He was shocked to find that those opposed to slavery were further enraged by the ruling. A few of them include: Romulus Augustus (ruled 475-476)īefore he was even inaugurated, Buchannan encouraged the Supreme Court to make as broad and pro-southern a ruling in the Dread Scott case as possible in an attempt to put the slavery debate to rest forever. While it is difficult to judge objectively, there have been plenty of governments in world history run by people with no business being in charge. Have there ever really been any Kakistocracies? Even if we judge a ruler based on the consequences of their rule, how much do we say was their work and how much was luck? Such large questions tend to get swept aside, though some commentators do address them in a limited way. While Machiavelli would suggest that there are objectively good virtues for statesmen to have, there is going to be general disagreement on what those are or how to live up to them. It regained popularity in the 1980’s, was aimed at Dan Quayle several times after that and is currently so popular that even the Merriam-Webster twitter feed had to chime in. The previously obscure word dates back to the English civil war and has made a comeback in the last few decades. Typically, the word is used as an insult towards those who are seen as too moronic to be in government. But, what does it mean exactly? Who uses this word? Conspiracy theorist Glenn Beck declared the Obama administration to be one, while John Brennan and Paul Krugman have said the same of Donald Trump’s administration. It is, however, a common insult as of late. Like kleptocracy, rule by thieves, or plutocracy, rule by the rich, no government has ever claimed to be one. Kakistocracy, which means “worst rule” is the name of government by the worst or least qualified people. While democracy, autocracy, and aristocracy are well known, there are dozens of other terms as well. The prefixes at the start of those words such as demo (people), auto (one), or aristos (excellent) explain who rules, at least in theory. A lot of the words we use to describe governments are combinations of Greek terms.
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