchy government by two people; diarchy ecclesiarchy government by clerics or ecclesiastical authorities endarchy centralised government ergatocracy government by the workers or the working class ethnarchy government over an ethnic group ethnocracy government by an ethnic group or race exarchy government by bishops foolocracy government by fools gerontocracy government by the aged gunarchy government by women; gynarchy gymnasiarchy government over a school or academy gynaecocracy government by women; gynarchy gynarchy government by women gynocracy government by women; gynarchy hagiarchy government by saints or holy persons hagiocracy government by holy men hamarchy government by a cooperative body of parts hecatarchy government by one hundred people; hecatontarchy hecatontarchy government by one hundred people hendecarchy government by eleven people heptarchy government by seven people heroarchy government by heroes hetaerocracy government by paramours heterarchy government by a foreign ruler hierarchy government by a ranked body; government by priests hierocracy government by priests or religious ministers hipparchy rule or control of horses hoplarchy government by the military hyperanarchy condition of extreme anarchy hyperarchy excessive government iatrarchy government by physicians idiocracy personal rule; self-rule infantocracy government by an infant isocracy equal political power jesuitocracy government by Jesuits juntocracy government by a junta kakistocracy government by the worst kleptocracy government by thieves kritarchy government by judges landocracy government by the propertied class; timocracy logocracy government of words matriarchy government by women or mothers meritocracy government by the meritorious merocracy government by a part of the citizenry mesocracy government by the middle classes metrocracy government by mothers or women; matriarchy millionocracy government by millionaires millocracy government by mill owners mobocracy government by mobs or crowds monarchy government by one individual moneyocracy government by the monied classes monocracy government by one individual myriarchy government by ten thousand individuals narcokleptocracy government by those who profit from trade in illegal drugs navarchy rulership over the seas neocracy government by new or inexperienced rulers nomocracy government based on legal system; rule of law ochlocracy government by mobs octarchy government by eight people oligarchy government by the few paedarchy government by children paedocracy government by children; paedarchy panarchy universal rule or dominion pantarchy government by all the people; world government pantisocracy government by all equally paparchy government by the pope papyrocracy government by newspapers or literature parsonarchy government by parsons partocracy government by a single unopposed political party patriarchy government by men or fathers pedantocracy government by pedants or strict rule-bound scholars pentarchy government by five individuals phallocracy government by men philosophocracy government by philosophers phylarchy government by a specific class or tribe physiocracy government according to natural laws or principles pigmentocracy government by those of one skin colour plantocracy government by plantation owners plousiocracy government by the wealthy; plutocracy plutarchy government by the wealthy; plutocracy plutocracy government by the wealthy polarchy government by many people; polyarchy policeocracy government by police pollarchy government by the multitude or a mob; ochlocracy polyarchy government by many people polycracy government by many rulers; polyarchy popocracy government by populists pornocracy government by harlots prophetocracy government by a prophet psephocracy government resulting from election by ballot ptochocracy government by beggars or paupers; wholesale pauperization punditocracy government by political pundits quangocracy rule of quasi-autonomous non-governmental organizations rotocracy government by those who control rotten boroughs septarchy government by seven rulers; heptarchy shopocracy government by shopkeepers slavocracy government by slave-owners snobocracy government by snobs sociocracy government by society as a whole squarsonocracy government by landholding clergymen squatterarchy government by squatters; squattocracy squattocracy government by squatters squirearchy government by squires squirocracy government by squires; squirearchy statocracy government by the state alone, without ecclesiastical influence stratarchy rulership over an army stratocracy military rule or despotism strumpetocracy government by strumpets synarchy joint sovereignty technocracy government by technical experts tetradarchy government by four people; tetrarchy tetrarchy government by four people thalassiarchy sovereignty of the seas; thalassocracy thalassocracy sovereignty of the seas thearchy rule by a god or gods; body of divine rulers theatrocracy goverment by gathered assemblies of citizens theocracy government by priests or by religious law timarchy government by the propertied class; timocracy timocracy government by the propertied class triarchy government by three people tritarchy government by three people; triarchy tritheocracy government by three gods whiggarchy government by Whigs xenocracy government by a body of foreigners



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