-cracy and -archy: The Vocabulary of Power

Decode the names of government systems using Greek roots for rule and power.

Two Greek elements name systems of government. -cracy comes from kratos, 'power' or 'rule. ' -archy comes from arkhein, 'to rule' or 'to lead. ' The first part tells you who holds the power. Democracy: demos, 'the people. ' Autocracy: autos, 'self,' so one person rules alone. Aristocracy: aristos, 'best,' rule by a supposedly superior class. Monarchy: monos, 'one,' rule by a single hereditary ruler. Oligarchy: oligos, 'few. ' Anarchy: an-, 'without,' meaning no ruler at all. Worked example: 'Critics warned the agency was becoming a technocracy.

' Techno relates to skill or technical knowledge, so the critics fear rule by technical experts rather than elected officials. The same pattern lets you read new coinages. If a columnist mentions 'gerontocracy,' and you know geron means 'old man,' you can infer rule by the elderly.

• 1-cracy (kratos) means power; -archy (arkhein) means rule.
• 2The first root tells who holds power.
• 3The pattern decodes unfamiliar coinages like technocracy.