Being a writer, I'm fairly confident in the extent of my vocabulary. I was nevertheless surprised to learn a new word in 2024—and to realize that, according to more than a few pundits, it defined the entire year. The herd of political onlookers might actually be onto something.
The word is so arcane my Word document flags it as a misspelling. Whereas an "idiocracy" is a society governed by morons, a "kakistocracy" is one "governed by its least suitable or competent citizens." In this case, our nation's overlords aren't dummies, but might be defined by cunning, self-interest, venality, delusion, vanity or mental decline.
