Forms of Government: Oligarchy

Oligarchy essentially means the “rule of the few.” This can be in the form of a family, royalty, military similar to a military dictatorship, the wealthy, intellectuals similar to a technocracy. According to Wikipedia, “Oligarchies have been tyrannical throughout history, being completely reliant on public servitude to exist.”

Oligarchies commonly tend to be a transitional government from a monarchy or dictatorship to another form of “power-sharing” government. Some examples of oligarchy societies most of the city-states in Greece between 1000 & 500 BC, the Etruscans, the Roman Republic, & a more recent form would be South Africa during the apartheid in which race was the requirement for the “caste system.”

A theory known as “iron law of oligarchy” states that “any political system eventually evolves into an oligarchy” & that “modern democracies should be considered as elected oligarchies.”