Dictionary

plutocracy en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (US) audio
• /pluːˈtɑːkɹəsi/ (US)
• /pluːˈtɒkɹəsi/ (Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

From Ancient Greek πλουτοκρατία (ploutokratía, “rule of the wealthy”), from πλουτοκρατέω (ploutokratéō, “I rule through wealth”), from πλοῦτος (ploûtos, “wealth”) + κρατέω (kratéō, “I rule”) (from κράτος (krátos, “power”, “might”)).

Meanings

1. (countable, uncountable) Government by the wealthy.
   • Plutocracy, which is virtually supreme to-day, is to be no less condemned ; for it is not only not just, bit is nearly as detrimental to the race at large as absolute socialism would be, if adopted […] 1897, anonymous author, The Revolutionary Tendencies of the Age: Their Cause and Their Ultimate Aim, New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, →OCLC, page 119:
   • Modernity is not democracy; machinery is not democracy; the surrender of everything to trade and commerce is not democracy. Capitalism is not democracy; and is admittedly, by trend and savour, rather against democracy. Plutocracy by definition is not democracy. But all these modern things forced themselves into the world at about the time, or shortly after the time, when great idealists like Rousseau and Jefferson happened to have been thinking about the democratic ideal of democracy. 1933, G. K. Chesterton, “On Industrialism”, in All I Survey:
2. (countable, uncountable) A controlling class of the wealthy.
   • The sea, most inhuman of elements, met in perfect friendship here with the soft and pleasure-loving side of man; and the mixed architecture of a bygone plutocracy reconciled me to the experiments of today. 1952 May, George Santayana, “I Like to Be a Stranger”, in The Atlantic:
   • Her piece painted him as an enigmatic Jay Gatsby type, a boy from a middle-class family in Brooklyn who had scaled the rungs of the plutocracy, though no one could quite figure out how he made his money. 2019 July 8, Michelle Goldberg, “Jeffrey Epstein Is the Ultimate Symbol of Plutocratic Rot”, in New York Times:
   • There, indeed, he must consent to be the puppet and plaything of plutocracy enthroned on machinery, to have his ears assaulted by every variety of beastly sound that the ingenuity of modern civilization can devise, and his peace of mind shattered by the continual necessity under which he finds himself of performing bodily convolutions that would do credit to a professional gymnast. 1926, C. E. M. Joad, The Babbitt Warren, London: Trubner & Co, page 17:
   • “There are three big classes in society. First comes the Plutocracy, which is composed of wealthy bankers, railway magnates, corporation directors, and trust magnates. Second, is the middle class, your class, gentlemen, which is composed of farmers, merchants, small manufacturers, and professional men. And third and last comes my class, the proletariat, which is composed of the wage-workers. 1908 February 19, Jack London, chapter 9, in The Iron Heel, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., →OCLC:

Forms

Deriveds

antiplutocracy · lootocracy

Relateds

plutocrat · plutonomy · plutodemocracy · plutocratic

Synonyms

tycoonocracy · argentocracy

Translations (100)

ja 金権政治 (government by the wealthy) · eu plutokrazia (government by the wealthy) · hi धन-तंत्र (government by the wealthy) · ko 금권 정치 (government by the wealthy) · hi प्लूटोक्रेसी (government by the wealthy) · tg плутократия (government by the wealthy) · ga maoinlathas (government by the wealthy) · pt plutocracia (government by the wealthy) · sv plutokrati (government by the wealthy) · hu plutokrácia (government by the wealthy) · af plutokrasie (government by the wealthy) · th เศรษฐยาธิปไตย (government by the wealthy) · kn ಶ್ರೀಮಂತರ ಪ್ರಭುತ್ವ (government by the wealthy) · de Plutokratie (controlling class of the wealthy) · is auðvaldsstjórn (government by the wealthy) · ro plutocrație (government by the wealthy) · yi פּלוטאָקראַטיע (government by the wealthy) · el πλουτοκρατία (controlling class of the wealthy) · ky плутократия (government by the wealthy) · de Plutokraten (controlling class of the wealthy) · gd plùtocratachd (government by the wealthy) · kmr plutokrasî (government by the wealthy) · io plutokratio (government by the wealthy) · dsb plutokratija (government by the wealthy) · he פְּלוּטוֹקְרַטְיָה (government by the wealthy) · uz plutokratiya (government by the wealthy) · eo plutokratio (government by the wealthy) · pa ਧਨਾਢਰਾਜ (government by the wealthy) · ka პლუტოკრატია (controlling class of the wealthy) · ga plútacratachas (government by the wealthy) · fi rahavalta (government by the wealthy) · et plutokraatia (government by the wealthy) · sh плутокра̀ција (government by the wealthy) · uz плутократия (government by the wealthy) · hy պլուտոկրատիա (government by the wealthy) · sh plutokràcija (government by the wealthy) · sq plutokracia (government by the wealthy) · ka პლუტოკრატები (controlling class of the wealthy) · nn plutokrati (government by the wealthy) · gl plutocracia (government by the wealthy) · ta புளூட்டோக்கிராசி (government by the wealthy) · cmn 富豪階級 /富豪阶级 (controlling class of the wealthy) · cy goludlywodraeth (government by the wealthy) · mk плутократија (government by the wealthy) · de Plutokratie (government by the wealthy) · be плутакра́тыя (controlling class of the wealthy) · cs plutokracie (government by the wealthy) · ru плутокра́тия (government by the wealthy) · pl plutokracja (controlling class of the wealthy) · is auðjöfraveldi (controlling class of the wealthy) · da rigmandsvælde (government by the wealthy) · grc πλουτοκρᾰτῐ́ᾱ (government by the wealthy) · nb plutokrati (government by the wealthy) · hsb plutokratija (government by the wealthy) · sl plutokracija (government by the wealthy) · it plutocrazia (government by the wealthy) · fi rikkaat (controlling class of the wealthy) · is auðveldi (controlling class of the wealthy) · nn rikmannsstyre (government by the wealthy) · nan-hbl 金權 /金权 (government by the wealthy) · nl plutocratie (government by the wealthy) · tr plütokrasi (government by the wealthy) · da plutokrati (government by the wealthy) · pl plutokracja (government by the wealthy) · br gladveliezh (government by the wealthy) · ast plutocracia (government by the wealthy) · ru плутокра́тия (controlling class of the wealthy) · es plutocracia (government by the wealthy) · lv plutokrātija (government by the wealthy) · el πλουτοκρατία (government by the wealthy) · vi chế độ tài phiệt (government by the wealthy) · pt plutocracia (controlling class of the wealthy) · kn ಧನಿಕರ ಪ್ರಭುತ್ವ (government by the wealthy) · new धनिकतन्त्र (government by the wealthy) · xmf პლუტოკრატია (government by the wealthy) · cy pliwtocratiaeth (government by the wealthy) · id plutokrasi (government by the wealthy) · lt plutokratija (government by the wealthy) · az plutokratiya (government by the wealthy) · bar Plutokratie (government by the wealthy) · bg плутокрация (government by the wealthy) · cmn 財閥 /财阀 (controlling class of the wealthy) · ca plutocràcia (government by the wealthy) · fr ploutocratie (government by the wealthy) · kk плутократия (government by the wealthy) · fi plutokratia (government by the wealthy) · ar بلوتوقراطية (government by the wealthy) · nb rikmannsstyre (government by the wealthy) · be плутакра́тыя (government by the wealthy) · fr ploutocratie (controlling class of the wealthy) · ka პლუტოკრატია (government by the wealthy) · oc plotocracia (government by the wealthy) · cmn 金權政治 /金权政治 (government by the wealthy) · cmn 財閥治國 /财阀治国 (government by the wealthy) · uk плутокра́тія (government by the wealthy) · cmn 財團 /财团 (controlling class of the wealthy) · gv plutacraataghys (government by the wealthy) · gv argid-reill (government by the wealthy) · sk plutokracia (government by the wealthy) · cmn 財閥政治 /财阀政治 (government by the wealthy)