Culture | On language

The Economist’s word of the year for 2024

The Greeks knew how to talk about politics and power

Someone reading an upside down book
Illustration: Carl Godfrey

SOME YEARS it is hard to identify the main event, much less sum it up in a word. This is not the problem in 2024; the return of Donald Trump to the White House after a four-year absence is consequential not only for the world’s most powerful country but also for its neighbours and everywhere else. Which word can capture the mix of surprise, excitement and trepidation people feel as the MAGA movement returns to power?

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This article appeared in the Culture section of the print edition under the headline “The word to sum up a “-cracy” year”

From the December 7th 2024 edition

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