The Rise of the Crankocracy

Recently I’ve been searching for a word that describes our present system of government. Liberal democracy isn’t quite right (though it has features of both) because the phrase omits too many of its other features: notably, the rise and dominance of cranks, the casual overriding of well-established professional rules, and the imposition of formal and informal censorship on matters of controversy.

All three hang together, and all are dealt with below, but the key one seems to me to be the rise and dominance of cranks. Several people have suggested that the word idiocracy is the one for which I’ve been looking. It’s also the title of a clever comedy of a few years back which some commentators predictably argue predicted the presidency of Donald Trump. Its producers have recently coined the witty advert: “The film that started as a comedy … but became a documentary.” Fair play to them. It’s a funny movie, now on video. Watch it.

John O’Sullivan’s column appears in…