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Oligarchy

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Politics and government

   Oligarchy ( Greek Ὀλιγαρχία, Oligarkhía) is a form of government where
   political power effectively rests with a small, elite segment of
   society (whether distinguished by wealth, family or military prowess).
   The word oligarchy is from the Greek words for "few" (ὀλίγον ófligon)
   and "rule" (ἄρχω arcgekho).

Oligarchy, Aristocracy, and Plutocracy

   Historically, many oligarchies openly gave the political power to a
   minority group, sometimes arguing that this was an aristocracy
   ("organization by the 'best' and the 'brightest'"). Such states were
   often controlled by powerful families whose children were raised and
   mentored to be heirs of the power of the oligarchy. However, this power
   may also not be exercised openly, the oligarchs preferring to remain
   "the power behind the throne", exerting control through economic means.
   Although Aristotle pioneered the use of the term as a synonym for rule
   by the rich, for which the exact term is plutocracy, oligarchy is not
   always a rule by wealth, as oligarchs can simply be a privileged group.

Oligarchy vs. Monarchy

   Early societies may become oligarchies as an outgrowth of an alliance
   between rival tribal chieftains or as the result of a caste system.
   Oligarchies can often become instruments of transformation, by
   insisting that monarchs or dictators share power, thereby opening the
   door to power-sharing by other elements of society (while oligarchy
   means "the rule of the few," monarchy means "the rule of the one"). One
   example of power-sharing from one person to a larger group of persons
   occurred when English nobles banded together in 1215 to force a
   reluctant King John of England to sign the Magna Carta, a tacit
   recognition both of King John's waning political power and of the
   existence of an incipient oligarchy (the noblility). As English society
   continued to grow and develop, the Magna Carta was repeatedly revised (
   1216, 1217, and 1225), guaranteeing greater rights to greater numbers
   of people, thus setting the stage for English constitutional monarchy.

   Oligarchies may also evolve into more autocratic or monarchist forms of
   government, sometimes as the result of one family gaining ascendancy
   over the others. Many of the European monarchies established during the
   late Middle Ages began in this way.

Examples of oligarchies

   Examples of a historical oligarchies are Sparta and the
   Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. A modern example of oligarchy could be
   seen in South Africa during the 20th century. Here, the basic
   characteristics of oligarchy are particularly easy to observe, since
   the South African form of oligarchy was based on race. After the Second
   Boer War, a tacit agreement was reached between English- and
   Afrikaans-speaking whites. Together, they made up about twenty percent
   of the population, but this small percentage ruled the vast native
   population. Whites had access to virtually all the educational and
   trade opportunities, and they proceeded to deny this to the black
   majority even further than before. Although this process had been going
   on since the mid-18th century, after 1948 it became official government
   policy and became known worldwide as apartheid. This lasted until the
   arrival of democracy in South Africa in 1994, punctuated by the
   transition to a democratically-elected government dominated by the
   black majority.

   Russia has been labeled an oligarchy because of the power of certain
   individuals, the oligarchs, who gained great wealth after the fall of
   Communism. Critics have argued that this happened in illegitimate ways
   and due to corruption.

   Capitalism as a social system, exemplified most notably by the United
   States, is sometimes described as an oligarchy. Critics argue that in a
   capitalist society, power - economic, cultural and political - rests in
   the hands of the capitalist class. Communist states have also been seen
   as oligarchies, being ruled by a class with special privileges, the
   nomenklatura.

"The Iron Law of Oligarchy"

   Some authors such as Vilfredo Pareto, Gaetano Mosca, Thomas R. Dye, and
   Robert Michels believe that any political system will eventually evolve
   into an oligarchy (the " Iron law of oligarchy"). According to this
   school of thought, modern democracies should be considered as elected
   oligarchies. In these systems, actual differences between viable
   political rivals are relatively small and strict limits are imposed (by
   the oligarchic elite) on what constitutes 'acceptable' and
   'respectable' political positions. Furthermore, politicians' careers
   depend heavily on unelected economic and media elites.

   The historian Spencer R. Weart in his book Never at War argues that
   oligarchies rarely make war with one another.

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