The neologism egocracy is defined by the French language website as a system of government in which the pride of leaders predominates. An egocrat exercises power by abusing their authority and placing their ego and personal interests above those of citizens or the community. Power is concentrated in their hands, information is manipulated to serve their image in a politics of spectacle, counter‑powers are forgotten or even repressed, opponents are devalued or prosecuted, and the common good is privatized for the benefit of one.
A mindset
Egocracy is not limited to political spheres; it can manifest in business, family life, associations, religious organizations, and other structures of power. Great egocrats tend, through their omnipresence, to become models for all the small‑scale Narcissuses, petty bosses, more or less supreme leaders, narcissistic perverts, and so on.
Form of resistance
The more a democracy remains alive, the more citizen vigilance, collective resistance, the preservation of intermediary bodies, and cooperative organizations help limit the harmful effects of egocracies by interconnecting, cooperating, and strengthening one another—though not without risk for the resisters! Educators must strive to cultivate a spirit of responsible civic engagement and teach children that they have the right to say no and to have their refusals respected…
The resisters
While I was writing these few lines, three events struck me. June 5 marks the “anniversary” of the resistance of Tank Man, in 1989, on Tiananmen Square—this unknown activist who single‑handedly stopped the tanks of repression before being “taken away” by four men and carried off to an unknown fate, becoming an immortal symbol fiercely suppressed by Chinese leaders. On May 29, Edgar Morin died—his body, at least, but not his thought—and among the many quotes recalled, two responded to the egocrats: after a brief reflection on his life, he concluded, I am everything I have encountered, and in another interview, after a moment of silence, he ended with, And then, create around yourself an oasis of fraternity. Finally, on May 25, Leon XIV presented Magnifica humanitas, an encyclical in which, among other reflections on AI, he emphasized the urgency of transforming shared knowledge into a common good rather than a tool of domination.
So what ?
So, the Augustus Imperators, the Louis XIVs, Mussolini, Stalin, Hitler, Pol Pot—to name only the dead—are indeed dead (after having prevented many of their contemporaries from living their lives fully and in peace!), but tyrannical ambition does not seem to have been buried with them in their fragile tombs! It is therefore crucial that citizens and social organizations remain vigilant and united in the face of egocratic attempts and defend democratic values, which remain, always and still, both a requirement and a risk.
Michel SEYRAT
