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prettygoodwordtimocracy (tay-MOK-ruh-see) - n., a form of government in which possession of land is required for participation; a form of government in which love of honor (or military glory) is the guiding principle.
The division in senses goes all the way back to the ancient Greeks -- the former is Aristotle's meaning when he used the word (in describing Solon's constitution for Athens), while the latter is Plato's (in describing Sparta), and indeed the root word timē means both worth/price and honor (related to tiein = to place a value on/to honor). In practical terms, Aristotelian timocracies typically evolve into plutocracies, where any kind of wealth will will do, and not just real property, often with the practical effect of the more you have, the more influence you have. Also in practical terms, the Platonic timocracy tends not to exist, and even it it does it tends to a stratocracy (government by the military class) or even a junta.
---L.
The division in senses goes all the way back to the ancient Greeks -- the former is Aristotle's meaning when he used the word (in describing Solon's constitution for Athens), while the latter is Plato's (in describing Sparta), and indeed the root word timē means both worth/price and honor (related to tiein = to place a value on/to honor). In practical terms, Aristotelian timocracies typically evolve into plutocracies, where any kind of wealth will will do, and not just real property, often with the practical effect of the more you have, the more influence you have. Also in practical terms, the Platonic timocracy tends not to exist, and even it it does it tends to a stratocracy (government by the military class) or even a junta.
---L.
