Trump’s New -ocracies of Government
Students and Professors of Government have to start adding new types of government, or -ocracies, to the time honored ones in order to properly discuss the many ones that have been instituted by Trump. Since I am not a Professor of Political Science, or have ever taken a course in it, I can suggest with literary license.
First, we start with a classification scheme for the new -ocracies, or as I will call them: neocracies. I would call them Trumpocracies, but Trumpocracy is the singular unique collection of daily growing facets of Trump’s governing. This actually has a literal meaning, since it means that Trumpocracy trumps all other -ocracies “anywhere and for all of time”, as the master would state.
Now for the neocracies, they start with exmakeocracy, which is government by “you just can’t make this stuff up” actions. If you don’t like that, try dismakeocracy . Some of Trump or his administration’s actions qualify higher for “you just can’t dream this stuff up”, or an exdreamocracy. But the most grating are the exnightmareocracies, which are the “you just can’t nightmare this stuff up”.
Trump’s overwhelming method of governing starts with lying, where he has already passed 5,00 over less than his first two years of his term. Should this be a falsehoodocracy, a pinnochiocracy, a pseudocracy, or simply a lieocracy?
Some of the -ocracies names just follow from the news, but I can’t elaborate them here. They include: stormyocracy, and playmateocracy. Backing a Supreme Court Justice nominee with alleged crimes could be an allegeSCocracy, or to be more specific, a Kavocracy.
Since Fox News personnel are now running White House communications and the economy and foreign relations, plus the President gets his information from Fox News instead of his cabinet departments or US intelligence, we actually have a FoxNewsocracy.
Some now claim that Trump’s mocking of Dr. Ford’s testimony at the Senate Judiciary Committee at a rally has boosted Republican interest in the midterm. If that is so, we now have a “mockocracy”, by definition.
It’s possible that Trump has cheated on taxes to the tune of $500 million. That would qualify us as a “taxcheatocracy”, literally.
We do have to mention some standard ocracies that are relevant here. A kleptocracy is a government by thieves which “exploit the people and natural resources of their own territory in order to extend their personal wealth and political power”.
A “kratocracy is a government by those who are strong enough to seize power through coercive power, social persuasion, or deceptive cunning” from Wikipedia after Montague.
A stratocracy is a government by the armed forces. Not what we have, but only too common in the world.
The Oxford English Dictionary has 60 words ending in -cracy I read, for different descriptions of government. The suggestions here even exceed my imagination, but not those that have occurred, apparently. Let me just start with the first few alphabetically:
Adhocracy – a flexible and informal style of organization and management;
Albocracy – government by whites, usually involving discrimination against people of color;
Androcracy – the rule of males.
We will now just skip around and mention ones that could be relevant:
Chrysocracy – rule of the wealthy;
Democracy – rule of the people (lest we forget);
Hierocracy – rule of religious dignitaries, should our VP take over;
Idiocracy – not what you think, means “personal rule”;
Infantocracy – what some in the White House have said, exmakeocratic;
Kakistocracy – government by its worst citizens, another exmakeocracy;
Mediacracy – dominance of mass media, which we have made specific with FoxNewsocracy.
“Mediocracy”- surprisingly not listed, or even a word by the Pages editor, but certainly a useful candidate;
Meritocracy – rule by those chosen on the basis of merit – we wish;
Mobocracy – rule by a mob – suggested yesterday by Senate Majority leader McConnell to describe Democrats – that brings to mind –
McConnellocracy – theft of a Supreme Court nomination from Obama, and “plowing through” another nomination;
Monocracy – rule by the rich;
Phallocracy – rule by males, just quoting a dictionary, don’t blame me;
Plutocracy – government by the wealthy, again;
Sociocracy – rule for the benefit of society as a whole – denounced by Trump as Socialists;
Theocracy – hello VP Pence again, and Trump’s Evangelical Advisory Board, which operates behind closed doors.
