BharatNotes Gerontocracy
noun (countable and uncountable)Usage in a UPSC answer
Critics of the Congress Working Committee's decision-making structure in the 1980s argued that it exhibited gerontocratic tendencies, with an ageing leadership resistant to younger voices on economic liberalisation.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Word Family
gerontocrat (noun), gerontocratic (adjective), gerontology (related noun, study of ageing), gerontocratical (adjective, rare)
Root
Greek gerōn (genitive gerontos) = old man, elder + -kratia = rule, power; literally 'rule by old men'
Etymology
From Greek gerontokratia, composed of gerōn (old man, elder — the same root as 'gerontology') and kratein (to rule). The word entered English in the early 19th century. In classical Athens, the Spartan Gerousia (council of elders, men over 60) was the archetypal gerontocratic institution. The term gained sociological precision through 20th-century anthropological studies of age-grade systems in African and Indigenous societies.
Memory Hook
GERONTO = old (same root as gerontology — the study of old age). CRACY = rule (same as in democracy, bureaucracy). So GERONTOCRACY = rule by the OLD. A helpful image: a council of grey-haired elders sitting in judgment — GERON-to-CRACY, from grey hair to gavel.
How This Word Works in UPSC Writing
Rule or dominant influence exercised by the elderly. In GS1 it is useful for describing authority in traditional village and kin institutions, where age confers standing, and in GS2 it appears in discussion of leadership renewal in political parties and institutions. Its analytical edge is that it names authority derived from age itself, rather than from office or expertise.
Don’t Confuse It With
A gerontocracy vests authority in the old. A meritocracy vests it in demonstrated ability. An oligarchy vests it in a small group defined by wealth or power rather than age. Seniority, as an administrative principle, is a narrower rule for ordering within a service, not a form of rule.
Hindi Meaning
वृद्धतंत्र (vriddhatantra), rule by elders.
Common Questions
- What is gerontocracy?
- A system in which authority and influence rest with the older members of a society or organisation.
- Where is gerontocracy seen in Indian society?
- Most visibly in traditional kin and village institutions where elders hold decision-making authority, and it is also discussed in relation to leadership renewal in political parties.
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