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Oligarchy
Oligarchy (from Ancient Greek ὀλιγαρχία (oligarkhía) 'rule by few'; from ὀλίγος (olígos) 'few' and ἄρχω (árkhō) 'to rule, command') is a form of government in which power rests with a small number of people. Leaders of such regimes are often referred to as oligarchs, and generally are characterized by having titles of nobility or high amounts of wealth.
The consolidation of power by a dominant minority, whether religious or ethnic, can be considered a form of oligarchy. In these cases, oligarchic rule was often tied to the legacy of colonialism.
In the early 20th century, Robert Michels expanded on this idea in his iron law of oligarchy, arguing that even democracies, like all large organizations, tend to become oligarchic due to the necessity of dividing labor, which ultimately results in a ruling class focused on maintaining its power.
Business groups may be considered oligarchies if they meet the following criteria:
George Bernard Shaw coined the concept of an intellectual oligarchy in his play Major Barbara (1907). In the play, Shaw criticizes the control of society by intellectual elites and expresses a desire for the empowerment of the common people:
I now want to give the common man weapons against the intellectual man. I love the common people. I want to arm them against the lawyer, the doctor, the priest, the literary man, the professor, the artist, and the politician, who, once in authority, is the most dangerous, disastrous, and tyrannical of all the fools, rascals, and impostors. I want a democratic power strong enough to force the intellectual oligarchy to use its genius for the general good or else perish.
Aristotle pioneered the use of the term as meaning rule by the rich, contrasting it with aristocracy, arguing that oligarchy was a corruption of aristocracy.
The Ancient Greek word oligarchia is used by historians of Ancient Greece to describe the position of the Eupatridae, the aristocratic elite, of the city-state of Athens. However, in the mid-6th century BC, the tyrant Pisistratus dismantled this structure and replaced it with a semi-popular autocratic system. As Pisistratus was succeeded by his two sons, Hippias and Hipparchus, the tyranny became increasingly more unpopular in Athens, especially among the aristocracy.
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Oligarchy
Oligarchy (from Ancient Greek ὀλιγαρχία (oligarkhía) 'rule by few'; from ὀλίγος (olígos) 'few' and ἄρχω (árkhō) 'to rule, command') is a form of government in which power rests with a small number of people. Leaders of such regimes are often referred to as oligarchs, and generally are characterized by having titles of nobility or high amounts of wealth.
The consolidation of power by a dominant minority, whether religious or ethnic, can be considered a form of oligarchy. In these cases, oligarchic rule was often tied to the legacy of colonialism.
In the early 20th century, Robert Michels expanded on this idea in his iron law of oligarchy, arguing that even democracies, like all large organizations, tend to become oligarchic due to the necessity of dividing labor, which ultimately results in a ruling class focused on maintaining its power.
Business groups may be considered oligarchies if they meet the following criteria:
George Bernard Shaw coined the concept of an intellectual oligarchy in his play Major Barbara (1907). In the play, Shaw criticizes the control of society by intellectual elites and expresses a desire for the empowerment of the common people:
I now want to give the common man weapons against the intellectual man. I love the common people. I want to arm them against the lawyer, the doctor, the priest, the literary man, the professor, the artist, and the politician, who, once in authority, is the most dangerous, disastrous, and tyrannical of all the fools, rascals, and impostors. I want a democratic power strong enough to force the intellectual oligarchy to use its genius for the general good or else perish.
Aristotle pioneered the use of the term as meaning rule by the rich, contrasting it with aristocracy, arguing that oligarchy was a corruption of aristocracy.
The Ancient Greek word oligarchia is used by historians of Ancient Greece to describe the position of the Eupatridae, the aristocratic elite, of the city-state of Athens. However, in the mid-6th century BC, the tyrant Pisistratus dismantled this structure and replaced it with a semi-popular autocratic system. As Pisistratus was succeeded by his two sons, Hippias and Hipparchus, the tyranny became increasingly more unpopular in Athens, especially among the aristocracy.