How Much Do You Know About Oligarchy?

Oligarchy: A Conceptual Form of Power Structure

• Oligarchy is a form of government in which power rests with a small number of people who may have different distinguishing characteristics.
• The concept of oligarchy has been viewed as tyrannical, relying on public obedience or oppression to exist.
• Aristotle pioneered the use of the term as meaning rule by the rich, which is commonly known as plutocracy today.
• Robert Michels developed the theory that democracies tend to turn into oligarchies due to the necessary division of labor in large organizations.
• The exclusive consolidation of power by a dominant religious or ethnic minority has also been described as a form of oligarchy.
• Examples of oligarchies include Sparta, South Africa under apartheid, Liberia under Americo-Liberians, and Russia since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
• A business group can be defined as an oligarchy if it satisfies specific conditions.
• George Bernard Shaw defined a new type of oligarchy, namely the intellectual oligarchy that acts against the interests of the common people.
• Colombia, Indonesia, Russia, Singapore, and the United States have been described as oligarchies by Jeffrey A. Winters and Benjamin I. Page.
• The Philippines, Ukraine, and Iran have been described as oligarchies due to their respective political and economic structures.
• Some contemporary authors have characterized conditions in the United States in the 21st century as oligarchic in nature.
• Wealthy individuals and organizations representing business interests have substantial political influence, while average citizens and mass-based interest groups have little to none in the United States, according to a 2014 study by Martin Gilens of Princeton University and Benjamin Page of Northwestern University.