[MD] Harris and Steve

[Ham Priday]

Mary and John --

[Mary]:
> Well, our friend Wiki lead me to think that a more precise term
> would be plutocracy.
>
> It's important to me to get it right.

[John]:
> Well in that case Mary, let me offer my suggestion, "mediocracy".
> For it simultaneously aknowledges that the true power is in the
> hands of the media image makers to the populace, at the same time
> decrying the mediocre homogenization that necessarily occurs
> when everybody gets their values from the same narrow sources
> AND those sources have to propogate a sorta "lowest common
> denominator" effect which keeps everything from going to any
> extremes.

I think that nails it, John, although "oligarchy" (government by the few for 
their own purposes) also qualifies ... unless you want to stress the 
"wealthiness" of the ruling few.  In either case, public "mediocrity" 
usually follows.

--Ham