A gerontocracy is a society where the elderly hold the most political power and dominate companies and institutions. Communist nations are the most important gerontocracies. Power increases with age, discouraging innovation and visionaries. Older leaders become set in their ways and slow to act.
A gerontocracy is a society dominated by the elderly. In a gerontocracy, people who are substantially older than the majority of the population hold the most political power and tend to dominate companies, institutions, and organizations as well. In some cases, a gerontocracy can be extremely stable, thanks to years of experience on the part of the nation’s leaders, but when societies undergo rapid change, gerontocracies often struggle to keep up, because this form of government tends to lack flexibility .
Historically, a number of governments have been gerontocracies, thanks to a cultivation of respect for the elderly. In the modern world, the most important gerontocracies are the governments of communist nations, where one’s influence and power is judged by the length of time one has spent in the Communist Party. Consequently, power in these nations is heavily concentrated in the hands of the elders.
It has been said that a gerontocracy is a society in which “very old men are replaced by old men”, which is a rather apt description. Many gerontocracies have political and social systems in which power increases with age, such as in communist societies, creating a situation where young people cannot step over positions of power. This tends to discourage innovation and visionaries, who are completely immersed in bureaucracy when they actually come to power.
Elders in a gerontocracy may not necessarily hold official leadership positions, but they definitely control the power in their nations. They may act as advisors to public officials or work behind the scenes in more subtle ways, and their influence is usually very easy to see and feel. In a society where power is held by the elders, the very young are often heavily discriminated against.
One of the problems with a gerontocracy, aside from an unfair balance of power, is that older leaders tend to become very set in their own ways and fixated on specific ways of doing and thinking about things. As a result, they are slow to act in response to emerging social trends, global threats and problems. In some cases, this can make a society more stable, ensuring that a government doesn’t blow with the slightest wisp of wind, but it can also cause problems, as leaders become inflexible and unwilling to consider their nations’ weaknesses.
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