When words fail it sometimes becomes necessary to coin new ones.  In discussing our government we have begun to use Plutocracy, Globalism and Oligarchy as descriptive terms for the system currently in play.  In my opinion they fall short and so I am submitting Corruptocracy.

CORRUPTOCRACY
NOUN:  A system of government based primarily on crony capitalism, practiced by elected officials both current and former and facilitated by underlings holding appointive offices.

A corruptocracy is best identified by the ease with which office holders can parlay “pay for play” politics and influence peddling into personal income streams with little or no consequences for doing so.

Once established, a corruptocracy is maintained and grows by gaining control over adjacent branches of government, notably those involved in interpreting and/or enforcing the law.  This has the benefit of blocking investigations and prosecutions for corrupt practices and is also handy for stifling dissent.  Such control most often results from employing outside donors who are seeking access to government officials or by establishing pseudo charitable foundations to act as money conduits.

When bribery and cronyism fail to produce desired results those operating a corruptocracy will often resort to violence, both threatened and actual.

Once in place, a corruptocracy is extremely difficult to uproot due to the massive amounts of cash and influence it can bring to bear.  People elected as reformers soon become frustrated at the seemingly insurmountable task of rooting out corruption and begin to “go along to get along” with an eye always on reelection.

A corruptocracy can only be defeated by an informed electorate which is why so much effort is expended by those in the corruptocracy to prevent such an electorate from gaining plurality.  Under the guise of seeking full and equal suffrage they will concentrate most of their new voter outreach in those demographics proven to be the least informed in civics and the most prone to believing political promises that cannot be fulfilled.

The corruptocracy, once found almost exclusively in third world countries, has made its way into the top tier nations. This movement has been both gradual and insidious, analogous to the camel having its nose in the tent, and it is not a self correcting problem.  Only an informed and involved citizenry can be effective in rooting out the corruption at its core.