From Schott's Original Miscellany:

Systems of Government:

rule by                          is called
all equally....................pantisocracy
armed forces...................militocracy
bishops........................exarchy
civil servants.................bureaucracy
clerics........................ecclesiarchy
elderly........................gerontocracy
eldest male....................patriarchy
judges.........................kritarchy
men............................andocracy
nobility.......................aristocracy
one individual.................autocracy
the people.....................democracy
the poor.......................ptochocracy
pope...........................paparchy
propertied class...............timocracy
religious law..................theocracy
saints.........................hagiarchy
slaves.........................doulocracy
a small cabal..................oligarchy
technical experts..............technocracy
wealthy........................plutocracy
women..........................gynarchy
the worst possible.............kakistocracy

oh, the potential...

I wonder if there's any logic behind the -archies vs the -cracies.

I wonder if there's any logic behind the -archies vs the -cracies. Me too.

I suppose the fun challenge might be to come up with examples of these systems.

I claim Qutb-ud-din Aibak's rule (in Delhi, many centuries ago) as a doulocracy.

where could you possibly find an example of a kakistocracy?!
-ron (yes, that was a rhetorical question) obvious

At first glance rule by slaves or by the poor both sound like oxymoronocracies. But I suppose it would be difficult to propose a system that hadn't been tried somewhere/when.

Not to wander off the subject or anything , but that sounds like a perfect Gilbert & Sullivan word.

(political wisdom?)

re:--At first glance rule by slaves or by the poor both sound like oxymoronocracies

in personal relationsships, its called terrony of the weak.

societies that had slaves, but realize the social and political problems with them sometimes find they can't get rid of slavery as easily as they thought. and the slaves, see slavery as a sort of welfare system.

the 'ruling class' could come done hard, adn abuse the slaves, but the society has moved into a position were slavery is accepted, but cruelty to slaves is not tollerated.. so when the slave do nothing, (but demand their owners feed them, house them, and cloth them..)

--its something akin to the reputation civil service unions have... Years ago, CS Unions got the 'right' to short hours in the summer, when most city offices were not air conditioned.. Now, they have the right to AC and they still have the right to 'summer hours'-- the unions are strong, and its hard to fight them on these sort of abuses.. (because now, all summer employees think they are entitled to short summer hours!--(short hours are leave at 4:30-get paid as if you worked to 5PM)

Well, good--I was hoping to spark off a discussion of just this kind. Helen--thanks for the insight/info. I have often given thought to how miserable it must have been, in city offices pre-A/C.
Shanks--I'll take your word for it, love; want to give us a few details?
Zed--ohmigawd, you made me about fall off my chair laughing, with both your posts! oxymoronocracies---(political wisdom?) HA!
As to finding a kakistocracy...I won't say it, I won't say it, I won't...

I was very surprised when I came upon this list, not just at some of the words, but at a few of the concepts. I mean, how many examples could there have been of some of them??

the list missed out on 'boobocracy', for one..

Qutb-ud-din Aibak, Altamash, and some others were kings/emperors of the famous 'Slave Dynasty' in medieval India, prior to the coming of the Mughals. The ruled what is frequently referred to as the Delhi Sultanate. Technically speaking, they were no longer slaves when they ruled, but many of them started their careers as slaves in the service of the reigning Sultan and then, through dint of capability and personality (and probably lack of any likely-looking lads amongst the heirs) were 'elected' Sultan after the death of the incumbent. I think either the Romans or the Greeks (or the Macedonians, or am I just thinking of Mary Renault?) had examples of something similar.

As for the rest, I am tempted, but would not wish to definitely call a leader on a modern world stage a pile of kak, else I would give you an example of that kai-thingy.

cheer

the sunshine warrior

the list missed out on 'boobocracy', for one..

Boobocracy ~ rule by a group of friends; or bosom buddies.

I wonder if there's any logic behind the -archies vs the -cracies. I suspect the author of most oft he list just made them up according to phonetic (euphonic) criteria.

>I suspect the author of most oft he list..

I suspect he was mostly a compiler. Some of the -archys stem directly from -archs; e.g., exarch.. ecclesiarch.. patriarch... Paparchy and oligarchy have W3 entries. I think hagiarchy is debatable, as I find hagiocracy in W3, but AHD has both; gynarchy and gynocracy are also both well documented. kritarchy is an old word: Samson, Jephthah, Gideon, and other heroes of the kritarchy. --Southey; thus, the rule of the judges over Israel.

I would like to add timarchy to the list,having just come across the adjective timarchic.

Bingley

Rule of Fear?

OED seems to prefer timocracy.

Well, the other two tim(orous?)-words bumfuzzled Gurunet, but it does have:
ti·moc·ra·cy (tī-mŏk'rə-sē)
n., pl. -cies.
1. A state described by Plato as being governed on principles of honor and military glory.
2. An Aristotelian state in which civic honor or political power increases with the amount of property one owns.
[Obsolete French tymocracie, from Medieval Latin tīmocratia, from Greek tīmokratiā : tīmē, honor, value + -kratiā, -cracy.]

ti'mo·crat'ic (tī'mə-krăt'ĭk) adj.

Are there any other tim-words in use today that relate to honor and glory?

Timothy = honouring God

Bingley

How about thyridarchy 'despotic rule by Windows™? Or eunucharchy 'rule by Unix'?

thyridarchy 'despotic rule by Windows™? Or eunucharchy 'rule by Unix'?

and "macracy"?

macracy

And after the melomachy, the melocracy.

you sayin' I'm bein' cheeky?

Aristocracy but not a polloicracy. Makes sense when you think about it.

Polloicracy?? Hoi, that's rule by chickens!

Aristocracy but not a polloicracy.

Surely that's covered by democracy. But if you want to coin a word, drop the jot. Pollocracy, pollarchy?

polloicracy

hoi!

hoi ha!

I think N.Amer is headed for corpochracy. Hmmm to much like corpse. How about corporatocracy? (either way there are skeletons in the closet.)

Said a man born of aristocracy,
“I abhor the thought of ptochocracy!
But the propertied class
Has elected this ass
and now we’re stuck with kakistocracy.”