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{{short description|Form of government with small ruling class}}
{{Mergefrom|Corporate oligarchy|date=May 2008}}
{{distinguish||text=[[Oligopoly]], a type of market structure which is controlled by a small number of firms}}
{{Refimprove|date=March 2008}}
{{use dmy dates|date=September 2017}}
{{wiktionary}}
{{Forms of government}}
{{basic forms of government|expanded=Oligarchy}}
'''Oligarchy''' ([[Greek language|Greek]] {{Polytonic|Ὀλιγαρχία}}, ''Oligarkhía'') is a form of organization by (ostensibly) 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 [[economics|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''' ({{etymology|grc|''{{wiktgrc|ὀλιγαρχία}}'' ({{grc-transl|ὀλιγαρχία}})|rule by few}}; {{etymology||''{{wiktgrc|ὀλίγος}}'' ({{grc-transl|ὀλίγος}})|few||''{{wiktgrc|ἄρχω}}'' ({{grc-transl|ἄρχω}})|to rule, command}})<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3Do%29li%2Fgos "ὀλίγος"], Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, ''A Greek–English Lexicon'', on Perseus Digital Library</ref><ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3Da%29%2Frxw "ἄρχω"], Liddell/Scott.</ref><ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3Do%29ligarxi%2Fa "ὀλιγαρχία"]. Liddell/Scott.</ref> is a conceptual form of [[power structure]] in which [[Power (social and political)|power]] rests with a small number of people. These people may or may not be distinguished by one or several characteristics, such as [[nobility]], fame, wealth, education, or corporate, religious, political, or military control.
==Oligarchy ''vs.'' monarchy==
Early [[societies]] may have 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 [[monarch]]s or [[dictator]]s 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 [[England|English]] [[nobles]] banded together in [[1215]] to force a reluctant [[Monarch|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 nobility). As English society continued to grow and develop, Magna Carta was repeatedly revised ([[1216]], [[1217]], and [[1225]]), guaranteeing greater rights to greater numbers of people, thus setting the stage for [[Kingdom of England|English]] [[constitutional monarchy]].


Throughout history, power structures considered to be oligarchies have often been viewed as coercive, relying on public obedience or oppression to exist. [[Aristotle]] pioneered the use of the term as meaning rule by the rich, contrasting it with [[aristocracy]], arguing that oligarchy was the perverted form of aristocracy.<ref>Winters (2011) pp. 26–28. "Aristotle writes that 'oligarchy is when men of property have the government in their hands... wherever men rule by reason of their wealth, whether they be few or many, that is an oligarchy, and where the poor rule, that is a democracy'."</ref>
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 [[Monarchies in Europe|European monarchies]] established during the late [[Middle Ages]] began in this way.


== Minority rule ==
==Examples of oligarchies==
{{Main|Minoritarianism}}


The exclusive consolidation of power by a [[dominant minority|dominant religious or ethnic minority]] has also been described as a form of oligarchy.<ref name=Minority1>{{cite book |last1=Coleman |first1=James |last2=Rosberg |first2=Carl |title=Political Parties and National Integration in Tropical Africa |url=https://archive.org/details/politicalparties0000cole |url-access=registration |date=1966 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/politicalparties0000cole/page/681 681–683] |publisher=[[University of California Press]] |location=Los Angeles |isbn=978-0520002531}}</ref> Examples of this system include South Africa under ''[[apartheid]]'', Liberia under [[Americo-Liberians]], the [[Sultanate of Zanzibar]], and [[Rhodesia]], where the installation of oligarchic rule by the descendants of foreign settlers was primarily regarded as a legacy of various forms of [[colonialism]].<ref name=Minority1/> In the early 20th century [[Robert Michels]] re-articulated the Aristotelean and [[Jean-Jacques Rousseau|Rousseauvian]] theory that democracies, like all large organizations, tend to turn into oligarchies. In his "[[Iron law of oligarchy]]" he suggests that the necessary division of labor in large organizations leads to the establishment of a ruling class mostly concerned with protecting their own power.
Examples include [[Sparta]] (excluding the [[Helots]], who were the majority of the population, from voting), [[Vaishali]], the [[First French Republic]] government under the [[French Directory|Directory]], and the [[Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth]] (only the nobility could vote). 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 (classification of human beings)|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.


== Putative oligarchies ==
[[Russia]] has been labeled an oligarchy because of the power of certain individuals, the [[Business oligarch|oligarchs]] (often former [[Nomenklatura]]), who gained great wealth after the fall of [[Communism]]. Critics{{who?}} have argued that this happened in illegitimate ways and was due to [[Political corruption|corruption]].
A business group might be defined as an oligarchy if it satisfies all of the following conditions:
* Owners are the largest private owners in the country.
* It possesses sufficient political power to promote its own interests.
* Owners control multiple businesses, which intensively coordinate their activities.<ref name="Chern2018">{{cite journal |last1=Chernenko |first1=Demid |title=Capital structure and oligarch ownership |journal=Economic Change and Restructuring |date=2018 |pages=383–411 |doi=10.1007/S10644-018-9226-9 |volume=52 |issue=4 |s2cid=56232563 |url=https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/83641/1/MPRA_paper_83641.pdf}}</ref>


==Intellectual oligarchies==
[[Capitalism]] as a social system is sometimes described as an oligarchy. Critics{{who?}} 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]].
[[George Bernard Shaw]] defined in his play ''[[Major Barbara]]'', premiered in 1905 and first published in 1907, a new type of Oligarchy namely the intellectual oligarchy that acts against the interests 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."<ref>Shaw, Bernard und Baziyan, Vitaly. 2-in-1: English-German. Major Barbara & Major in Barbara. New York, 2020, {{ISBN|979-8692881076}}</ref>


==Cases perceived as oligarchies==
The concept of an "oligarchic democracy" is one which some scholars attribute to Ancient Rome and the United States. [[Marxist]] [[Ellen Meiksins Wood]] writes, that it "conveys a truth about U.S. politics every bit as telling as its application to ancient Rome. It is no accident that the Founding Fathers of the U.S. Republic looked to Roman models for inspiration in making the Federalist case, adopting Roman names as pseudonyms and conceiving of themselves as latterday Catos, forming a natural aristocracy of republican virtue. (Americans today still have a representative body called the Senate, and their republic is still watched over by the Roman eagle.) Faced with the distasteful specter of democracy, they sought ways to redefine that unpalatable concept to accommodate aristocratic rule, producing a hybrid, "representative democracy," which was clearly meant to achieve an effect similar to the ancient Roman idea of the "mixed constitution," in fact, an "oligarchic 'democracy."'<ref> See Monthly Review, July-August, 1989. </ref> However, the constitution and state laws have since been modified, with the removal of the original property requirements for voting, as well as giving the vote to women and blacks.[http://www.infoplease.com/timelines/voting.html]hhyjhfhhfj
[[Jeffrey A. Winters]] and [[Benjamin I. Page]] have described Colombia, Indonesia, Russia, Singapore, Canada and the United States as oligarchies.<ref name="winters2009">{{Cite journal |last1=Winters |first1=Jeffrey |authorlink1=Jeffrey A. Winters |last2=Page |first2=Benjamin |authorlink2=Benjamin Page |publication-date=December 2009 |title=Oligarchy in the United States? |journal=Perspectives on Politics |year=2009 |volume=7 |issue=4 |pages=731–751 |doi=10.1017/S1537592709991770 |s2cid=144432999 |access-date=2022-03-12 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/231898807 |quote=the concept of oligarchy can be fruitfully applied not only to places like Singapore, Colombia, Russia, and Indonesia, but also to the contemporary United States.}}</ref>


== The Iron Law of Oligarchy ==
=== The Philippines ===
{{Main|Monopolies in the Philippines (1965–1986)}}
During the [[Presidency of Ferdinand Marcos|presidency]] of [[Ferdinand Marcos]] from 1965 to 1986, several [[Monopolies in the Philippines (1965–1986)|monopolies]] arose in the Philippines, particularly centered around the [[Marcos family|family]] and [[Cronies of Ferdinand Marcos|close associates of the president]]. This period, as well as subsequent decades, have led some analysts to describe the country as an oligarchy.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hutchcroft |first=Paul D. |date=April 1991 |title=Oligarchs and Cronies in the Philippine State the Politics of Patrimonial Plunder |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/world-politics/article/abs/oligarchs-and-cronies-in-the-philippine-state-the-politics-of-patrimonial-plunder/ED0D256E6AA60C7FE702B4068CCAE06D |journal=World Politics |language=en |volume=43 |issue=3 |pages=414–450 |doi=10.2307/2010401 |jstor=2010401 |s2cid=154855272 |issn=1086-3338}}</ref><ref>{{Cite SSRN |last=Mendoza |first=Ronald U. |last2=Bulaong |first2=Oscar Jr. |last3=Mendoza |first3=Gabrielle Ann S. |date=1 February 2022 |title=Cronyism, Oligarchy and Governance in the Philippines: 1970s vs 2020s |ssrn=4032259 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last=Quimpo |first=Nathan Gilbert |title=Can the Philippines' wild oligarchy be tamed? |date=2015 |url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781315674735-30/philippines-wild-oligarchy-tamed-nathan-gilbert-quimpo |work=Routledge Handbook of Southeast Asian Democratization |pages=347–362 |publisher=Routledge |doi=10.4324/9781315674735-30 |isbn=978-1-315-67473-5 |access-date=2022-05-15}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Explainer: The oligarchy in the Philippines is more than just one family or firm |url=https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2020/07/19/2028001/explainer-oligarchy-more-just-one-family-or-firm |access-date=2022-05-15 |website=Philstar.com}}</ref>


President [[Rodrigo Duterte]], who was elected in 2016, spoke of dismantling oligarchy during his presidency.<ref>{{Cite web |author=Ruth Abbey Gita-Carlos |title=Duterte takes pride in dismantling oligarchy |url=https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1134133 |access-date=2022-05-15 |work=[[Philippine News Agency]] |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":1" /> Nonetheless, corporate oligarchy remained throughout his presidency and subsequently. His tirades against oligarchy proved to be selective. Although Duterte vented harsh rhetoric against prominent tycoons such as the [[Zobel de Ayala family|Ayalas]] and [[Manny Pangilinan]], corporate oligarchs who were friends and allies of Duterte such as [[Dennis Uy]], chairman and CEO of [[Udenna Corporation]] benefited under the [[Presidency of Rodrigo Duterte|Duterte presidency]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cnnphilippines.com/business/2022/6/29/Businesses-under-Duterte-administration-Who-gained-got-hurt.html |title=Businesses under Duterte administration: Who gained, who got hurt? |last=Esmael |first=Lisbet |date=Jun 29, 2022 |website=CNN Philippines |access-date=Sep 19, 2023 |archive-date=28 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230928210716/https://www.cnnphilippines.com/business/2022/6/29/Businesses-under-Duterte-administration-Who-gained-got-hurt.html |url-status=dead}}</ref>
Some authors, such as [[Vilfredo Pareto]], [[Gaetano Mosca]], [[Thomas R. Dye]], and [[Robert Michels]], believe that any political system eventually evolves into an oligarchy. This theory is called 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 small, the oligarchic [[Elitism|elite]] impose strict limits on what constitutes an 'acceptable' and 'respectable' political position, and politicians' careers depend heavily on unelected economic and media elites.


===Russian Federation===
The historian [[Spencer R. Weart]] in his book ''[[Never at War]]'' argues that oligarchies rarely make war with one another.
{{main|Russian oligarchs}}


Since [[Dissolution of the Soviet Union|the collapse of the Soviet Union]] and the [[Privatization]] of the economy in December 1991. Privately owned, Russia-based [[multinational corporation]]s including: producers of petroleum, natural gas and metal have, in the view of many analysts, led to the rise of [[Russian oligarch]]s.<ref>{{cite book |last=Scheidel |first=Walter |author-link=Walter Scheidel |title=The Great Leveler: Violence and the History of Inequality from the Stone Age to the Twenty-First Century |publisher=[[Princeton University Press]] |year=2017 |isbn=978-0691165028 |pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=NgZpDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA51 51] & [https://books.google.com/books?id=NgZpDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA222 222–223]}}</ref> Most of these are directly connected to the highest-ranking of government officials i.e the [[Presidents of the Russian Federation|president]].
==See also==

Government terms:
=== Iran ===
{{Main|Khomeinism|Velayat-e-faqih}}
The religious government of Iran, formed after the 1979 [[Iranian Revolution |Iranian revolution]], is described as a clerical oligarchy, led by a coalition of militant [[Khomeinism|Khomeinist]] ideologues and fundamentalist [[Shia Islam|Shia]] clergy. The ruling system, led by clerical oligarchs, is known as "''Velayat e-Faqih''" , i.e., governance by a class of [[Twelver Shi'ism|Twelver Shia]] ''[[Marja'|marja]]'' designated with the title of "''[[Ayatollah]]''". The highest ranking Shia cleric in the political system is the "''[[Supreme Leader of Iran|Rahbar]]''" (Supreme Leader) who serves for life and is considered to be "protector of the faith" in Khomeinist theology. The clerical oligarchs supervise the activities of the parliament and controls the armed forces, state media, sectors of the national economy and religious funds. The ''Rahbar'' is also the military chief of the [[Iranian Armed Forces]] and directly controls the conglomerate of Khomeinist paramilitaries known as the [[Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps|IRGC]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kazemzadeh |first=Masoud |title=Iran's Foreign Policy: Elite Factionalism, Ideology, the Nuclear Weapons Program, and the United States |publisher=Routledge |year=2020 |isbn=978-0-367-49545-9 |location=New York |pages=1–19}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Amuzager |first=Jahangir |title=The Islamic Republic of Iran: Reflections on an Emerging Economy |publisher=Routledge |year=2014 |isbn=978-1-85743-748-5 |location=New York |pages=48–50, 88–89}}</ref>

===Ukraine===
{{main|Ukrainian oligarchs}}
The Ukrainian oligarchs are a group of [[business oligarch]]s that quickly appeared on the economic and political scene of Ukraine after its independence in 1991. Overall there are 35 oligarchic groups.<ref name=Chern2018 />

On 23 September 2021 the Ukrainian government released law No. 1780-ІХ which is primarily focused on protecting national interest and limiting the oligarchs' impact on democracy in Ukraine.

===United States===
{{further|Income inequality in the United States#Democracy and society|Politics of the United States#Concerns about oligarchy|||}}
[[File:The Bosses of the Senate by Joseph Keppler.jpg|thumb|240px|''[[The Bosses of the Senate]]'', [[Corporatocracy|corporate interests]] as giant money bags looming over [[United States Senate|senators]]<ref>[[Joseph Ferdinand Keppler|Joseph Keppler]], ''[[Puck (magazine)|Puck]]'' (January 23, 1889)</ref>]]

Some contemporary authors have characterized conditions in the United States in the 21st century as oligarchic in nature.<ref name="Kroll 2010-12-02">{{cite news |first=Andy |last=Kroll |title=The New American Oligarchy |date=2 December 2010 |publisher=[[Truthout]] |url=http://archive.truthout.org/andy-kroll-the-new-american-oligarchy65597 |work=TomDispatch |access-date=17 August 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120122032008/http://archive.truthout.org/andy-kroll-the-new-american-oligarchy65597 |archive-date=22 January 2012 |df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.tnr.com/article/magazine/books-and-arts/106430/money-politics-inequality-power-one-percent-move-on-effect |title=America on the Brink of Oligarchy |magazine=The New Republic |date=24 August 2012 |last1=Starr |first1=Paul}}</ref> [[Simon Johnson (economist)|Simon Johnson]] wrote in 2009 that "the reemergence of an American financial oligarchy is quite recent", a structure which he delineated as being the "most advanced" in the world.<ref name="TA Johnson 2009-05">{{cite journal |title=The Quiet Coup |journal=The Atlantic |date=May 2009 |first=Simon |last=Johnson |author-link=Simon Johnson (economist) |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2009/05/the-quiet-coup/307364/?single_page=true |access-date=17 August 2012}}</ref> [[Jeffrey A. Winters]] wrote that "oligarchy and democracy operate within a single system, and American politics is a daily display of their interplay."<ref name="TAI 11-12/2011"> {{cite journal |title=Oligarchy and Democracy |url=http://www.the-american-interest.com/articles/2011/09/28/oligarchy-and-democracy/ |journal=[[The American Interest]] |date=November–December 2011 |orig-year=28 September 2011 |first=Jeffrey A. |last=Winters |volume=7 |issue=2 |access-date=17 August 2012}}</ref> The top 1% of the U.S. population by wealth in 2007 had a larger share of total income than at any time since 1928.<ref name="CBPP-20140524">{{cite journal |title=Tax Data Show Richest 1 Percent Took a Hit in 2008, But Income Remained Highly Concentrated at the Top. Recent Gains of Bottom 90 Percent Wiped Out |url=http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=3309 |journal=Center on Budget and Policy Priorities |date=25 May 2011 |access-date=30 May 2014}}</ref> In 2011, according to [[PolitiFact]] and others, the top 400 wealthiest Americans "have more wealth than half of all Americans combined."<ref name="PF-20110311">{{cite news |last1=Kertscher |first1=Tom |last2=Borowski |first2=Greg |title=The Truth-O-Meter Says: '''True''' – Michael Moore says 400 Americans have more wealth than half of all Americans combined |url=http://www.politifact.com/wisconsin/statements/2011/mar/10/michael-moore/michael-moore-says-400-americans-have-more-wealth-/ |date=10 March 2011 |work=[[PolitiFact]] |access-date=11 August 2013}}</ref><ref name="HP-20110306">{{cite news |last=Moore |first=Michael |author-link=Michael Moore |title=America Is Not Broke |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-moore/america-is-not-broke_b_832006.html |date=6 March 2011 |work=[[Huffington Post]] |access-date=11 August 2013}}</ref><ref name="MM-20110307">{{cite web |last=Moore |first=Michael |author-link=Michael Moore |title=The Forbes 400 vs. Everybody Else |url=http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/must-read/forbes-400-vs-everybody-else |date=7 March 2011 |work=michaelmoore.com |url-status=dead |archive-date=9 March 2011 |access-date=2014-08-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110309211959/http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/must-read/forbes-400-vs-everybody-else}}</ref><ref name="CNN-20100922">{{cite news |last=Pepitone |first=Julianne |title=Forbes 400: The super-rich get richer |url=https://money.cnn.com/2010/09/22/news/companies/forbes_400/index.htm |date=22 September 2010 |work=[[CNN]] |access-date=11 August 2013}}</ref>

In 1998, [[Bob Herbert]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' referred to modern American plutocrats as "The Donor Class"<ref name="NYT-19980719">{{cite news |last=Herbert |first=Bob |author-link=Bob Herbert |title=The Donor Class |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/07/19/opinion/in-america-the-donor-class.html |date=19 July 1998 |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=10 March 2016}}</ref><ref name="NYT-20151010">{{cite news |last1=Confessore |first1=Nicholas |last2=Cohen |first2=Sarah |last3=Yourish |first3=Karen |title=The Families Funding the 2016 Presidential Election |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/10/11/us/politics/2016-presidential-election-super-pac-donors.html |date=10 October 2015 |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=10 March 2016}}</ref> (list of top donors)<ref name="NYT-20151010-el">{{cite news |last1=Lichtblau |first1=Eric |last2=Confessore |first2=Nicholas |title=From Fracking to Finance, a Torrent of Campaign Cash – Top Donors List |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/11/us/politics/wealthy-families-presidential-candidates.html#donors-list |date=10 October 2015 |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=11 March 2016}}</ref> and defined the class, for the first time,<ref name="CS-20141226">{{cite news |last=McCutcheon |first=Chuck |title=Why the 'donor class' matters, especially in the GOP presidential scrum |url=http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/Politics-Voices/2014/1226/Why-the-donor-class-matters-especially-in-the-GOP-presidential-scrum |date=26 December 2014 |work="[[The Christian Science Monitor]] |access-date=10 March 2016}}</ref> as "a tiny group—just one-quarter of 1 percent of the population—and it is not representative of the rest of the nation. But its money buys plenty of access."<ref name="NYT-19980719" />

French economist [[Thomas Piketty]] states in his 2013 book, ''[[Capital in the Twenty-First Century]],'' that "the risk of a drift towards oligarchy is real and gives little reason for optimism about where the United States is headed."<ref>[[Thomas Piketty|Piketty, Thomas]] (2014). ''[[Capital in the Twenty-First Century]].'' [[Belknap Press]]. {{ISBN|067443000X}} p. 514</ref>

A 2014 study by political scientists Martin Gilens of [[Princeton University]] and [[Benjamin Page]] of [[Northwestern University]] stated that "majorities of the American public actually have little influence over the policies our government adopts."<ref>{{cite journal |title=Testing Theories of American Politics: Elites, Interest Groups, and Average Citizens |last1=Gilens |first1=Martin |last2=Page |first2=Benjamin I. |name-list-style=amp |journal=[[Perspectives on Politics]] |date=2014 |volume=12 |issue=3 |pages=564–581 |doi=10.1017/S1537592714001595 |doi-access=free}}</ref> The study analyzed nearly 1,800 policies enacted by the US government between 1981 and 2002 and compared them to the expressed preferences of the American public as opposed to wealthy Americans and large special interest groups.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.businessinsider.com/major-study-finds-that-the-us-is-an-oligarchy-2014-4 |title=Major Study Finds The US Is An Oligarchy |website=businessinsider.com}}</ref> It found that wealthy individuals and organizations representing business interests have substantial political influence, while average citizens and mass-based interest groups have little to none. The study did concede that "Americans do enjoy many features central to democratic governance, such as [[Elections in the United States|regular elections]], [[Freedom of speech in the United States|freedom of speech]] and [[Freedom of association|association]], and a widespread ([[Voter suppression in the United States|if still contested]]) [[Suffrage|franchise]]." Gilens and Page do not characterize the US as an "oligarchy" per se; however, they do apply the concept of "civil oligarchy" as used by [[Jeffrey A. Winters|Jeffrey Winters]] with respect to the US. Winters has posited a comparative theory of "oligarchy" in which the wealthiest citizens—even in a "civil oligarchy" like the United States—dominate policy concerning crucial issues of wealth- and income protection.<ref>Gilens & Page (2014) p. 6</ref>

Gilens says that average citizens only get what they want if wealthy Americans and business-oriented interest groups also want it; and that when a policy favored by the majority of the American public is implemented, it is usually because the economic elites did not oppose it.<ref>Prokop, A. (18 April 2014) [https://www.vox.com/2014/4/18/5624310/martin-gilens-testing-theories-of-american-politics-explained "The new study about oligarchy that's blowing up the Internet, explained"] ''Vox''</ref> Other studies have criticized the Page and Gilens study.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Testing Inferences about American Politics: A Review of the "Oligarchy" Result |journal=Research & Politics |date=1 October 2015 |issn=2053-1680 |pages=2053168015608896 |volume=2 |issue=4 |doi=10.1177/2053168015608896 |language=en |first=Omar S. |last=Bashir |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |title=Relative Policy Support and Coincidental Representation |journal=Perspectives on Politics |date=1 December 2015 |issn=1541-0986 |pages=1053–1064 |volume=13 |issue=4 |doi=10.1017/S1537592715002315 |first=Peter K. |last=Enns |s2cid=14664012}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |title=Reconsidering the Middle: A Reply to Martin Gilens |journal=Perspectives on Politics |date=1 December 2015 |issn=1541-0986 |pages=1072–1074 |volume=13 |issue=4 |doi=10.1017/S1537592715002339 |first=Peter K. |last=Enns |s2cid=148467972}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Matthews |first=Dylan |date=9 May 2016 |title=Remember that study saying America is an oligarchy? 3 rebuttals say it's wrong. |url=https://www.vox.com/2016/5/9/11502464/gilens-page-oligarchy-study |access-date=2021-11-10 |website=[[Vox (website)|Vox]] |language=en}}</ref> Page and Gilens have defended their study from criticism.<ref name=":0" />

In a 2015 interview, former President [[Jimmy Carter]] stated that the United States is now "an oligarchy with unlimited political bribery" due to the ''[[Citizens United v. FEC]]'' ruling which effectively removed limits on donations to political candidates.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/videos/jimmy-carter-u-s-is-an-oligarchy-with-unlimited-political-bribery-20150731 |title=Jimmy Carter: U.S. Is an 'Oligarchy With Unlimited Political Bribery' |last=Kreps |first=Daniel |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=31 July 2015}}</ref> [[Wall Street]] spent a record $2&nbsp;billion trying to influence the [[2016 United States presidential election]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Wall Street spends record $2bn on US election lobbying |url=https://www.ft.com/content/5060844a-0420-11e7-ace0-1ce02ef0def9 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/https://www.ft.com/content/5060844a-0420-11e7-ace0-1ce02ef0def9 |archive-date=10 December 2022 |url-access=subscription |work=Financial Times |date=8 March 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Wall Street Spent $2 Billion Trying to Influence the 2016 Election |url=https://fortune.com/2017/03/08/wall-street-2016-election-spending/ |work=Fortune |date=8 March 2017}}</ref>

===China===

Since 1950, China has been considered an oligarchy. <ref>{{cite web |title=Oligarchy |url=https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/oligarchy |website=education.nationalgeographic.org |publisher=National Geographic |access-date=21 July 2023 |language=en}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{Portal|Politics}}
{{div col|colwidth=22em}}
* [[Aristocracy]]
* [[Aristocracy]]
* [[Elitism]]
* [[Cacique democracy]]
* [[Crony capitalism]]
* [[Despotism]]
* [[Dictatorship]]
* [[Dictatorship]]
* [[Forms of government]]
* [[Inverted totalitarianism]]
* [[Iron law of oligarchy]]
* [[Kleptocracy]]
* [[Meritocracy]]
* [[Military dictatorship]]
* [[Minoritarianism]]
* [[Nepotism]]
* [[Netocracy]]
* [[Netocracy]]
* [[Oligopoly]]
* [[Oligopoly]]
* [[The Theory and Practice of Oligarchical Collectivism|Oligarchical collectivism]]
* [[Parasitism (social offense)|Parasitism]]
* [[Plutocracy]]
* [[Plutocracy]]
* [[Political family]]
* [[Political family]]
* [[Theocracy]]
* [[Power behind the throne]]
* [[Power behind the throne]]
* ''[[The Power Elite]] ''(1956 book by [[C. Wright Mills]])
* [[Russian oligarchs]]
* [[Fascism]]
* [[Polyarchy]]
* [[Stratocracy]]
* [[Synarchism]]
* [[Theocracy]]
* [[Timocracy]]
{{div col end}}


== References ==
Relevant authors:
* [[Vilfredo Pareto]]
* [[Gaetano Mosca]]
* [[Thomas R. Dye]]
* [[Robert Michels]]
* [[Aristotle]]
* [[King Paul III]]

==References==
{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}
{{refbegin}}
{{refbegin}}
* Ostwald, M. ''Oligarchia: The Development of a Constitutional Form in Ancient Greece (''Historia'' Einzelschirften; 144)''. Stuttgart: Steiner, 2000 (ISBN 3-515-07680-8).
{{refend}}
{{refend}}

== Further reading ==
* {{citation |contribution=Comparative Oligarchy: Russia, Ukraine and the United States |title=CASE Network Studies and Analyses No. 296 |first=Anders |last=Aslund |publisher=[[Carnegie Endowment for International Peace]] |year=2005 |doi=10.2139/ssrn.1441910 |s2cid=153769623 |url=http://www.case-research.eu/upload/publikacja_plik/4931074_SA%20296last.pdf}}
* {{cite journal |last=Gordon |first=Daniel |title=Hiring Law Professors: Breaking the Back of an American Plutocratic Oligarchy |journal=Widener Law Journal |date=2010 |volume=19 |pages=1–29 |ssrn=1412783}}
* {{cite book |last1=Hollingsworth |first1=Mark |last2=Lansley |first2=Stewart |title=Londongrad: From Russia with Cash: The Inside Story of the Oligarchs |publisher=Fourth Estate |year=2010 |isbn=978-0007356379}}
* {{cite book |last=Hudson |first=Michael |author-link=Michael Hudson (economist) |date=2023 |title=The Collapse of Antiquity: Greece and Rome as Civilization's Oligarchic Turning Point |url= |location= |publisher=Islet |page= |isbn=978-3949546129}}
* {{cite book |title=Aristotle and Xenophon on democracy and oligarchy |editor=J. M. Moore |publisher=[[University of California Press]] |isbn=978-0520029095 |year=1986}}
* Ostwald, M. (2000), ''Oligarchia: The Development of a Constitutional Form in Ancient Greece (''Historia'' Einzelschirften; 144)''. Stuttgart: Steiner, {{ISBN|3515076808}}.
* {{cite book |last1=Ramseyer |first1=J. Mark |last2=Rosenbluth |first2=Frances McCall |author-link2=Frances McCall Rosenbluth |title=The Politics of Oligarchy: Institutional Choice in Imperial Japan |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1998 |isbn=978-0521636490}}
* {{cite book |last1=Tabachnick |first1=David |last2=Koivukoski |first2=Toivu |title=On Oligarchy: Ancient Lessons for Global Politics |publisher=[[University of Toronto Press]] |year=2012 |isbn=978-1442661165}}
* {{cite book |last1=Whibley |first1=Leonard |title=Greek oligarchies, their character and organisations |publisher=G. P. Putnam's Sons |year=1896 |url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924028258204}}
* {{cite book |last1=Winters |first1=Jeffrey A. |author-link=Jeffrey A. Winters |title=Oligarchy |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2011 |location=Northwestern University, Illinois |isbn=978-1107005280}}


==External links==
==External links==
{{Wiktionary|oligarchy}}
*Online Text: Leonard Whibley, [http://www.isidore-of-seville.com/al/oligarchies/index.html ''Greek Oligarchies: Their Character and Organisation''] (1896), still the only full-scale treatment of oligarchy in Classical Greece.
{{Wikiquote|Oligarchy}}
*{{Commons category-inline|Oligarchies}}


{{extreme wealth}}
[[Category:Forms of government]]
{{Political philosophy}}
[[Category:Greek loanwords]]
{{authoritarian types of rule}}
{{authority control}}


[[Category:Oligarchy| ]]
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[[Category:Authoritarianism]]
[[bs:Oligarhija]]
[[Category:Political culture]]
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[[ca:Oligarquia]]
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[[el:Ολιγαρχία]]
[[es:Oligarquía]]
[[eo:Oligarkio]]
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[[vi:Oligarchy]]
[[tr:Oligarşi]]
[[uk:Олігархія]]
[[vec:Oligarchia]]
[[yi:אליגאראכיע]]
[[zh:寡头政治]]

Latest revision as of 00:15, 9 May 2024

Not to be confused with Oligopoly, a type of market structure which is controlled by a small number of firms.

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Oligarchy (from Ancient Greek ὀλιγαρχία (oligarkhía) 'rule by few'; from ὀλίγος (olígos) 'few', and ἄρχω (árkhō) 'to rule, command')[1][2][3] is a conceptual form of power structure in which power rests with a small number of people. These people may or may not be distinguished by one or several characteristics, such as nobility, fame, wealth, education, or corporate, religious, political, or military control.

Throughout history, power structures considered to be oligarchies have often been viewed as coercive, relying on public obedience or oppression to exist. Aristotle pioneered the use of the term as meaning rule by the rich, contrasting it with aristocracy, arguing that oligarchy was the perverted form of aristocracy.[4]

Minority rule[edit]

Main article: Minoritarianism

The exclusive consolidation of power by a dominant religious or ethnic minority has also been described as a form of oligarchy.[5] Examples of this system include South Africa under apartheid, Liberia under Americo-Liberians, the Sultanate of Zanzibar, and Rhodesia, where the installation of oligarchic rule by the descendants of foreign settlers was primarily regarded as a legacy of various forms of colonialism.[5] In the early 20th century Robert Michels re-articulated the Aristotelean and Rousseauvian theory that democracies, like all large organizations, tend to turn into oligarchies. In his "Iron law of oligarchy" he suggests that the necessary division of labor in large organizations leads to the establishment of a ruling class mostly concerned with protecting their own power.

Putative oligarchies[edit]

A business group might be defined as an oligarchy if it satisfies all of the following conditions:

  • Owners are the largest private owners in the country.
  • It possesses sufficient political power to promote its own interests.
  • Owners control multiple businesses, which intensively coordinate their activities.[6]

Intellectual oligarchies[edit]

George Bernard Shaw defined in his play Major Barbara, premiered in 1905 and first published in 1907, a new type of Oligarchy namely the intellectual oligarchy that acts against the interests 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."[7]

Cases perceived as oligarchies[edit]

Jeffrey A. Winters and Benjamin I. Page have described Colombia, Indonesia, Russia, Singapore, Canada and the United States as oligarchies.[8]

The Philippines[edit]

Main article: Monopolies in the Philippines (1965–1986)

During the presidency of Ferdinand Marcos from 1965 to 1986, several monopolies arose in the Philippines, particularly centered around the family and close associates of the president. This period, as well as subsequent decades, have led some analysts to describe the country as an oligarchy.[9][10][11][12]

President Rodrigo Duterte, who was elected in 2016, spoke of dismantling oligarchy during his presidency.[13][12] Nonetheless, corporate oligarchy remained throughout his presidency and subsequently. His tirades against oligarchy proved to be selective. Although Duterte vented harsh rhetoric against prominent tycoons such as the Ayalas and Manny Pangilinan, corporate oligarchs who were friends and allies of Duterte such as Dennis Uy, chairman and CEO of Udenna Corporation benefited under the Duterte presidency.[14]

Russian Federation[edit]

Main article: Russian oligarchs

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union and the Privatization of the economy in December 1991. Privately owned, Russia-based multinational corporations including: producers of petroleum, natural gas and metal have, in the view of many analysts, led to the rise of Russian oligarchs.[15] Most of these are directly connected to the highest-ranking of government officials i.e the president.

Iran[edit]

Main articles: Khomeinism and Velayat-e-faqih

The religious government of Iran, formed after the 1979 Iranian revolution, is described as a clerical oligarchy, led by a coalition of militant Khomeinist ideologues and fundamentalist Shia clergy. The ruling system, led by clerical oligarchs, is known as "Velayat e-Faqih" , i.e., governance by a class of Twelver Shia marja designated with the title of "Ayatollah". The highest ranking Shia cleric in the political system is the "Rahbar" (Supreme Leader) who serves for life and is considered to be "protector of the faith" in Khomeinist theology. The clerical oligarchs supervise the activities of the parliament and controls the armed forces, state media, sectors of the national economy and religious funds. The Rahbar is also the military chief of the Iranian Armed Forces and directly controls the conglomerate of Khomeinist paramilitaries known as the IRGC.[16][17]

Ukraine[edit]

Main article: Ukrainian oligarchs

The Ukrainian oligarchs are a group of business oligarchs that quickly appeared on the economic and political scene of Ukraine after its independence in 1991. Overall there are 35 oligarchic groups.[6]

On 23 September 2021 the Ukrainian government released law No. 1780-ІХ which is primarily focused on protecting national interest and limiting the oligarchs' impact on democracy in Ukraine.

United States[edit]

Further information: Income inequality in the United States § Democracy and society, and Politics of the United States § Concerns about oligarchy
The Bosses of the Senate, corporate interests as giant money bags looming over senators[18]

Some contemporary authors have characterized conditions in the United States in the 21st century as oligarchic in nature.[19][20] Simon Johnson wrote in 2009 that "the reemergence of an American financial oligarchy is quite recent", a structure which he delineated as being the "most advanced" in the world.[21] Jeffrey A. Winters wrote that "oligarchy and democracy operate within a single system, and American politics is a daily display of their interplay."[22] The top 1% of the U.S. population by wealth in 2007 had a larger share of total income than at any time since 1928.[23] In 2011, according to PolitiFact and others, the top 400 wealthiest Americans "have more wealth than half of all Americans combined."[24][25][26][27]

In 1998, Bob Herbert of The New York Times referred to modern American plutocrats as "The Donor Class"[28][29] (list of top donors)[30] and defined the class, for the first time,[31] as "a tiny group—just one-quarter of 1 percent of the population—and it is not representative of the rest of the nation. But its money buys plenty of access."[28]

French economist Thomas Piketty states in his 2013 book, Capital in the Twenty-First Century, that "the risk of a drift towards oligarchy is real and gives little reason for optimism about where the United States is headed."[32]

A 2014 study by political scientists Martin Gilens of Princeton University and Benjamin Page of Northwestern University stated that "majorities of the American public actually have little influence over the policies our government adopts."[33] The study analyzed nearly 1,800 policies enacted by the US government between 1981 and 2002 and compared them to the expressed preferences of the American public as opposed to wealthy Americans and large special interest groups.[34] It found that wealthy individuals and organizations representing business interests have substantial political influence, while average citizens and mass-based interest groups have little to none. The study did concede that "Americans do enjoy many features central to democratic governance, such as regular elections, freedom of speech and association, and a widespread (if still contested) franchise." Gilens and Page do not characterize the US as an "oligarchy" per se; however, they do apply the concept of "civil oligarchy" as used by Jeffrey Winters with respect to the US. Winters has posited a comparative theory of "oligarchy" in which the wealthiest citizens—even in a "civil oligarchy" like the United States—dominate policy concerning crucial issues of wealth- and income protection.[35]

Gilens says that average citizens only get what they want if wealthy Americans and business-oriented interest groups also want it; and that when a policy favored by the majority of the American public is implemented, it is usually because the economic elites did not oppose it.[36] Other studies have criticized the Page and Gilens study.[37][38][39][40] Page and Gilens have defended their study from criticism.[40]

In a 2015 interview, former President Jimmy Carter stated that the United States is now "an oligarchy with unlimited political bribery" due to the Citizens United v. FEC ruling which effectively removed limits on donations to political candidates.[41] Wall Street spent a record $2 billion trying to influence the 2016 United States presidential election.[42][43]

China[edit]

Since 1950, China has been considered an oligarchy. [44]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "ὀλίγος", Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek–English Lexicon, on Perseus Digital Library
  2. ^ "ἄρχω", Liddell/Scott.
  3. ^ "ὀλιγαρχία". Liddell/Scott.
  4. ^ Winters (2011) pp. 26–28. "Aristotle writes that 'oligarchy is when men of property have the government in their hands... wherever men rule by reason of their wealth, whether they be few or many, that is an oligarchy, and where the poor rule, that is a democracy'."
  5. ^ a b Coleman, James; Rosberg, Carl (1966). Political Parties and National Integration in Tropical Africa. Los Angeles: University of California Press. pp. 681–683. ISBN 978-0520002531.
  6. ^ a b Chernenko, Demid (2018). "Capital structure and oligarch ownership" (PDF). Economic Change and Restructuring. 52 (4): 383–411. doi:10.1007/S10644-018-9226-9. S2CID 56232563.
  7. ^ Shaw, Bernard und Baziyan, Vitaly. 2-in-1: English-German. Major Barbara & Major in Barbara. New York, 2020, ISBN 979-8692881076
  8. ^ Winters, Jeffrey; Page, Benjamin (2009). "Oligarchy in the United States?". Perspectives on Politics. 7 (4) (published December 2009): 731–751. doi:10.1017/S1537592709991770. S2CID 144432999. Retrieved 12 March 2022. the concept of oligarchy can be fruitfully applied not only to places like Singapore, Colombia, Russia, and Indonesia, but also to the contemporary United States.
  9. ^ Hutchcroft, Paul D. (April 1991). "Oligarchs and Cronies in the Philippine State the Politics of Patrimonial Plunder". World Politics. 43 (3): 414–450. doi:10.2307/2010401. ISSN 1086-3338. JSTOR 2010401. S2CID 154855272.
  10. ^ Mendoza, Ronald U.; Bulaong, Oscar Jr.; Mendoza, Gabrielle Ann S. (1 February 2022). "Cronyism, Oligarchy and Governance in the Philippines: 1970s vs 2020s". SSRN 4032259.
  11. ^ Quimpo, Nathan Gilbert (2015), "Can the Philippines' wild oligarchy be tamed?", Routledge Handbook of Southeast Asian Democratization, Routledge, pp. 347–362, doi:10.4324/9781315674735-30, ISBN 978-1-315-67473-5, retrieved 15 May 2022
  12. ^ a b "Explainer: The oligarchy in the Philippines is more than just one family or firm". Philstar.com. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  13. ^ Ruth Abbey Gita-Carlos. "Duterte takes pride in dismantling oligarchy". Philippine News Agency. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  14. ^ Esmael, Lisbet (29 June 2022). "Businesses under Duterte administration: Who gained, who got hurt?". CNN Philippines. Archived from the original on 28 September 2023. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
  15. ^ Scheidel, Walter (2017). The Great Leveler: Violence and the History of Inequality from the Stone Age to the Twenty-First Century. Princeton University Press. pp. 51 & 222–223. ISBN 978-0691165028.
  16. ^ Kazemzadeh, Masoud (2020). Iran's Foreign Policy: Elite Factionalism, Ideology, the Nuclear Weapons Program, and the United States. New York: Routledge. pp. 1–19. ISBN 978-0-367-49545-9.
  17. ^ Amuzager, Jahangir (2014). The Islamic Republic of Iran: Reflections on an Emerging Economy. New York: Routledge. pp. 48–50, 88–89. ISBN 978-1-85743-748-5.
  18. ^ Joseph Keppler, Puck (January 23, 1889)
  19. ^ Kroll, Andy (2 December 2010). "The New American Oligarchy". TomDispatch. Truthout. Archived from the original on 22 January 2012. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
  20. ^ Starr, Paul (24 August 2012). "America on the Brink of Oligarchy". The New Republic.
  21. ^ Johnson, Simon (May 2009). "The Quiet Coup". The Atlantic. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
  22. ^ Winters, Jeffrey A. (November–December 2011) [28 September 2011]. "Oligarchy and Democracy". The American Interest. 7 (2). Retrieved 17 August 2012.
  23. ^ "Tax Data Show Richest 1 Percent Took a Hit in 2008, But Income Remained Highly Concentrated at the Top. Recent Gains of Bottom 90 Percent Wiped Out". Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. 25 May 2011. Retrieved 30 May 2014.
  24. ^ Kertscher, Tom; Borowski, Greg (10 March 2011). "The Truth-O-Meter Says: True – Michael Moore says 400 Americans have more wealth than half of all Americans combined". PolitiFact. Retrieved 11 August 2013.
  25. ^ Moore, Michael (6 March 2011). "America Is Not Broke". Huffington Post. Retrieved 11 August 2013.
  26. ^ Moore, Michael (7 March 2011). "The Forbes 400 vs. Everybody Else". michaelmoore.com. Archived from the original on 9 March 2011. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
  27. ^ Pepitone, Julianne (22 September 2010). "Forbes 400: The super-rich get richer". CNN. Retrieved 11 August 2013.
  28. ^ a b Herbert, Bob (19 July 1998). "The Donor Class". The New York Times. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  29. ^ Confessore, Nicholas; Cohen, Sarah; Yourish, Karen (10 October 2015). "The Families Funding the 2016 Presidential Election". The New York Times. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  30. ^ Lichtblau, Eric; Confessore, Nicholas (10 October 2015). "From Fracking to Finance, a Torrent of Campaign Cash – Top Donors List". The New York Times. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
  31. ^ McCutcheon, Chuck (26 December 2014). "Why the 'donor class' matters, especially in the GOP presidential scrum". "The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  32. ^ Piketty, Thomas (2014). Capital in the Twenty-First Century. Belknap Press. ISBN 067443000X p. 514
  33. ^ Gilens, Martin & Page, Benjamin I. (2014). "Testing Theories of American Politics: Elites, Interest Groups, and Average Citizens". Perspectives on Politics. 12 (3): 564–581. doi:10.1017/S1537592714001595.
  34. ^ "Major Study Finds The US Is An Oligarchy". businessinsider.com.
  35. ^ Gilens & Page (2014) p. 6
  36. ^ Prokop, A. (18 April 2014) "The new study about oligarchy that's blowing up the Internet, explained" Vox
  37. ^ Bashir, Omar S. (1 October 2015). "Testing Inferences about American Politics: A Review of the "Oligarchy" Result". Research & Politics. 2 (4): 2053168015608896. doi:10.1177/2053168015608896. ISSN 2053-1680.
  38. ^ Enns, Peter K. (1 December 2015). "Relative Policy Support and Coincidental Representation". Perspectives on Politics. 13 (4): 1053–1064. doi:10.1017/S1537592715002315. ISSN 1541-0986. S2CID 14664012.
  39. ^ Enns, Peter K. (1 December 2015). "Reconsidering the Middle: A Reply to Martin Gilens". Perspectives on Politics. 13 (4): 1072–1074. doi:10.1017/S1537592715002339. ISSN 1541-0986. S2CID 148467972.
  40. ^ a b Matthews, Dylan (9 May 2016). "Remember that study saying America is an oligarchy? 3 rebuttals say it's wrong". Vox. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
  41. ^ Kreps, Daniel (31 July 2015). "Jimmy Carter: U.S. Is an 'Oligarchy With Unlimited Political Bribery'". Rolling Stone.
  42. ^ "Wall Street spends record $2bn on US election lobbying". Financial Times. 8 March 2017. Archived from the original on 10 December 2022.
  43. ^ "Wall Street Spent $2 Billion Trying to Influence the 2016 Election". Fortune. 8 March 2017.
  44. ^ "Oligarchy". education.nationalgeographic.org. National Geographic. Retrieved 21 July 2023.

Further reading[edit]

External links[edit]

Look up oligarchy in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Wikiquote has quotations related to Oligarchy.
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