timocracy
Definitions
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
- noun A form of government in which ambition for honor, power and military glory motivates the rulers.
- noun A form of government in which civic honor or political power increases with the amount of property one owns.
from The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- noun A form of government in which a certain amount of property is requisite as a qualification for Office.
Examples
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The four types of state as we know them in Hellas, are: the Spartan, where personal ambition and honour rule, which we call timocracy; the oligarchical, where wealth rules; the democratic; and the arbitrary rule of the individual, which we call tyranny.
The World's Greatest Books — Volume 14 — Philosophy and Economics
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Thus arises timocracy, which is intermediate between aristocracy and oligarchy.
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The founding fathers created a timocracy in which most did not have the right to vote.
The Volokh Conspiracy » IJ’s Bone Marrow Case: Rational Basis Test
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The accumulation of gold in the treasury of private individuals is the ruin of timocracy; they invent illegal modes of expenditure; for what do they or their wives care about the law?
Note
The word 'timocracy' comes from Greek roots meaning 'honor' and 'rule'.
