Need a term for a scholar-led government

[Totema]

If you call a government controlled by the most powerful military leaders a "stratocracy", and a government controlled by the wealthiest a "plutocracy", what do you call a government controlled by the most educated and academically-oriented members of society?

[AmberVael]

Geniocracy, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geniocracy) Technocracy, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technocracy) or maybe Meritocracy. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meritocracy) Take your pick. They have their differences, admittedly, its going to boil down to some details.

[Slipperychicken]

what do you call a government controlled by the most educated and academically-oriented members of society?

Still a plutocracy. Wealthy folk would buy up more education than anyone else, and control the government that way.

[Mr.Moron]

Still a plutocracy. Wealthy folk would buy up more education than anyone else, and control the government that way.

This is an assumption. What if the ruling class has put in place a system of universally standardized testing and assessment? You can't "buy" eduction and attempting to influence the system with money is highly illegal.

Depending on the tone the darker parts of human nature prevail and the educated officials wind up fairly corrupt as the moneyed influence their decisions. Alternatively the setting could have a more positive view of it and corruption is less of a problem as the highly intelligent & planned government is able to prevent it with clever policy.

I'm not sure the baseline assumption has be something reflective of the worst parts of our real-world governments.

[Aliquid]

This is an assumption. What if the ruling class has put in place a system of universally standardized testing and assessment? You can't "buy" eduction and attempting to influence the system with money is highly illegal.Money will always give you an edge. Private tutors etc. to help you do better at the standardized test.

Unless you use magic to assess intelligence, and then provide free education for those with high potential.

[Totema]

Geniocracy, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geniocracy) Technocracy, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technocracy) or maybe Meritocracy. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meritocracy) Take your pick. They have their differences, admittedly, its going to boil down to some details.
Thanks, geniocracy was what I was going for.

[GoblinGilmartin]

I know the issue has been mostly solved, but scholastocracy?

[Jay R]

"Utter chaos"

[My wife adds, "Have you ever been to an academic conference?"]

Not only do I not want academics running society, I don't want power-seekers trying to become academics. It would spoil two different institutions.

[S@tanicoaldo]

Sapiocracy I guess... Since sapio means inteligent, wise or sensible.

Or sophoscracy since sophos mean wisdom in greek.

[Ettina]

Money will always give you an edge. Private tutors etc. to help you do better at the standardized test.

Unless you use magic to assess intelligence, and then provide free education for those with high potential.

If there is free, good-quality daycare available to everyone, and schools in all neighbourhoods are equally good quality, that edge will be pretty slight, and easily overshadowed by differences in innate ability.

[Slipperychicken]

If there is free, good-quality daycare available to everyone, and schools in all neighbourhoods are equally good quality, that edge will be pretty slight, and easily overshadowed by differences in innate ability.

Good luck with that.

[LibraryOgre]

The Mod Wonder: I would remind people to leave their political disagreements with the real world off the board.

[Sartharina]

Money will always give you an edge. Private tutors etc. to help you do better at the standardized test.

Unless you use magic to assess intelligence, and then provide free education for those with high potential.

It can give you an edge, but no amount of schooling can make a moron look intelligent.

[aberratio ictus]

It can give you an edge, but no amount of schooling can make a moron look intelligent.

That's not true, really. Personally, I'm a moron, and you wouldn't believe how many people deem me to be intelligent.
Good Education and being relatively well-spoken will do that for you.

[Douglas]

That's not true, really. Personally, I'm a moron, and you wouldn't believe how many people deem me to be intelligent.
Good Education and being relatively well-spoken will do that for you.
Maybe you just have Impostor Syndrome (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impostor_syndrome)? It's quite common for highly talented and accomplished people to under-assess themselves because in their perspective all those "amazing" things they did were easy stuff "anyone could have done".

[aberratio ictus]

Nah, I'm fairly certain I'm genuine.

[Aliquid]

It can give you an edge, but no amount of schooling can make a moron look intelligent.Oh for sure.

It is more of a problem with two people who both have potential. Those with money will have more resources to reach their full potential. Where as those without money will have a harder time, and potentially miss out on opportunities.

[Tengu_temp]

A moron can appear intelligent, just like an intelligent person can appear to be a moron. It's just a matter of being well-spoken and preparing the things you want to say in advance. This impression won't survive under closer scrutiny, but most people won't dig that deep.

Also, I find the term "nerdocracy" amusing.

[Fayd]

Dunno if it is helpful, but the term gnostocracy sprang to mind. Gnosos for knowledge and all that.

[MLai]

So only rich ppl growing up in affluent environments can become educated enough to rule in this Geniocracy. Boo hoo.

It. Doesn't. Matter.

The point of a Geniocracy is not for ppl to be equal. It's for educated smart ppl to rule. Who cares what paths those said ppl took in order to become smart and educated. Even if it's through genetic engineering the same end is accomplished.

Nothing says those educated ppl are educated in the right things, however. That's down to the nitty-gritty of the constitution.

[S@tanicoaldo]

Call it Rapture:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J47ENHSomc8

It will not end well.

[Storm_Of_Snow]

So only rich ppl growing up in affluent environments can become educated enough to rule in this Geniocracy. Boo hoo.

It. Doesn't. Matter.

The point of a Geniocracy is not for ppl to be equal. It's for educated smart ppl to rule. Who cares what paths those said ppl took in order to become smart and educated. Even if it's through genetic engineering the same end is accomplished.

Nothing says those educated ppl are educated in the right things, however. That's down to the nitty-gritty of the constitution.
Agreed - a good geniocracy might fund extra tuition for scholars from poor backgrounds, in order to keep bringing in people with new ideas and experiences into the upper echelons, while an evil one may effectively have all the senior posts as inheritances of the rich, and mercilessly keep everyone else down.

They're both still geniocracies.

[Rondodu]

I would simply go with Aristocracy (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aristocracy), as in “rule of the best”.

[Segev]

I would use "Academocracy," myself. "Rule by the Academy."

[Knaight]

This is an assumption. What if the ruling class has put in place a system of universally standardized testing and assessment? You can't "buy" eduction and attempting to influence the system with money is highly illegal.
Actually, this has been done and has historical precedent. Wide spread academic tests for government positions were put in place in China over two thousand years ago. The rich did far better because they were able to study, and it didn't really upset the power balance between the nobility and the rest that much, they just became the educated aristocracy instead. There are a few exceptions here (e.g. children of highly successful merchants), and within the nobility it dramatically altered power balances, but that's about it.


It can give you an edge, but no amount of schooling can make a moron look intelligent.
Between the private tutoring, the access to better environments, the better nutrition, so on and so forth the edge is pretty titanic. That's not to say that well educated children of the rich can't be obvious morons - I'm sure we both can think of a few, probably even among people we personally know - but the edge is substantial.

[Aedilred]

I would simply go with Aristocracy (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aristocracy), as in “rule of the best”.

Aristocracy in its true sense might be appropriate (although typically I think "best" would be seen to refer to a broader base of expertise than intellectualism, and it's debatable that scholars make the best rulers) but it obviously has specific modern conotations which would just lead to confusion, since aristocracy has come in English to refer to a hereditary privileged class.

Plato's philosopher-kings might be a reasonable comparison and (if I remember my Plato well enough) they were assumed to exist in an aristocracy, albeit rule of the PKs was a specific type of aristocracy and one not necessarily otherwise implied. A more specific term would probably be best.

[veti]

Nerdocracy.

It's what your players will call it anyway, so why fight it?