Monday, 27 February 2017

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. Note the difference between the suffix 'archy', meaning 'rulership', and 'cracy', meaning 'power', which both come from Greek roots. 

  1. acracy         government by none; anarchy
  2. adhocracy   government in an unstructured fashion
  3. albocracy     government by white people
  4. anarchy      government by none
  5. androcracy       government by men
  6. anemocracy   government by the wind or by whim
  7. angelocracy   government by angels
  8. antarchy     opposition to government; anarchy
  9. argentocracy   government by money
  10. aristarchy   government by the best
  11. aristocracy   government by the nobility
  12. arithmocracy   government by simple majority
  13. autarchy     government by an absolute ruler
  14. autocracy   government by one individual
  15. barbarocracy   government by barbarians
  16. beerocracy   government by brewers or brewing interests
  17. bestiocracy   rule by beasts
  18. biarchy     government by two people; diarchy
  19. binarchy     government by two people; diarchy
  20. bureaucracy   government by civil servants
  21. cannonarchy   government by superior firepower or by cannons
  22. capelocracy   government by shopkeepers
  23. chiliarchy     government by one thousand people
  24. chirocracy   government by physical force
  25. chromatocracy government by rulers of a particular skin colour
  26. chrysoaristocracy government by the wealthy; plutocracy
  27. chrysocracy   government by the wealthy; plutocracy
  28. corpocracy   government by corporate bureaucrats
  29. cosmarchy   rulership over the entire world, esp. by the devil
  30. cottonocracy   government by those involved in the cotton trade
  31. cryptarchy   secret rulership
  32. decadarchy   government by ten individuals; decarchy
  33. decarchy     government by ten individuals
  34. demarchy   government by the people; popular government
  35. democracy   government by the people
  36. demonarchy   government by a demon
  37. demonocracy   government by demons or evil forces
  38. despotocracy   government by despots or tyrants
  39. diabolocracy   government by the Devil
  40. diarchy     government by two people
  41. dinarchy     government by two people; diarchy
  42. dodecarchy   government by twelve people
  43. doulocracy   government by slaves
  44. duarchy     government by two people; diarchy
  45. dulocracy     government by slaves; doulocracy
  46. dyarchy     government by two people; diarchy
  47. ecclesiarchy   government by clerics or ecclesiastical authorities
  48. endarchy     centralised government
  49. ergatocracy   government by the workers or the working class
  50. ethnarchy   government over an ethnic group
  51. ethnocracy   government by an ethnic group or race
  52. exarchy     government by bishops
  53. foolocracy   government by fools
  54. gerontocracy   government by the aged
  55. gunarchy     government by women; gynarchy
  56. gymnasiarchy   government over a school or academy
  57. gynaecocracy   government by women; gynarchy
  58. gynarchy     government by women
  59. gynocracy   government by women; gynarchy
  60. hagiarchy   government by saints or holy persons
  61. hagiocracy   government by holy men
  62. hamarchy   government by a cooperative body of parts
  63. hecatarchy   government by one hundred people; hecatontarchy
  64. hecatontarchy   government by one hundred people
  65. hendecarchy   government by eleven people
  66. heptarchy   government by seven people
  67. heroarchy   government by heroes
  68. hetaerocracy   government by paramours
  69. heterarchy   government by a foreign ruler
  70. hierarchy     government by a ranked body; government by priests
  71. hierocracy   government by priests or religious ministers
  72. hipparchy   rule or control of horses
  73. hoplarchy   government by the military
  74. hyperanarchy   condition of extreme anarchy
  75. hyperarchy   excessive government
  76. iatrarchy     government by physicians
  77. idiocracy     personal rule; self-rule
  78. infantocracy   government by an infant
  79. isocracy     equal political power
  80. jesuitocracy   government by Jesuits
  81. juntocracy   government by a junta
  82. kakistocracy   government by the worst
  83. kleptocracy   government by thieves
  84. kritarchy     government by judges
  85. landocracy   government by the propertied class; timocracy
  86. logocracy     government of words
  87. matriarchy   government by women or mothers
  88. meritocracy   government by the meritorious
  89. merocracy   government by a part of the citizenry
  90. mesocracy   government by the middle classes
  91. metrocracy   government by mothers or women; matriarchy
  92. millionocracy   government by millionaires
  93. millocracy   government by mill owners
  94. mobocracy   government by mobs or crowds
  95. monarchy   government by one individual
  96. moneyocracy   government by the monied classes
  97. monocracy   government by one individual
  98. myriarchy   government by ten thousand individuals
  99. narcokleptocracy government by those who profit from trade in illegal drugs
  100. navarchy     rulership over the seas
  101. neocracy     government by new or inexperienced rulers
  102. nomocracy   government based on legal system; rule of law
  103. ochlocracy   government by mobs
  104. octarchy     government by eight people
  105. oligarchy     government by the few
  106. paedarchy   government by children
  107. paedocracy   government by children; paedarchy
  108. panarchy     universal rule or dominion
  109. pantarchy   government by all the people; world government
  110. pantisocracy   government by all equally
  111. paparchy     government by the pope
  112. papyrocracy   government by newspapers or literature
  113. parsonarchy   government by parsons
  114. partocracy   government by a single unopposed political party
  115. patriarchy   government by men or fathers
  116. pedantocracy   government by pedants or strict rule-bound scholars
  117. pentarchy   government by five individuals
  118. phallocracy   government by men
  119. philosophocracy government by philosophers
  120. phylarchy     government by a specific class or tribe
  121. physiocracy   government according to natural laws or principles
  122. pigmentocracy government by those of one skin colour
  123. plantocracy   government by plantation owners
  124. plousiocracy   government by the wealthy; plutocracy
  125. plutarchy     government by the wealthy; plutocracy
  126. plutocracy   government by the wealthy
  127. polarchy     government by many people; polyarchy
  128. policeocracy   government by police
  129. pollarchy     government by the multitude or a mob; ochlocracy
  130. polyarchy     government by many people
  131. polycracy     government by many rulers; polyarchy
  132. popocracy   government by populists
  133. pornocracy   government by harlots
  134. prophetocracy   government by a prophet
  135. psephocracy   government resulting from election by ballot
  136. ptochocracy   government by beggars or paupers; wholesale pauperization
  137. punditocracy   government by political pundits
  138. quangocracy   rule of quasi-autonomous non-governmental organizations
  139. rotocracy     government by those who control rotten boroughs
  140. septarchy     government by seven rulers; heptarchy
  141. shopocracy       government by shopkeepers
  142. slavocracy   government by slave-owners
  143. snobocracy   government by snobs
  144. sociocracy   government by society as a whole
  145. squarsonocracy government by landholding clergymen
  146. squatterarchy   government by squatters; squattocracy
  147. squattocracy   government by squatters
  148. squirearchy   government by squires
  149. squirocracy   government by squires; squirearchy
  150. statocracy   government by the state alone
  151. stratarchy   rulership over an army
  152. stratocracy   military rule or despotism
  153. strumpetocracy government by strumpets
  154. synarchy     joint sovereignty
  155. technocracy      government by technical experts
  156. tetradarchy   government by four people; tetrarchy
  157. tetrarchy     government by four people
  158. thalassiarchy   sovereignty of the seas; thalassocracy
  159. thalassocracy   sovereignty of the seas
  160. thearchy     rule by a god or gods; body of divine rulers
  161. theatrocracy   goverment by gathered assemblies of citizens
  162. theocracy   government by priests or by religious law
  163. timarchy     government by the propertied class; timocracy
  164. timocracy     government by the propertied class
  165. triarchy     government by three people
  166. tritarchy     government by three people; triarchy
  167. tritheocracy   government by three gods
  168. whiggarchy   government by Whigs
  169. xenocracy   government by a body of foreigners

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