from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
noun Government by the wealthy.
noun A wealthy class that controls a government.
noun A government or state in which the wealthy rule.
from The Century Dictionary.
noun Government by the wealthy class; the rule of wealth; also, a class ruling by virtue of its wealth. Also plutarchy.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
noun A form of government in which the supreme power is lodged in the hands of the wealthy classes; government by the rich; also, a controlling or influential class of rich men.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
noun Government by the wealthy.
noun A controlling class of the wealthy.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
noun a political system governed by the wealthy people
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
[Greek ploutokratiā : ploutos, wealth; see pleu- in Indo-European roots + -kratiā, -cracy.]
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
From Ancient Greek πλουτοκρατία (ploutokratia, "rule of the wealthy"), from πλουτοκρατέω (ploutokrateō, "I rule through wealth"), from πλοῦτος (ploutos, "wealth") + κρατέω (krateō, "I rule") (from κράτος (kratos, "power”, “might")).
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Examples
Bury The term plutocracy is generally used to describe these two distinct concepts: one of a historical nature and one of a modern political nature.
January 21st, 2010 at 11: 20 am tombaker says: the pundits, the baggers, anyone can say anything now, it will all be for show, and nothing more. formal commencement of plutocracy is enacted.
Or worse, deliberately downgraded roads to other businesses. by emporer palpatine your not living in a republic no more after all, its called plutocracy govt by corporation musilini did it hitler did it
The Populists and the radical Democrats felt that they were fighting the battle of the masses against "plutocracy" -- the subtle and corrupting control of public affairs by the possessors of great fortunes; they thought that they saw arrayed against them the forces of wealth and the corporations, seeking to enslave them.
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