plutocracy

American  

[ploo-tok-ruh-see] / pluˈtɒk rə si /

noun

plural

plutocracies

1. the rule or power of wealth or of the wealthy.

2. a government or state in which the wealthy class rules.

3. a class or group ruling, or exercising power or influence, by virtue of its wealth.

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plutocracy British  

/ ˌpluːtəˈkrætɪk, pluːˈtɒkrəsɪ /

noun

1. the rule or control of society by the wealthy

2. a state or government characterized by the rule of the wealthy

3. a class that exercises power by virtue of its wealth

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plutocracy Cultural  

1. Government by the rich. The term is usually one of reproach.

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Usage

What does plutocracy mean? Plutocracy is a term for a government in which wealthy people use their wealth to rule.This can mean that wealthy people are the actual leaders, or that they influence or control the decisions that the leaders make. Plutocracy is never used as an official term for a form of government (like democracy is, for example)—it’s almost always applied as a criticism of such situations. It is frequently used as a way of pointing out inequality and the powerful influence of the wealthy in politics and government.A country that is thought to have a plutocratic government can also be referred to as a plutocracy, as in Many outsiders saw the nation as an oppressive plutocracy. Plutocracy can also refer to the power that this kind of wealth can allow, as in His latest column explains his belief that the government has been corrupted by plutocracy. It can also refer to the wealthy class that is using wealth to rule, as in The businessman was accused of being a member of the plutocracy. A wealthy person who rules or influences leaders in a plutocracy can be called a plutocrat.Example: Average citizens are angry because they believe billionaires have turned the government into a plutocracy to benefit themselves.

Other Word Forms

• plutocratic adjective
• plutocratically adverb

Etymology

Origin of plutocracy

1645–55; < Greek ploutokratía, equivalent to ploûto ( s ) wealth + -kratia -cracy

Example Sentences

Turchin devotes a full chapter to his definition of the U.S. as a plutocracy, starting with the European history from which colonial America and then the independent republic emerged.

From Salon

First, you describe the rise of America's plutocracy as explained by history and geography and, second, that it's sustained by race and ethnicity.

From Salon

For example, it is objectively true that Donald Trump, the Republican fascists and their forces are working to end multiracial democracy and replace it with an Apartheid Christofascist plutocracy.

From Salon

It concludes with the words, “Never be afraid to attack wrong, whether by predatory plutocracy or by predatory poverty.”

From Washington Post

It probably helped that by the time Cooper fils came of age, the Vanderbilt fortune, once among the greatest in American plutocracy, had pretty much gone pfft.

From Washington Post