looking for antonym of plutocracy
I came across a word plutocracy
Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary of Current English :
(a) [U] government by a rich and powerful class
(b) [C] state governed in this way
I am looking for its opposite word.
I do not think communism or democracy, which have the following definitions, are good.
communism
social and economic system in which there is no private ownership and the means of production belong to all members of society
democracy
system of government by the whole people of a country, esp through representatives whom they elect
Is there any word or phrase which is defined as: government by a poor class ?
Solution 1:
You're looking for ptochocracy, which is a rare (and often derogatory) word with the following definition:
A government elected by or consisting of the poor; (in extended use) poor people considered as a class.
Oxford Dictionaries
Solution 2:
You might consider finding a way to use the term distributism, which describes an economic system or situation (not a government) in which property is widespread... so everybody's a small-scale property owner instead of a few people being big owners (as in plutocracy) or no one having property (as in communism). In contrast to "ptochocracy", distributism has a small but real following, and some famous supporters such as Chesterton.