timocracies
/tɪˈmɑkrəsiz/
noun
- Forms of government in which political power is based on wealth or property ownership.
- In a timocracy, a person's influence in government depends on how much property they own.
- Some historians argue that certain modern societies have become timocracies where the rich hold most of the power.
- Ancient timocracies often gave voting rights only to landowners.