#52619
01/13/2002 5:36 PM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858 |
In the February 2002 issue (p, 68) of Discover Magazine there is a word new to me, not yet seen in AWADtalk.
It refers to former ruler of Zaire, Mobutu as a "kleptocratic ruler".
I was unable to find it in my dictionary, but quicky found in several sites on Internet, defined as:
"A kleptocratic state may arise as a predatory hierarchy from a state of pure anarchy." This was from a paper entitled "Institutionalized corruption and the Kleptocratic State " by Joshua Charap and Christian Harm.
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#52620
01/13/2002 7:19 PM
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Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 1,094
old hand
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old hand
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 1,094 |
Sounds like a person stealing the sovereignty of the anarchic masses.
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#52621
01/13/2002 9:15 PM
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Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296 |
It does sound like a thief taking something from the masses--but is he aware of what it is he takes?
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#52622
01/13/2002 10:55 PM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858 |
Dear WW: You bet your sweet bippie he is. He has to be the shrewdest guy in the country to get to the top and stay there.
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#52623
01/13/2002 11:04 PM
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Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,146
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,146 |
I think that "kleptocratic" is a great word to describe what I perceive the situation in Zimbabwe to be. What's going on there would certainly appear to be an extreme example of state theft, and I've heard some horror stories about it on TV and the radio from people who've been through it. It's reminiscent of the kind of heavy-handed government taxation process characterised by the rulers of Norman England in the 12th and 13th centuries which gave rise to the myth of Robin Hood. But updated to the "needs" of today, of course!
I believe that a state that taxes heavily without reinvesting those taxes in the public good could also be considered mildly kleptocratic - rule by institutionalised theft. And most countries have had governments like that at one time or another. New Zealand in the 1970s immediately comes to mind.
If I recall correctly, it was also used to describe the Russian communist government 1921 - 1989. The state took all production away by force rather than with the consent of the governed, and that was the context in which I first saw the word used, probably in The Economist. It tends to like words like that.
The idiot also known as Capfka ...
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#52624
01/14/2002 1:43 AM
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Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 2,605
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 2,605 |
As I understand it, "kleptocracy" applies to a government that is run to line the personal pockets of the ruler and his clique. (Not disputing your broader concepts, CK, but I understand the term to be a description of the narrower situation.) Admittedly, I could well be mistaken on this.
Edit at 23:59: was responding to CK, and have edited to correct typo that may have made that unclear. Was speaking solely to the definitional question, and in no way disagree with the posts immediately above and below as they concern the facts of the particular regimes.
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#52625
01/14/2002 2:57 AM
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Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 3,409
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 3,409 |
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#52626
01/14/2002 6:19 AM
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Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 866
old hand
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old hand
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 866 |
> As I understand it, "kleptocracy" applies to a government that is run to line the personal pockets of the ruler and his clique.
Another example is the regime implemented by Sharkey and Pimple throughout the Shire whilst the Fellowship were abroad upon their quest.
(Thought I'd just be topical!)
stales
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#52627
01/18/2002 9:33 PM
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Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 3,467
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 3,467 |
Rule by someone who stole an election?
TEd
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#52628
01/18/2002 11:06 PM
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Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,146
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,146 |
No, no, no, no ... oh well, all right ... 
The idiot also known as Capfka ...
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