![]() The United Kingdom, Japan, and Spain are constitutional monarchies. For example, France, the United States, and Germany are republics. Various forms of democracy exist in the modern world.Ī liberal democracy may have different constitutional forms. In large societies, the people elect representatives to govern in such a way as to ensure that all citizens have equal rights, “without hereditary or arbitrary differences of rank or privilege.” In small societies, the basic form of a democracy is a gathering of all members of the group to make decisions that affect the group. Whereas an aristocracy is “rule of the best citizens,” a kakistocracy is “government by the worst citizens.” Iran, for example, is both an autocracy and a theocracy. Laws in a theocracy are based on religious beliefs and/or sacred writings. Literally, a theocracy is “rule of God.” In practice, a theocracy is rule by a priestly order or religious political party. The Greek word plouto signified “wealth” or “riches.” A plutocracy is rule by the wealthiest citizens. Two modern examples are Saudi Arabia and North Korea. An autocracy is run by an autocrat, one person (or party) that holds absolute power. ![]() In practice, aristocracies are governed by citizens born to the upper classes, regardless of their personal character. ![]() Literally, an aristocracy is “rule by the best citizens.” In theory, the best citizens (IMHO) would be the most intelligent, best-educated, and most compassionate members of society. Six examples of such words are aristocracy, autocracy, democracy, kakistocracy,theocracy and plutocracy. The English suffix – ocracy derives from a Greek word for “power,” “rule,” or “authority.” ![]()
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