Meaning of argentocracy | Babel Free

Definitions

plutocracy (especially with humorous reference to silver)

nonce-word, rare, uncountable

Examples

“[…] the disease of argentocracy […]”

“Argent the capitalist, Leeson implies, much more overtly than was possible for Stevenson, who lacked the benefit of hindsight which informs Leeson’s late–twentieth-century text, that capitalism is a form⟳ of piracy. Even Silver’s parrot, Flint, has undergone a transformation in Silver’s Revenge, now saying “ten percent, take⟳ it or leave⟳ it!” (p. 111) instead of “pieces of eight.” The term “argent” also has associations with money lending (an argenter) — as it emerges when the Hispaniola is about to set⟳ sail⟳ for Treasure Island for the second time that it is Argent/Silver who owns and has put⟳ up the boat. As with other characters in the novel, Silver/Argent is also typecast through his speech. He speaks the discourse of capitalism or argentocracy (the rule⟳ or paramount influence⟳ of money), as in, “My proposition, friends, is that money overrides both law and custom and even natural justice and is a law and reason⟳ unto itself” (p. 48).”

CEFR level