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What is oligarchy?

We explain what the oligarchy is, the relationship between corporate oligarchy and aristocracy. Also, how is an oligarch person.

  1. What is oligarchy?

The oligarchy refers to a form of government that was implemented during the contemporary era, represented by a group of people belonging to the same social class , that is, it is a government made up of few people.

The word oligarchy comes from the Greek ” olígos ” which means “few” and ” archos “, it means to command or govern. An example is the Soviet Union where only the communists had the opportunity to vote. The word oligarchy is usually associated with a dictatorship because of its similarities rather than with democracy .

The oligarchy is not only a government made up of a minority of people , but also those who are in command,  have a lot of economic power . These are owners of large properties and lands, all that power they have influences almost one hundred percent in obtaining subsequent political positions.

It is not possible to define exactly when the beginning of this type of government was, since it is anticipated that it exists from the first movements and structuring of human beings , that is, from the beginning of history there have always been those who, owning a little more than others, they came to command, perhaps not from a government but from a small social group. In ancient times, African and Amerindian civilizations were led by wise elders.

The oligarchy not only refers to obtaining political positions, but we can also say that in several types of institutions it has its place. There are oligarchic groups in various services commonly used as sports clubs , commercial areas and others. All of them are composed of a not very large group of people who are in charge of the activities carried out in each of them.

  1. The corporate oligarchy and the aristocracy

Oligarchy - Plato
Plato was one of the many authors who were responsible for talking about the oligarchy.

The corporate oligarchy refers to a form of power that, as in the previous definition, consists of a small group of people, the difference is that these usually occur in educational institutions such as schools , economic entities such as banks, among others. Many times own decisions are taken that ignore the decisions of the country in general, that is, the official ones. An example is multinational companies .

This form of government began to be applied more often in ancient Greece. Many historians claim that it was due to the deformation of another type of government called the aristocracy . In those days, those who possessed the best capacity to be in command of a society ruled , however, when the oligarchy began to emerge, they began to govern not by capacity but by blood offspring , that is, children or relatives of those who had been the command, in addition to having great financial power. In this form of government other types of lower level social groups are not accepted under any circumstances.

The well-known and prominent philosopher Plato belonged to one of the many authors who were in charge of talking about the oligarchy, this one, in particular, referred to the government of the thirty tyrants that took place in his city . The name of this government arose because it was composed of a total of thirty magistrates who possessed absolute power after the Peloponnesian War . These were responsible for imposing a complete oligarchy as a form of government.

  1. What is oligarch?

An oligarch is a person who has great economic power, and does not pay attention or care to act under ethical and moral actions as any person should do and even more so if it is someone who is in a political position.

The oligarchs, moreover, are known for venturing into totally violent and corrupt acts where all they get is their own benefit and to maintain status. Its main objective is not to benefit people, but themselves, and thus permanently extend their wealth, no matter what the form.

The oligarchy is considered the opposite of democracy , since in the second it is characterized by the full participation of the people in making political decisions in search of their benefits, such as choosing those who want to govern them in A near future.

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