The word “kakistocracy,” meaning “government by the worst people,” has been cropping up lately, for obvious reasons. But it’s not a new word. So, what was going on in history when someone first felt the need to coin such a term? Was it like our present moment? If so, how did they get out of it? —Kimmy Jimmel

I hadn’t known this until I started researching your question, Kimmy, but that most buttoned-down of British newsmagazines, The Economist , selected “kakistocracy” as its word of the year shortly after the 2024 election. Coincidence? I missed that issue, but something tells me the pick wasn’t made out of disappointment with the coalition government of Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo.

The first recorded use of “kakistocracy” comes from a sermon delivered in Oxford by the

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