The Nouns

Why Calling Thieves Sinners Is Not Politeness. It Is Complicity.

This, importantly, is a series of 3 lengthy articles. I ask you to read through my analysis with patience and a jaw-drop!

In polite circles, Russia is described as an oligarchy. The United States under its current administration is increasingly described the same way. Both descriptions are inaccurate. Both are acts of linguistic courtesy extended to people who have not earned it.

The correct word is kleptocracy. It means rule by theft. And the fact that we keep reaching for a softer term is itself part of the story.

Oligarchy describes a structure of power. A small group controls political and economic decisions. The word says nothing about what that power is being used for. Oligarchs may govern well or badly. They may be predatory or, within their own terms, relatively stable. The word is a count of heads at the top of the pyramid, nothing more.

Kleptocracy describes the purpose of power. It says: this system exists to extract wealth for those who run it. The institutions, the law, the courts, the regulatory apparatus, and the military, if necessary, are all instruments of plunder. They exist not to protect the public interest, but to protect the extraction.