As we lurch into this gruesome new chapter of American history, we’re throwing around a lot of words that end in -ism, -archy, and -ocracy. However, most of us (myself included) don’t know the words’ meanings as well as we should, resulting in some misuse and misunderstanding. To help myself and others organize the words, I’ve made a list. The definitions are copied from the dictionary at https://www.merriam-webster.com/ with no changes other than formatting, but I added my personal commentary and interpretation below each definition. Note that a lot of these terms legitimately overlap, like monarchy is a type of autocracy. So this isn't an, "if it's one thing it's not the other thing" situation.
Section 1: isms
ism [as a word by itself] (noun)
1: a distinctive doctrine, cause, or theory
2: an oppressive and especially discriminatory attitude or
belief
*We don’t’ use “ism” by itself very much. However, it’s
interesting that it has two possible meanings: 1- A system you follow, like capitalism and Buddhism, which could be good or bad. 2- A negative attitude. The negative definition of ism comes from its use in
words like racism, sexism, and ageism. (See definition 1c of the -ism suffix.)
-ism [as the ending of a word] (noun suffix)
1a: act : practice : process (e.g., criticism, plagiarism)
1b: manner of action or behavior characteristic of a
(specified) person or thing (e.g., animalism)
1c: prejudice or discrimination on the basis of a
(specified) attribute (e.g., racism, sexism, ageism)
*The 1a and 1b kinds of -ism words aren’t particularly
relevant to economics and politics, but the 1c kinds of -ism are. For example, propaganda
produced by fascist demagogues (more on them later) provokes racism, sexism, anti-intellectualism
and other isms to misdirect working-class anger away from the ruling class and towards
scapegoat groups. Not all prejudices have -ism words, though. For example, homophobia
and transphobia (prejudices against gay and transgender people) don’t have ism
words. Xenophobia (fear of foreigners) has a similar meaning to nativism, although
we don’t use either of those words very often. We usually just describe that
attitude as being “anti-immigrant.”
2a: state : condition : property (e.g., barbarianism)
2b: abnormal state or condition resulting from excess of a
specified thing (e.g., alcoholism) or marked by resemblance to such a person or
thing (e.g., giantism)
*The 2a and 2b type of -ism words aren’t usually relevant
to economics and politics, but the 2b type can come up indirectly such as in
discussions of whether an ism like narcissism (an excessive sense of one’s own importance often coupled with an inability to
understand and care about others) is a problematic trait in a leader.
3a: doctrine : theory : religion (e.g., Buddhism)
3b: adherence to a system or a class of principles (e.g., stoicism)
4: characteristic or peculiar feature or trait (e.g., colloquialism)
*The type 3a and 3b -ism words, which include capitalism,
communism, fascism, etc., are the main ones that come up in economic and
political discussions. Some are defined below.
Populism
1: a political philosophy or movement that represents or is
claimed to represent the interests of ordinary people especially against the
Establishment
2: general concern for ordinary people
*Populism can be a good way of motivating people to fight
against real injustice, like when you need an angry mob with torches and
pitchforks to oust an evil king. But populism can also describe the technique
of stoking public anger and directing it towards selfish ends, such as putting
yourself in power. This is how a “demagogue” uses populism. A good example of
unscrupulous populism/demagoguery was when Donald Trump lied about the 2020
election being stolen and rallied an angry mob to storm the capitol on January
6th, 2021 as an attempt to subvert democracy and stay in power. Populism is one of the ingredients in the next ism, Fascism.
Fascism
1: a
populist political philosophy, movement, or regime (such as that of the Fascisti) that
exalts nation and often race above the individual, that is associated with a centralized
autocratic government
headed by a dictatorial leader,
and that is characterized by severe economic and social regimentation and by
forcible suppression of opposition
2: a tendency toward or actual exercise of
strong autocratic or dictatorial control
*In World War II, the Axis powers (the bad guys; Germany,
Italy, Japan, etc.) were all lead by fascist leaders. Fascism is a “far right”
political philosophy with extreme social and economic conservatism,
authoritarianism, nationalism, sexism, and nativism. Fascists get into power
with promises to strengthen the nation or glorify a chosen race or religion,
then they greatly empower a small group of rulers or a dictator, brutally
oppress all opposition, and ultimately lead the whole nation and themselves to ruin.
There has never been a “good” fascism. In the video below, American economist
Robert Reich assesses whether Donald Trump is a fascist. Spoiler alert – Yes,
100%.
Nationalism
1: an ideology that elevates one nation or
nationality above all others and that places primary emphasis on promotion of
its culture and interests as opposed to those of other nations, nationalities,
or supranational groups
(like the European Union or the United Nations)
2: support for and promotion of the political
independence or self-determination of a nation or people
3: a nationalist movement or government
*Nationalism is related to patriotism (which I talked about in a previous blog post https://jimbodouglass.blogspot.com/2018/05/patriotism-good-bad-or-its-complicated.html), but it’s an excessive, aggressive type of patriotism full of hate for other countries and often racism and nativism. I think the American Republican party’s “tea party” wing, which has morphed into Donald Trump’s “MAGA” movement, is a form of nationalism. "White nationalism" is an explicitly racist form of nationalism that has also come to the fore with the tea party and MAGA.
Colonialism
1a: domination of a people or area by a foreign
state or nation : the practice of extending and maintaining a
nation's political and economic control over another people or area
b: the policy of or belief in acquiring and
retaining colonies
*Usually we think of colonialism as the expansion of
European countries’ global influence from the 1400s to the 1900s; part of
history but not part of the present. For most of my life (1979 – ), when we
talked about colonialism it was about the problematic legacy of colonialism.
I.e., how past colonialism contributed to economic and political problems in
colonized countries that persisted even after most of the countries freed
themselves from their colonizing powers. However, a glance at the modern world
indicates that colonialism is disturbingly still active, such as in the
invading and conquering of other lands and peoples practiced by Russia, Israel,
China, etc. I think Donald Trump’s outrageous talk about annexing Greenland, Gaza, etc.
is an ugly attempt to resurrect colonialism. Colonialism caused centuries
of strife. Let’s not do it again.
Imperialism
1: the policy, practice, or advocacy of
extending the power and dominion of a nation especially by direct territorial
acquisitions or by gaining indirect control over the political or economic life
of other areas
2: imperial government,
power, or authority: an imperial system
*Imperialism is similar to colonialism. I think the word is
just more focused on the colonizing power and its ruler, who could be an Emperor-
(Emperor- 1: the sovereign or supreme male monarch of an empire).
Another related ism word is Expansionism: a policy or practice
of expansion and
especially of territorial expansion by a nation. China’s territorial expansion
in the South China Sea and activities in other parts of the world could
probably be classified as imperialism / expansionism. Russia’s invasion of
Ukraine could be, as well. The last time the US acquired new territory was in
1947 when it claimed some Pacific Islands we had occupied during WWII. However,
because we still have so much territory and exert so much economic and military
pressure around the world we probably fit in the empire / imperialism category,
too.
Capitalism
: an economic system characterized by private or
corporate ownership of capital goods, by investments that are determined by
private decision, and by prices, production, and the distribution of goods that
are determined mainly by competition in a free market
*Capital means stuff you can use or sell. Capitalism means he who has the stuff gets to decide what to do with the stuff, like whether to sell it and how much to sell it for. Many people like capitalism because it seems to provide a lot of choices and opportunities and reward hard work and ingenuity. In theory, capitalism rewards the greatest contributors to society with the most wealth while punishing foolish and lazy people with poverty. Some people think capitalism is fair and works well, while others are skeptical. I’m one of the skeptical ones because I think what the system rewards is not always hard work and ingenuity, but often hereditary wealth and the ruthless exploitation of others. What capitalism punishes is not just foolishness or laziness, but also honesty, generosity, and the misfortune of being born to not-rich parents.
*Capitalism is also unstable, because the more stuff you have, the more power and
influence you have, and you can use that to get even MORE stuff and MORE power,
in a kind of snowball effect. Money and power are linked to real things on the
planet that are limited in supply, like land and water, so as a few people
acquire massive amounts through the snowball effect, there’s less for everyone
else. Over time, in what some people call “late-stage capitalism,” most of the
stuff and most of the power end up controlled by just a small number of people with
big business monopolies – an oligarchy. Most economists think that capitalism
needs to be regulated in some manner to prevent that total monopolization of
money and power, but it’s hard to get the regulations to stick because those
with money and power are good at influencing the political process to escape
regulation.
Communism
1a: a system in which goods are owned in common and are
available to all as needed
1b: a theory advocating elimination of private property
2a: a doctrine based on revolutionary Marxian socialism and
Marxism-Leninism that was the official ideology of the Soviet Union
2b: a totalitarian system of government in which a single
authoritarian party controls state-owned means of production
2c: a final stage of society in Marxist theory in which the
state has withered away and economic goods are distributed equitably
2d: communist systems collectively
*This economic ism has some aspects that are appealing in
theory, like the emphasis on empowering workers, sharing resources, and taking
care of all people. However, it is typically coupled with one-party totalitarian
/ authoritarian political systems more concerned with state power than with human
rights and civil liberties. The track record of the world’s communist countries
is mostly bad, with lots of political corruption and bureaucracy, economic
woes, human rights abuses, etc. Today Cuba, China, Vietnam, Laos, and North
Korea are the remaining countries classified as communist. They vary in how
much government ownership and economic control they have. China has a lot of private
sector business activity so it’s kind of a blend of socialism and capitalism.
Socialism
1: any of various egalitarian economic and political theories or movements advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods [Egalitarianism is the doctrine that all people are equal and deserve equal rights and opportunities.]
2a: a system of society or group living in which there is
no private property
2b: a system or condition of society in which the means of
production are owned and controlled by the state
3: a stage of society in Marxist theory that is
transitional between capitalism and communism (see communism sense 2c) and is
distinguished by unequal distribution of goods and pay according to work done
*Socialism is where organizations and infrastructure are funded and managed by the government, and the government provides various services and help for people. It’s like the economic part of communism, but not including the one-party authoritarian political system that usually goes along with communism. To avoid the negative association with communism, some countries with socialism specify that theirs is democratic socialism; that there are still elections and multiple, competing political parties.
*The
dictionary definition of socialism makes it out as an all-encompassing system
for a country, but I think it’s more common for countries to have a mixture of
socialism and capitalism. In the USA, for example, we call our economic system
capitalism but we actually have a lot of government-funded and managed
(socialist) institutions like our military, police, schools, transportation
systems, etc. I think it’s good that we have a mix, and that it makes sense for
some things to be run by the government and some things not. Other modern
democracies usually have socialized medicine; not-for-profit healthcare
provided by the government. I wish we had that here, because I don’t think our
for-profit healthcare system is effective, except maybe for rich people.
Authoritarianism
1: the enforcement or advocacy of strict obedience to
authority at the expense of personal freedom.
2: lack of concern for the wishes or opinions of others.
Totalitarianism
1: centralized control by an autocratic authority
2: the political concept that the citizen should be totally
subject to an absolute state authority
*Authoritarianism and totalitarianism are about absolute power.
What the leader says, goes, without question. These are dangerous / untenable
isms because no human leader has ever been or will ever be wise enough or good enough
to wield absolute power for the benefit of all. Leaders at all levels, from
teachers to police chiefs to presidents, must be accountable to the people they
lead. In authoritarianism and totalitarianism they are not, so abuses of power
inevitably occur.
Officialism
: lack of flexibility and initiative combined
with excessive adherence to regulations in the behavior of usually
government officials
*This one isn’t commonly used. I’m only including it here
because it’s used later in the definition of bureaucracy.
Section 2: Ocracies
-cracy [as the ending of a word]
1: form of government. Also : state having such a form
2: social or political class (as of powerful persons)
3: theory of social organization
*Cracy traces back to the Greek word “kratos” which means strength
or power, so the -cracy words describe forms of societal power.
Democracy
1: government by the people : rule of the
majority, such as
1a: a form of government in which the people elect
representatives to make decisions, policies, laws, called also representative
democracy
1b: a form of government in which the people vote directly against or in favor of decisions, policies, laws, etc., called also direct democracy, pure democracy
2: a country, state, etc. whose form of government is democracy : a political unit that has a democratic government
3a: an organization or situation in which everyone is
treated equally and has the right to participate equally in management,
decision-making, etc.
3b: political, social, or economic
equality : the absence of hereditary or arbitrary class
distinctions or privileges
*Demo means people or the populace, so democracy means a
society where the power comes from the general population. I think that’s cool.
Kleptocracy
: government by those who seek chiefly status
and personal gain at the expense of the governed
also : a particular government of
this kind
*Klepto comes from the Greek word for thief, so kleptocracy
basically means being ruled by a thief or a class of thieves. We’ve definitely got
elements of that in our society today. Whether people are cheating or stealing
to get into power is debatable, but once in power they are certainly using
their positions of power to steal from the populace through insider trading,
cryptocurrency scams, awarding contracts to cronies, etc.
Kakistocracy
: government by the worst people
*The root of this one is the Greek word kákistos, which means worst. (I thought it was going to be something to do with caca, a slang word for poop, but no.) It definitely seems like we’re in a kakistocracy now, with incredibly selfish, cruel, and incompetent people grabbing power or being appointed to positions of power. Like our crazy corrupt Lee County, FL Sherriff Carmine Marceno, who is almost getting chased out office by the locals but has his eyes on ascending into national politics, like many others in our system (e.g., his hero Donald Trump) who have miraculously seemed to fail upward.
Aristocracy
1: government by the best individuals or by a small
privileged class
2a: a government in which power is vested in a minority
consisting of those believed to be best qualified
2b: a state with such a government
3: a governing body or upper class usually made up of a
hereditary nobility
4: a class or group of people believed to be superior (as
in rank, wealth, or intellect)
*In Greek, aristos means best, so this originally meant
government by the best people; the opposite of kakistocracy. However, over time
we accepted “rich” or “noble-born” as a proxy for best. So now aristocracy means
rule by snooty rich people. I wouldn’t be opposed to a government led by the
actual best people, i.e., the most selfless, kind, brave, and intelligent
people, but I am strongly opposed to rule by the rich or hereditary “nobility.”
Plutocracy
1: government by the wealthy
2: a controlling class of the wealthy
*Ploutos is Greek for wealth, so plutocracy basically means rule by the richest people. Because of the huge increase in absolute and relative wealth of the richest people in the USA, they have gained a ridiculous amount of power over our ostensibly democratic government. Just look at how stacked with billionaires the bleachers at Trump’s inauguration were. I think plutocracy sucks for everyone except those very richest people, and we need to bring down the super wealthy for democracy to work like its supposed to again. I don't think any individual in a country needs to have 100 or 1000 times as much wealth as an average individual in society. Even 10 times as much wealth as a normal person is getting excessive, in my opinion, so I think 10x should be the max. (Don't ask me how we would achieve that, I'm just brainstorming here.)
Autocracy
1: the authority or rule of an autocrat [a person (such as
a monarch) ruling with unlimited authority]
2: government in which one person possesses unlimited power
3: a community or state governed by autocracy
*Auto means self, and an autocracy is government where all
the ruling power is concentrated in one person (king, dictator, etc.) Autocracies
vary by how evil the autocrat is, but generally the autocrat is pretty evil and
the autocracy is awful for the average person in society. The saying, “Power tends
to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely,” which came from Britishbaron John Dalberg-Acton is apt when it comes to autocracies. Being able to do anything and get away
with it seems to bring out the worst in people, and the worst kind of people
are drawn to acquire autocratic power. E.g., Trump very clearly seeks to gain
and exercise the absolute powers of an autocrat. See kakistocracy again.
Section 3: Archies
-archy [as a word ending] noun
combining form
: rule : government
*It comes from the Greek “archein” (to rule) so it means a
form of rule.
Monarchy
1: undivided rule or absolute sovereignty by a single
person
2: a nation or state having a monarchical government
3: a government having a hereditary chief of state with
life tenure and powers varying from nominal to absolute
*Monarchy is a type of autocracy where the all-powerful individual passes the power on hereditarily to their offspring. We don’t have it in the
US, yet, although we have a penchant for supporting family dynasties in
politics, and Trump certainly seems to want to be a king with his gold
hair and gold toilets and everything. Monarchy sucks. We had a whole
revolutionary war about this. Please, please let’s not go back to monarchy.
1a: a body of nonelected government officials
1b: an administrative policymaking group
2: government characterized by specialization of functions,
adherence to fixed rules, and a hierarchy of authority
3: a system of administration marked by officialism, red
tape, and proliferation
*We usually focus on the negative aspect of bureaucracy, like in definition #3. However, the other definitions of bureaucracy
are a good reminder that bureaucracies can serve important purposes in a society,
ensuring that things get done in an organized, lawful, manner. Government
organizations like the EPA, NASA, etc. are bureaucracies in the sense that they are mostly staffed by experts who were
not elected, per se, but who were hired because of their qualifications and demonstrated
abilities. People celebrating the actions of “DOGE” and other “anti-government”
elements of the new Trump government are tragically unaware of the important
ways our much-maligned federal bureaucracies actually maintain the lawful and healthy
functioning of society. The functioning of bureaucracies can be improved by
carefully cutting and stitching like a surgeon, but what’s happening now with
DOGE, etc. is hacking away with a chainsaw, creating extreme dysfunction that
will be very hard to repair.
Anarchy
1a: absence of government
1b: a state of lawlessness or political disorder due to the
absence of governmental authority
1c: a utopian society of individuals who enjoy complete
freedom without government
2a: absence or denial of any authority or established order
2b: absence of order : disorder
*An- means without, so anarchy means without rule, or without government. It might be
possible to have a small, informal society without leaders or hierarchy, and it
could be nice. But I think even the mellowest commune still has to adhere to some
group norms of reciprocal altruism and stuff. I don’t think anarchy or
super-minimal government is a viable option for the large and technologically
advanced societies of today. When governments collapse, like in Haiti, it tends
to be a nightmare of warring gangs of criminals, starvation, disease, etc. – not
a utopia.
Oligarchy
1: government by the few
2: a government in which a small group
exercises control especially for corrupt and selfish purposes. Also : a
group exercising such control
3: an organization under oligarchic control
*The root of this word is the Greek “oligoi” which means few. In marine biology there’s a group of worms called oligochaetes because they have few bristles (in contrast with polychaete worms, which have many bristles). Another marine science term with oligo in it is oligohaline, describing waters of low salinity, like where an estuary is transitioning to fresh water. Anyway, oligochaetes like to live in shitty water quality conditions, and oligarchy is a shitty form of rule by a wealthy minority who favor environmental deregulation to advance their industrial and development schemes, which lead to poor water quality and a prevalence of oligochaete worms feasting on sewage and filth where more diverse sea bottom communities once thrived. So it comes full circle. Federal legislators Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio Cortez are doing a “Fighting Oligarchy” tour of rallies now, which I think is well aimed at oligarchs (e.g., Trump, Musk, Bezos, Zuckerberg) and the weaknesses in our system (weak campaign finance laws, etc.) that have allowed them to take control. I think democracies can easily degrade into oligarchies as the political system is increasingly corrupted and controlled by the wealthiest people and the power of the general populace is weakened. So we really do need to fight HARD against that trend to restore and maintain a healthy, lasting democracy.
Patriarchy
1: social organization marked by the supremacy of the
father in the clan or family, the legal dependence of wives and children, and
the reckoning of descent and inheritance in the male line
broadly: control by men of a disproportionately
large share of power
2: a society or institution organized according to the
principles or practices of patriarchy
*The Greek patriarkhia means “ruling father,” so the etymology of this one is clear. Parents in general (mothers and fathers) are important in caring for and educating kids, and family units are like micro-societies from which the broader structures of society are built. Fathers and other males can be positive contributors to families and society. For example, I love and appreciate my dad, who is kind, caring, and responsible and worked hard to support our family not just financially but also by being involved and emotionally supportive. Men should participate in families and society. However, it’s extremely harmful for society when men dominate, depriving women of their share of power. Some negative familial and societal consequences of patriarchy include: 1) Worse ideas and less qualified people prevail, on average, because women and their ideas are not given a fair chance, 2) There’s an unfair distribution of work and rewards, where women have to do more work but men get more praise and pay, 3) Unfair/impossible expectations and standards for women, mainly oriented to pleasing but not threatening men, while men get a pass, 4) Male criminals (rapists, abusers, etc.) protected from consequences, 5) Money and resources are disproportionately directed to issues appealing to men even when women have more urgent needs. This is by no means a comprehensive list. The recent “Barbie” movie did a good job pointing out the pervasive harms of patriarchy.
Dictatorship
1: the office of dictator
2: autocratic rule, control, or leadership
3a: a form of government in which absolute
power is concentrated in a dictator or a small clique
b: a government organization or group in which
absolute power is so concentrated
c: a despotic state
*This word fits in with the family of words describing strict
rule by a small group of people (plutocracy, autocracy, oligarchy, monarchy, authoritarianism,
totalitarianism, etc.), but it implies an even more extreme concentration of
power, in just one person. I included the definition of dictator below to make
it clear.
Dictator
1a: a person granted absolute emergency power
1b: one holding complete autocratic control : a person with
unlimited governmental power
1c: one ruling in an absolute and often oppressive way
2: one who says or reads something for a person to
transcribe or for a machine to record: one that dictates
*1a, 1b, and 1c are the politically relevant dictator
definitions; 2 is a rarely used term for someone who is literally speaking words
to be recorded. I would say that Trump is a “wannabe” dictator because he wants
absolute power but doesn’t quite have it yet. He seems to creepily idolize
actual dictators like El Salvador’s self-described “coolest dictator” Nayib Bukele,
and of course Russia’s autocratic leader Vladimir Putin.
Tyranny
1: oppressive power, especially: oppressive power exerted
by government
2a: a government in which absolute power is vested in a
single ruler, especially: one characteristic of an ancient Greek city-state
2b: the office, authority, and administration of a tyrant
3: a rigorous condition imposed by some outside agency or
force
4: an oppressive, harsh, or unjust act : a tyrannical act
*A tyrant is a cruel and oppressive ruler, so there’s no “good” tyranny. In the American Revolution our founders used the word tyranny a lot to describe the oppressive nature of the British Monarchy they were fighting to escape. I see the word tyranny being used a lot to describe cruel and oppressive aspects of government. Sometimes it’s used fittingly, and other times overly dramatically. Keep your eyes out for tyranny, and resist the hell out of it, please.
