Ochlocratic

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Pertaining to a political system where the majority's desires govern, often leading to a disregard for established authority and rules
2. Characterizing governmental control exercised by the masses, resulting in the predominance of popular sentiment over legal frameworks
3. Relating to a form of governance dominated by the whims of the majority, where public opinion often overrides traditional laws and authorities

Etymology: "Ochlocratic" is built from two Greek elements. The first, "ochlo-", comes from Greek "ochlos", meaning a crowd or mob, often a disorderly one. The second, "-cratic", comes from "kratos", meaning power or rule, the same root behind "democracy" and "aristocracy." Joined together, the pieces describe rule by the mob, and the adjective is the form that qualifies things belonging to such a system. The idea runs deeper than the word. Greek writers used "ochlocracy" to describe a degenerate form of democracy, in which the masses ignored laws and customs and ruled by impulse. Ancient political thinkers treated it as a warning rather than a model, which is why the term carries a sense of disorder that "democracy" itself does not.

Antonyms: aristocratic, democratic