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Democratize

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(pronounced dih-mok-ruh-tyz)  verb

Definition

1. to make democratic; to introduce or practice social equality; erase snobbishness.  2. to make something appealing, available, or accessible to the people in general.

Other Forms

Democratization  (pronounced dih-mok-ruh-tuh-zay-shun)  noun

Main Example

• You probably recall that picture flashed around the world this past May showing an endless, serpentine line of tiny human figures trudging up a steep path toward Mount Everest, and the accompanying news report saying that climbers were complaining of "massive human traffic jams." Indeed, if you are in good physical shape and can afford the price of a permit (upward of $60,000) and cost of a guide, you too can become an "Everesteer" because, in sharp contrast to just two decades ago when only one expedition was allowed on a route at a time, the Nepalese government has opened up the mountain on an industrial scale, allowing in hundreds of climbers on a good weather day. Pity that hitherto pristine mountain for all the stress and inevitable trash it has to suffer, now that "the conquest of Everest" has been democratized.

Workplace Examples

• Scott, our new CEO, has been creating waves ever since taking over. For instance, he has already abolished the "executive dining room," forcing the execs to eat with the hoi polloi--people like you and me--in the company cafeteria. And I believe he's also getting rid of the reserved parking spots for the top brass. The way Scott is going about democratizing this place, he'll soon acquire the moniker "populist Scott."
• Like everyone else, I enjoy the benefits of the latest technological advances. But you've got to admit that this democratization of high-tech is not all for the best. Call me paranoid, but you never know when somebody is invading your privacy by installing tracking software on your cell phone, or even planting one of those new, microscopic cameras or listening devices somewhere in your office.

Other Examples

• the advent of the Internet helping democratize merchandizing because the system of websites and emails has leveled the playing field for small businesses
• by donating his property in northern Maine (now Acadia National Park) to the American people, the great philanthropist John D. Rockefeller, Jr. democratizing what is perhaps the most stunning stretch of coastline in the Eastern U.S.
• space travel, the democratization of which seems to be just around the corner, thanks to the new generation of rocket jet vehicles and the spectacular success of companies such as Space X; the late and supremely gifted Luciano Pavarotti democratizing opera, and extending its reach to the masses, through such means as performing joint concerts with Bono
• Sometime in 2001, in a series of sensational articles and interviews, Bill Joy--one of America's most highly regarded scientists--said: "the unrestricted pursuit of knowledge in such fields as genetics, robotics, and nanotechnology is helping democratize evil." He was proven right just a few months later by the infamous "anthrax attacks" in Washington D.C. when letters containing "weaponized" anthrax killed several innocent people.

© 2014 V.J. Singal
No part of this may be reproduced in any form without written permission of the author.

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