plutocracy
noun
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Ploutos was Greek for "wealth", and Plouton, or Pluto, was one of the names used for the Greek god of the underworld, where all the earth's mineral wealth was stored. So a plutocracy governs or wields power through its money. The economic growth in the U.S. in the late 19th century produced a group of enormously wealthy plutocrats. Huge companies like John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil gained serious political power, and Rockefeller was able to influence lawmakers in states where his businesses operated. For this reason, it was said in 1905 that Ohio and New Jersey were plutocracies, not democracies.
Examples of plutocracy in a Sentence
Letters To The Editor, The Mercury News, 18 July 2024
The key political takeaway is that the White House is determined to frame the upcoming contest between Biden and Donald Trump as a choice between a Democrat fighting for the American middle class and a Republican stooge for the plutocracy.
—John Cassidy, The New Yorker, 12 Mar. 2024
Democracy can flip into plutocracy if a single party accrues enough voting credits, which gets easier when voter turnout is low.
—Joel Khalili, WIRED, 26 Jan. 2024
Once among America’s most oppressed populations, her triumph is not only immune to interrogation, so is American plutocracy for having anointed her as its apostle.
—Soraya Roberts, Longreads, 10 Aug. 2020
See all Example Sentences for plutocracy 
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'plutocracy.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Plutocracy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/plutocracy. Accessed 30 Oct. 2024.
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plutocracy
noun
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