Mob rule or ochlocracy (Greek: ὀχλοκρατία, romanized: okhlokratía; Latin: ochlocratia) is the rule of government by a mob or mass of people and the intimidation of legitimate authorities. Insofar as it represents a pejorative for majoritarianism, it is akin to the Latin phrase mobile vulgus, meaning "the fickle crowd" from which the English term "mob" originally was derived in 1680s, during the Glorious Revolution.
A Tale of Two Cities, the mob in Paris dancing La Carmagnole, by Fred Barnard.
Ochlocracy is synonymous in meaning and usage to the modern informal term "mobocracy", which arose in the 18th century as a colloquial neologism. Likewise, the ruling mobs in ochlocracies may sometimes genuinely reflect the will of the majority in a manner approximating democracy, but ochlocracy is characterised by the absence or impairment of a procedurally civil and democratic process.[1]
An "ochlocrat" is one who is an advocate or partisan of ochlocracy. It also may be used as an adjective ("ochlocratic" or "ochlocratical").
Ochlocracy come from Greekokhlokratia with ὄχλος, óchlos (masses) + κράτος, krátos (rule) literally meaning "rule by the masses".[2][3]
Origin and theory
Polybius appears to have coined the term ochlocracy in his 2nd century BC work Histories (6.4.6).[4] He uses it to name the "pathological" version of popular rule, in opposition to the good version, which he refers to as democracy. There are numerous mentions of the word "ochlos" in the Talmud, in which "ochlos" refers to anything from "mob", "populace", to "armed guard", as well as in the writings of Rashi, a Jewish commentator on the Bible. The word was first recorded in English in 1584, derived from the Frenchochlocratie (1568), which stems from the original Greek okhlokratia, from okhlos ("mob") and kratos ("rule", "power", "strength").
Ancient Greek political thinkers regarded ochlocracy as one of the three "bad" forms of government (tyranny, oligarchy, and ochlocracy) as opposed to the three "good" forms of government: monarchy, aristocracy, and democracy. They distinguished "good" and "bad" according to whether the government form would act in the interest of the whole community ("good") or in the exclusive interests of a group or individual at the expense of justice ("bad").
The Polybian terminology for forms of state in ancient Greek philosophy has become customary. Polybius' predecessor, Aristotle, distinguished between different forms of democracy, stating that those disregarding the rule of law devolved into ochlocracy.[5] The Polybian distinction between democracy and ochlocracy is absent in the works of Plato, who considered democracy to be a degraded form of government.[6]
The threat of "mob rule" to a democracy is restrained by ensuring that the rule of law protects minorities or individuals against short-term demagoguery or moral panic.[7] However, considering how laws in a democracy are established or repealed by the majority, the protection of minorities by rule of law is questionable. Some authors, like the Bosnian political theoretician Jasmin Hasanović, connect the emergence of ochlocracy in democratic societies with the decadence of democracy in neoliberalism in which "the democratic role of the people has been reduced mainly to the electoral process".[1]
African-American lynched by white mob in Omaha, Nebraska, September 28, 1919 ... the "Red Summer"
During the late 17th and the early 18th centuries, English life was very disorderly. Although the Duke of Monmouth's rising of 1685 was the last rebellion, there was scarcely a year in which London or the provincial towns did not see aggrieved people breaking out into riots. In Queen Anne's reign (1702–14) the word "mob", first heard of not long before, came into general use. With no police force, there was little public order.[8] Several decades later, the anti-Catholic Gordon Riots swept through London and claimed hundreds of lives; at the time, a proclamation painted on the wall of Newgate prison announced that the inmates had been freed by the authority of "His Majesty, King Mob".
The Salem Witch Trials in colonial Massachusetts during the 1690s, in which the unified belief of the townspeople overpowered the logic of the law, also has been cited by one essayist as an example of mob rule.[9]
In 1837, Abraham Lincoln wrote about lynching and "the increasing disregard for law which pervades the country – the growing disposition to substitute the wild and furious passions in lieu of the sober judgment of courts, and the worse than savage mobs for the executive ministers of justice."[10]
^ abHasanović, Jasmin. "Ochlocracy in the Practices of Civil Society: A Threat for Democracy?". Studia Juridica et Politica Jaurinensis. from the original on 15 May 2018.
^"ochlocracy". The Free Dictionary. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
^"ochlocracy | Etymology, origin and meaning of ochlocracy by etymonline". www.etymonline.com. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
^ "Polybius, Histories, The Rotation of Polities". www.perseus.tufts.edu. from the original on 26 February 2008. Retrieved 29 March 2008.
^Blössner, Norbert (2007). "The City-Soul Analogy". In Ferrari, G. R. F. (ed.). The Cambridge Companion to Plato's Republic. Translated from the German by G. R. F. Ferrari. Cambridge University Press.
^Jesús Padilla Gálvez, Democracy in Times of Ochlocracy, Synthesis philosophica, Vol. 32 No.1, 2017, pp. 167–178.Padilla Gálvez, Jesús (23 August 2017). "Demokracija u vremenu ohlokracije". Synthesis Philosophica. 32 (1): 167–178. doi:10.21464/sp32112. from the original on 24 December 2017. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
^Clark, Sir George (1956). The Later Stuarts, 1660–1714. The Oxford History of England: Oxford University Press. pp. 258–259. ISBN0-19-821702-1.
^. colorado.edu. Archived from the original on 21 February 2010. Retrieved 20 January 2010.
^"Opposition to Mob-Rule 2009-01-09 at the Wayback Machine", The Writings of Abraham Lincoln, Volume 1.
Libby, Ronald T. (2021), American Ochlocracy: Black Lives Matter & Mob Rule. Miami: Twelve Tables Publisher[ISBN missing]
Campbell, Francis Stuart (pseudonym for Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn) (1943), The Menace of the Herd. Milwaukee: The Bruce Publishing Company[ISBN missing]
EtymologyOnLine
External links
Quotations related to Mob rule at Wikiquote
The dictionary definition of mob rule at Wiktionary
March 04, 2023
rule, other, uses, rule, disambiguation, ochlocracy, greek, ὀχλοκρατία, romanized, okhlokratía, latin, ochlocratia, rule, government, mass, people, intimidation, legitimate, authorities, insofar, represents, pejorative, majoritarianism, akin, latin, phrase, mo. For other uses see Mob Rule disambiguation Mob rule or ochlocracy Greek ὀxlokratia romanized okhlokratia Latin ochlocratia is the rule of government by a mob or mass of people and the intimidation of legitimate authorities Insofar as it represents a pejorative for majoritarianism it is akin to the Latin phrase mobile vulgus meaning the fickle crowd from which the English term mob originally was derived in 1680s during the Glorious Revolution A Tale of Two Cities the mob in Paris dancing La Carmagnole by Fred Barnard Ochlocracy is synonymous in meaning and usage to the modern informal term mobocracy which arose in the 18th century as a colloquial neologism Likewise the ruling mobs in ochlocracies may sometimes genuinely reflect the will of the majority in a manner approximating democracy but ochlocracy is characterised by the absence or impairment of a procedurally civil and democratic process 1 An ochlocrat is one who is an advocate or partisan of ochlocracy It also may be used as an adjective ochlocratic or ochlocratical Contents 1 Etymology 2 Origin and theory 3 In history 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksEtymology EditOchlocracy come from Greek okhlokratia with ὄxlos ochlos masses kratos kratos rule literally meaning rule by the masses 2 3 Origin and theory EditPolybius appears to have coined the term ochlocracy in his 2nd century BC work Histories 6 4 6 4 He uses it to name the pathological version of popular rule in opposition to the good version which he refers to as democracy There are numerous mentions of the word ochlos in the Talmud in which ochlos refers to anything from mob populace to armed guard as well as in the writings of Rashi a Jewish commentator on the Bible The word was first recorded in English in 1584 derived from the French ochlocratie 1568 which stems from the original Greek okhlokratia from okhlos mob and kratos rule power strength Ancient Greek political thinkers regarded ochlocracy as one of the three bad forms of government tyranny oligarchy and ochlocracy as opposed to the three good forms of government monarchy aristocracy and democracy They distinguished good and bad according to whether the government form would act in the interest of the whole community good or in the exclusive interests of a group or individual at the expense of justice bad The Polybian terminology for forms of state in ancient Greek philosophy has become customary Polybius predecessor Aristotle distinguished between different forms of democracy stating that those disregarding the rule of law devolved into ochlocracy 5 The Polybian distinction between democracy and ochlocracy is absent in the works of Plato who considered democracy to be a degraded form of government 6 The threat of mob rule to a democracy is restrained by ensuring that the rule of law protects minorities or individuals against short term demagoguery or moral panic 7 However considering how laws in a democracy are established or repealed by the majority the protection of minorities by rule of law is questionable Some authors like the Bosnian political theoretician Jasmin Hasanovic connect the emergence of ochlocracy in democratic societies with the decadence of democracy in neoliberalism in which the democratic role of the people has been reduced mainly to the electoral process 1 In history Edit The Mob attacking Joseph Foullon de Doue African American lynched by white mob in Omaha Nebraska September 28 1919 the Red Summer During the late 17th and the early 18th centuries English life was very disorderly Although the Duke of Monmouth s rising of 1685 was the last rebellion there was scarcely a year in which London or the provincial towns did not see aggrieved people breaking out into riots In Queen Anne s reign 1702 14 the word mob first heard of not long before came into general use With no police force there was little public order 8 Several decades later the anti Catholic Gordon Riots swept through London and claimed hundreds of lives at the time a proclamation painted on the wall of Newgate prison announced that the inmates had been freed by the authority of His Majesty King Mob The Salem Witch Trials in colonial Massachusetts during the 1690s in which the unified belief of the townspeople overpowered the logic of the law also has been cited by one essayist as an example of mob rule 9 In 1837 Abraham Lincoln wrote about lynching and the increasing disregard for law which pervades the country the growing disposition to substitute the wild and furious passions in lieu of the sober judgment of courts and the worse than savage mobs for the executive ministers of justice 10 Mob violence played a prominent role in the early history of the Latter Day Saint movement 11 Examples include the expulsions from Missouri the Haun s Mill massacre the death of Joseph Smith the expulsion from Nauvoo the murder of Joseph Standing and the Cane Creek Massacre 12 13 In an 1857 speech Brigham Young gave an address demanding military action against mobocrats See also EditAnacyclosis Anarchism Argumentum ad populum Bandwagon effect Cancel culture Collective consciousness Collective effervescence Collective intelligence Collectivism and individualism Communal violence Consensus reality Criticism of democracy Crowd manipulation Crowd psychology Diffusion of responsibility Direct democracy Group dynamics Herd behavior Illiberal democracy Lynching Mass psychogenic illness Mobbing Peer pressure Populism Presumption of guilt Political demonstration Smart mob Social group Spiral of silence Tyranny of the majority Vigilantism Vox populiReferences EditNotes a b Hasanovic Jasmin Ochlocracy in the Practices of Civil Society A Threat for Democracy Studia Juridica et Politica Jaurinensis Archived from the original on 15 May 2018 ochlocracy The Free Dictionary Retrieved 31 December 2021 ochlocracy Etymology origin and meaning of ochlocracy by etymonline www etymonline com Retrieved 31 December 2021 Polybius Histories The Rotation of Polities www perseus tufts edu Archived from the original on 26 February 2008 Retrieved 29 March 2008 Aristotle Politics Bk IV Part IV Blossner Norbert 2007 The City Soul Analogy In Ferrari G R F ed The Cambridge Companion to Plato s Republic Translated from the German by G R F Ferrari Cambridge University Press Jesus Padilla Galvez Democracy in Times of Ochlocracy Synthesis philosophica Vol 32 No 1 2017 pp 167 178 Padilla Galvez Jesus 23 August 2017 Demokracija u vremenu ohlokracije Synthesis Philosophica 32 1 167 178 doi 10 21464 sp32112 Archived from the original on 24 December 2017 Retrieved 18 December 2017 Clark Sir George 1956 The Later Stuarts 1660 1714 The Oxford History of England Oxford University Press pp 258 259 ISBN 0 19 821702 1 Mob Rule and Violence in American Culture colorado edu Archived from the original on 21 February 2010 Retrieved 20 January 2010 Opposition to Mob Rule Archived 2009 01 09 at the Wayback Machine The Writings of Abraham Lincoln Volume 1 Arrington Leonard J amp Bitton Davis 1992 The Mormon Experience A History of the Latter Day Saints University of Illinois Press p 45 ISBN 9780252062360 Retrieved 23 June 2018 Cane Creek Massacre TNMormonHistory Retrieved 23 June 2018 Wingfield Marshall 1958 Tennessee s Mormon Massacre Tennessee Historical Quarterly 17 1 19 36 JSTOR 42621358 Bibliography Libby Ronald T 2021 American Ochlocracy Black Lives Matter amp Mob Rule Miami Twelve Tables Publisher ISBN missing Campbell Francis Stuart pseudonym for Erik von Kuehnelt Leddihn 1943 The Menace of the Herd Milwaukee The Bruce Publishing Company ISBN missing EtymologyOnLineExternal links Edit Quotations related to Mob rule at Wikiquote The dictionary definition of mob rule at Wiktionary Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Mob rule amp oldid 1136205754, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
