
Kakistocracy - barryrandall
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kakistocracy
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0x8BADF00D
"Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and
deserve to get it good and hard."

H.L. Mencken

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empath75
It's really just another way of saying "oligarchy", which is the negative form
of "aristocracy."

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papeda
Oligarchy translates literally as "rule by the few" [1], and aristocracy as
"rule by the excellent" [2]. Kakistocracy is "rule by the worst" per the
featured article. So kakistocracy and aristocracy are opposites, and oligarchy
describes something different: the number, not quality, of rulers.

[1]
[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oligarchy](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oligarchy)

[2]
[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aristocracy](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aristocracy)

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gonzus
Anybody who knows more Greek: is this word in any way related to a Greek word
for excrement?

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alexwasserman
I'd always assumed it was leadership by the shit, similarly to poppycock -
[https://www.etymonline.com/word/poppycock](https://www.etymonline.com/word/poppycock)

But, that's a latin root, not greek.

Then again - it does suggest the same root:
[https://www.etymonline.com/word/*kakka-?ref=etymonline_cross...](https://www.etymonline.com/word/*kakka-?ref=etymonline_crossreference)

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dang
_1865, American English, probably from Dutch dialect pappekak, from Middle
Dutch pappe "soft food" (see pap) + kak "dung," from Latin cacare "to excrete"
(from PIE root kakka- "to defecate")._

Wow, poppycock literally means shit pabulum. I had no idea. Puts a new spin on
[https://www.google.com/search?q=poppycock&source=lnms&tbm=is...](https://www.google.com/search?q=poppycock&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj1u43Xg9_oAhVTo54KHXFIDJoQ_AUoAnoECBQQBA&biw=1370&bih=943).

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johnmorrow
also
[https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Khakistocracy&red...](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Khakistocracy&redirect=no)

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plausible
Now that's a sophisticated name for the way my country is governed.

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amelius
Article doesn't explain how these are formed.

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ceejayoz
That's in
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_United_States_presidentia...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_United_States_presidential_election).
;-)

More seriously: Political cronyism, charismatic demagogues, pandering via
popular but bad policies, etc.

