I learned a new word yesterday. kakistocracy I think it will become a favorite in these election times. Kakistrocracy means the government of a nation by its worst citizens . This is one of a family of words naming different types of government. The most familiar of these words is democracy meaning government by the demos or the people . There s also plutocracy meaning rule or government by the wealthy ; aristocracy (which originally mean rule or government by the best citizens ); autocracy meaning a self-sustained ruler (that is, an absolute ruler); and so on. All of these words were originally constructed from Greek stems, with the added Greek suffix kratia meaning rule or government. However, some of the more modern coinages no longer stick to the old rule of using Greek words, and so you ll find a word such meritocracy meaning government by people selected on the basis of merit : this being the exact opposite of kakistocracy . The first part of that word, by the way, comes from the Greek kakistos the worst . Some people would say that kakistocracy means government by professional politicians. You may very well think that, I couldn t possibly comment.