Meaning of xerocracy | Babel Free

Definitions

Political influence achieved by copying and distributing leaflets and similar material.

informal, uncountable

Equivalents

Examples

“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."”

“As someone said, what was happening was a revolution for democracy, against autocracy, led by theocracy, made possible by xerocracy.”

“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.”

“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.”

CEFR level