Epistocracy
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A rule by citizens with political knowledge, or a proposed political system which concentrates political power in citizens according to their knowledge. uncountable
"So maybe it’s time to consider an alternative to democracy called epistocracy. In a democracy, every citizen gets an equal right to vote. In an epistocracy, voting power is widespread, but votes are weighted: More knowledgeable citizens’ votes count more."
- 2 A government run by citizens with political knowledge. countable
Example
More examples"So maybe it’s time to consider an alternative to democracy called epistocracy. In a democracy, every citizen gets an equal right to vote. In an epistocracy, voting power is widespread, but votes are weighted: More knowledgeable citizens’ votes count more."
Etymology
From Ancient Greek ἐπιστήμη (epistḗmē, “knowledge”) + suffix -κρατία (-kratía), from κράτος (krátos, “power, rule”).
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.