xerocracy

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English

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WOTD – 30 August 2019

Etymology

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From xero(x) +‎ -cracy.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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xerocracy (uncountable)

  1. (informal) Political influence achieved by copying and distributing leaflets and similar material.
    • 1978 October, “Iran: The Unknown Ayatullah Khomeini”, in Time‎[1], New York, N.Y.: Time Warner Publishing, published 16 July 1979, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 20 May 2019:
      On the occasion of his son's death, the Ayatullah [Ruhollah Khomeini] wrote a letter to the Iranian people that is now regarded as the crucial document of the revolution. [...] Khomeini thus established himself as leader of the revolution by calling upon the armed forces to overthrow the Shah [Mohammad Reza Pahlavi]. Hundreds of thousands of copies of the letter were distributed in Iran. As a Tehran University professor put it [in October 1978]: "We were struggling against autocracy for democracy, by means of Xerocracy."
    • 1981, Mohamed Heikal, Iran: The Untold Story: An Insider’s Account of America’s Iranian Adventure and Its Consequences for the Future, New York, N.Y.: Pantheon Books, →ISBN, page 139:
      As someone said, what was happening was a revolution for democracy, against autocracy, led by theocracy, made possible by xerocracy.
    • 1999, Orion Afield, Great Barrington, Mass.: Orion Society, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 19, column 3:
      In San Francisco, the organization of the event [Critical Mass] has been as much a part of its success as anything else. There is no one in charge. Ideas are spread, routes shared, and consensus sought through the ubiquitous copy machine—a "xerocracy" in which anyone is free to make copies of their ideas and pass them around.
    • 2010, Zack [Zachary Mooradian] Furness, “Critical Mass and the Functions of Bicycle Protest”, in One Less Car: Bicycling and the Politics of Automobility (Sporting Series), Philadelphia, Pa.: Temple University Press, →ISBN, page 82:
      Xerocracy, or "rule through photocopying," is the dominant paradigm of Critical Mass and rests on the premise that anyone can print, photocopy, and solicit media that advocate and/or explain the ride. [...] Xerocracy is thus not only a means of shaping participant and public perceptions of about bicycle transportation (through facts, statistics, images, and personal narratives); it is also a part of a larger communicative shift, where cyclists take ownership of, and responsibility for, the meaning of the event.
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Translations

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