Definition

Noun: 1. A political system or state where a mob holds power and control: This refers specifically to governance or rule by a mob, characterized by the dominance of mass impulses over established laws and institutions. 2. Government by the masses in a disorderly or tumultuous manner: It implies a form of popular control that is unorganized, volatile, and often driven by passion rather than reason or legal procedure.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • The historian described the period of riots and chaos as a classic example of mobocracy.
  • Fear of mobocracy led the founders to establish a republic with checks and balances, not a direct democracy.

Advanced Usage

• "The dangers of mobocracy": A phrase used in political theory to warn against the risks of rule by an uncontrolled crowd.
  • The philosopher's writings often cautioned against the dangers of mobocracy to individual liberties.

Variants and Related Words

• Mobocratic (adj): Relating to or characteristic of a mobocracy.
  • The leader's mobocratic rhetoric incited violence.
• Ochlocracy (n): A synonym from political science, meaning government by the mob or populace.

Synonyms

• Ochlocracy: Government by the mob.
• Rule by the mob: Direct description of mob control.

Related Phrases

• "Descend into mobocracy": To deteriorate into a state ruled by a lawless mob.
  • Without strong institutions, the revolution risked descending into mobocracy.

Noun

1. a political system in which a mob is the source of control; government by the masses