An isocracy is a

form of government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

where all citizens have equal political power. The term derives from

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

ἴσος meaning "equal" and κρατεῖν meaning "to have power", or "to rule". An Isocracy is based on a legal right of

isonomia ''Isonomia'' (ἰσονομία "equality of political rights,"Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English LexiconThe Athenian Democracy in the Age of Demosthenes", Mogens Herman Hansen, , p. 81-84 from the Greek ἴσος ''isos'', ...

in political and economic systems, ranging from equality under law to equality in governance. To achieve this, an isocracy both combines and expands features of liberal rights and those in democratic rule. According to the nascent political movement of the same name an Isocracy embodies individual autonomy by extension

informed consent Informed consent is a principle in medical ethics and medical law, that a patient must have sufficient information and understanding before making decisions about their medical care. Pertinent information may include risks and benefits of treatme ...

and

natural resources Natural resources are resources that are drawn from nature and used with few modifications. This includes the sources of valued characteristics such as commercial and industrial use, aesthetic value, scientific interest and cultural value. O ...

as the source of public income. Further, advocates of isocracy claim it addresses the common criticisms of democracy (e.g.,

Tyranny of the Majority The tyranny of the majority (or tyranny of the masses) is an inherent weakness to majority rule in which the majority of an electorate pursues exclusively its own objectives at the expense of those of the minority factions. This results in oppres ...

and

Demagogy A demagogue (from Greek , a popular leader, a leader of a mob, from , people, populace, the commons + leading, leader) or rabble-rouser is a political leader in a democracy who gains popularity by arousing the common people against elites, e ...

) by limiting public governance to the public sphere and private governance to the private sphere. With protections embodied through constitutions, thus not being subject to the vagaries of popular opinion, an isocracy is

secular Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin ''saeculum'', "worldly" or "of a generation"), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. Anything that does not have an explicit reference to religion, either negativ ...

republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

, and does not discriminate on the basis of

race Race, RACE or "The Race" may refer to: * Race (biology), an informal taxonomic classification within a species, generally within a sub-species * Race (human categorization), classification of humans into groups based on physical traits, and/or s ...

sex Sex is the trait that determines whether a sexually reproducing animal or plant produces male or female gametes. Male plants and animals produce smaller mobile gametes (spermatozoa, sperm, pollen), while females produce larger ones ( ova, of ...

, etc. In terms of organization, an isocracy provides for a

federal Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to: Politics General *Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies *Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...

network and encourages a mutualist economic organisation. Claiming that the army and police are an arm of class-rule, an isocracy also argues in that public peace, defense and emergency services can be managed through inclusive

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

. The first recorded use of the term was by the Reverend

Sydney Smith Sydney Smith (3 June 1771 – 22 February 1845) was an English wit, writer, and Anglican cleric. Early life and education Born in Woodford, Essex, England, Smith was the son of merchant Robert Smith (1739–1827) and Maria Olier (1750–1801), ...

in 1845, where opposition was expressed to the idea of equal rule for "all units of society"; Smith noted that the young should not have the same authority as the old and challenged isocrats to support voting and political rights for women, which was considered an extremist position at the time. An early recorded use of the word by a political organisation was by Grant Allen in the formation of the

Independent Labour Party The Independent Labour Party (ILP) was a British political party of the left, established in 1893 at a conference in Bradford, after local and national dissatisfaction with the Liberals' apparent reluctance to endorse working-class candidates ...

, arguing for equal rights for citizens. The history of the ILP incorporates liberalism, market socialism and co-operative societies: :"We believe in the strength and the rule of the people; in government of the People, by the People and for the People. Equality is the literal meaning of the word Isocracy" As an incorporated association in Australia, the Isocracy Network Inc., has continued this tradition of libertarian and co-operative socialism as a member of the Alliance of the Libertarian Left. For a short period there was also a proposed Isocratic Party of Canada (former domain https://web.archive.org/web/20110202114418/http://isocraticcanada.com/), but that initiative appears to be defunct. Finally, the Greek Cypriot Chris Neophytou offers a more conservative perspective through ''isokratia'' which argues for an extension of liberal democracy with mass electronic voting.

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See also