Kakistocracy

Kakistocracy is a form of government where the least qualified individuals are in power. It comes from the Greek κακιστος (kakistos) meaning "worst"), the superlative of κακος (kakos) meaning “bad”. An early recorded use of the term was by the satirical writer Thomas Love Peacock in 1829 (The Misfortunes of Elphin),The Misfortunes of Elphin by Thomas Love Peacock (1829). but the earliest recorded use was in 1644 by Thomas Gosnold, warning of the transformation of "our well-temperd Monarchy into a mad kinde of Kakistocracy").Brennan: Your 'Kakistocracy' is Collapsing: Former CIA Director drives lookups 13,700% (Apr 13, 2018) Merriam-Webster. Kakistocracy isn't a particularly mainstream term and it is mostly used by satirists and critics of government.
The more cynical will argue that all governments eventually break down into this; the most cynical argue they all start that way. Because to be part of government, you have to put yourself forward first, potential rulers are those that want the job. And most people don't know how incompetent they are (or are so sociopathic that they don't care), so few potential rulers will actually be competent. The public tends to reward the most charismatic individuals the highest positions, and while charisma does demonstrate high levels of emotional intelligence and is useful for some aspects of leadership, charisma alone is not enough when you need to make a spot check trying to determine who the best subordinates to run a school system would be.
Others would argue that that there are many genuinely caring people with integrity who wish to have power in order to better serve their communities. Many believe that not to engage in matters of power and government is tantamount to voting for kakistocracy.
Other commentators besides Brennan (above quote) have used the term with regard to the Trump administration, including Paul Krugman, and MSNBC's Joy Reid.Kakistocracy goes viral after John Brennan calls Trump administration 'government by the worst' by Avi Selk (April 13, 2018 at 3:44 PM) The Washington Post.
==Examples of kakistocracies==
* Several U.S. administrations, particularly the Trump administration.
* The American political system and governance in general.Description and reviews of Reform the Kakistocracy: Rule by the Least Able Or Least Principled Citizens at Google Books. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
* The British government under the leadership of consecutive Conservative prime ministers David Cameron, Theresa May, and Boris Johnson.
* The Brazilian government under Jair Bolsonaro.
* The Russian government under Boris Yeltsin and Vladimir Putin.
* The government of Egypt under Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi.
* Various governments in sub-Saharan Africa.
* The Malaysian government under Pakatan Harapan after the 2018 Malaysian general election, & under Perikatan Nasional during 2020–21 Malaysian political crisis.
==See also==
*Donald Trump, particularly the "Presidency" section
*Vladimir Putin
*Jair Bolsonaro and his ministers
*Boris Johnson
*Rodrigo Duterte
*Narendra Modi
*List of forms of government
*Peter Principle
==External links==
*Huffington Post — Kakistocracy… A Word You Should Know
==Notes==
==References==
 
Category:Forms of government