predemocratic
1
8.8
- adjective
- /ˌpriːdɪˈmɒkrətɪk/
- Formal
- Northeastern politics has been typified by "rent seeking," in the sense of the elite's drive to control government in order to acquire public funds and benefits as private income in the absence of a strong private sector or a civic culture, much like precapitalist and predemocratic societies.
Examples
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Children in predemocratic regions had limited access to education and basic rights.
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In many predemocratic societies, power was concentrated in the hands of a few elite individuals.
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"Referring to the deposition of a monarch, these lines constitute a farewell specifically to old regimes, old forms of predemocratic legitimacy.
Academic text (2000) -
One might also argue that any such comparative work should deemphasize established democracies in favor of new democracies or even "predemocratic" societies.
Academic text (1995) -
Both thinkers feared that these predemocratic inheritances or traditions would be eroded by the gradual democratization of society and by the dogmatic application of the principle of popular sovereignty.
Academic text (2001) -
The predemocratic era is often marked by a lack of political freedoms and representation.
Synonyms
11
5.8
Not following rules that let people vote and choose leaders
Antonyms
How Democratic
Surface Forms
Morphology
predemocratic = democratic (transparent) = pre + demo + crat + ic
The meaning is directly formed from 'pre-' plus 'democratic', giving the sense 'before becoming democratic' or 'not yet democratic in character'.
Etymology
Predemocratic is made of the prefix pre- meaning 'before' and democratic from democracy, which means 'rule by the people'. So, predemocratic describes a time or system that came 'before' democracy or that does not have democratic features.