Is America Entering Her Kakistocracy Era?
Being a writer, I’m fairly confident in the extent of my vocabulary. I was nevertheless surprised to learn a new word in 2024—and to realize that, according to more than a few pundits, it defined the entire year. The herd of political onlookers might actually be onto something.
The word is so arcane my Word document flags it as a misspelling. Whereas an “idiocracy” is a society governed by morons, a “kakistocracy” is one “governed by its least suitable or competent citizens.” In this case, our nation’s overlords aren’t dummies, but might be defined by cunning, self-interest, venality, delusion, vanity or mental decline.
They most definitely do not adhere to Thomas Jefferson’s observation that, “Power is not alluring to pure minds.” By contrast, a kakistocracy is a government run by impure folks who crave little more than power. Such a system more closely resembles Benjamin Franklin’s observation: “In rivers and bad governments the lightest things swim at top.”
The Economist this year named kakistocracy its word of the year after reflecting on President-elect Donald Trump’s selection of Rep. Matt Gaetz (R–Fla.) for attorney general, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for health and human services secretary, and Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence. Those picks are indeed among the most noteworthy events of the year—and a reflection of the sorts of people who probably shouldn’t be in power.
The U.S. House released a report, which alleged “substantial evidence that Gaetz violated House Rules, state and federal laws, and other standards of conduct prohibiting prostitution, statutory rape, illicit drug use, acceptance of impermissible gifts, the provision of special favors and privileges, and obstruction of Congress.” Gaetz denies any wrongdoing and has withdrawn from consideration, but please don’t expect meritocracy.
Trump says that he will let anti-vaccine activist and apparent victim of a brain worm, RFK Jr., “go wild” on public health. He presumably will also let Gabbard—the former Democratic representative known for her unusual views about Syria and Russia—go crazy on U.S. intelligence. Whatever their charms, it’s odd to see them float to the top.
Some MAGA readers might already be penning dissatisfied letters to the editor, but they should know I wouldn’t let Democrats off the hook. President Joe Biden’s performance in the June presidential debate was one of the most shocking political events in modern history, as his bumbling, rambling, dazed, and confused performance reminded Americans of his steep decline—and, of course, led to a futile switcheroo of presidential candidates.
Anyone who has watched elderly loved ones lose their mental acuity will have sympathy for Biden, but what explains his family and advisers for allowing him to run again—and for allegedly concealing matters from the public? A recent Wall Street Journal investigation alleges White House aides developed a complex system of workarounds, which date back to the early stages of his administration. They deny such declines or protections, but nothing shouts kakistocracy more than having the world’s most-powerful government “run” this way.
Here in California, our top elected official is clearly in control of his faculties and is unquestionably a very smart man, but that makes it even more unconscionable that he would continue to pass laws that kill the jobs of
Article from Reason.com
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