Government Systems and Political Ideologies

Oligarchy

General

So what is oligarchy? Well, it is basically a term to describe a form of government system ruled by a small group of people within a society. This is people are so called the “elite”, either defined in terms of wealth, military status, family or even race!
The term oligarchy originates from the Greek word meaning “few” and “rule”.

Origin and History of oligarchy

Now that we know the origin of the word, however, we cannot conclude that oligarchy first originated in Greece. Historical records have shown that oligarchy was practiced by places around the world long ago and this form of government was not very common. The Spring and Autumn Era and the Warring States Period in the Chinese history was in some sense oligarchic where political power rested in the hands of a group of nobles and warlords. Other common states that exercised oligarchy in ancient time would be the Etruscans and city-states in Greek like Sparta and the Roman Republic. In modern times, countries like Japan (notably in the Meiji Era) and 20th century South Africa (Apartheid period), where privilege and power were in the hands of the local European descent who constituted only 20% of the total population.

Map of Sparta

Impact on Society

There are two types of oligarchy: caste and elected oligarchy. In the case of caste, oligarchy is of inheritance. This means if your parents are oligarchs, their political power will be passed on to you when they die. Elected oligarchy was, ironically, just the synonym for democracy. In this type of “oligarchy”, the common elects the members of government. This small group of representative of people is in charge of running the country and faced by hundreds of decisions to make, cannot afford to take into account of every single opinion from the others. Hence, democracy nevertheless is still oligarchic. In fact, Robert Michels, a syndicalism sociologist suggested in his book “Political Parties” that any forms of organization will develop into oligarchy, some are more democratic and some are more autocratic. This is known as the “Iron Law of Oligarchy”. Knowing what kind of organization the oligarchy aimed to reach e.g. democracy at the start is a key point to know what effect it will bring to the society.

In this part of section, we are going to have a closer look on the impact of oligarchy on a society. We will focus mainly on the “caste” oligarchy rather than democracy (you can study it by entering the democracy page). This is because most people were more familiar with this type of oligarchy.

Social Impact

Oligarchy is inevitably related to aristocracy (rule by noble and elite) and plutocracy
(Rule of the wealthy).The oligarchs are a group of privileged people. They receive probably the best education and hold many special rights. This is more likely to create a system of social classification. In the Roman Republic, there are three distinctive classes, namely the Patrician, Equestrian and Plebian class. Likewise, any other oligarchic society will have two groups - the rich and the privileged and the poor who does not have influence. The majority of the people will be classified into the group “poor and not influential”. However, you will find that most wealth went into the pocket of those few privileged people.

Education

In an oligarchic society, not all children will be able to receive good education; the destitute ones cannot afford to have it as a result of deepening of social cracks created by this system. In Britain, those having access to real power appear to have attended private schools and the two oldest English universities.

Economy

The level of economy will be based on how good the rulers are. However, under some circumstances there may be a monopoly of trade. This is not good news for people who have the potential to be great businessman.

Cons

1. Social hierarchy distinguishes poor and rich.
2. The rich and powerful will become richer and more powerful and the poor will be likely to remain poor as before.
3. Fewer opportunities for the common.
4. With most of the money in the hands of a few, the common may not be happy and a revolution may happen,
5. In the case of hereditary oligarchy, the rulers may not always be competent and this may result in the collapse of a nation.
6. Corruption is likely to occur.

According to the pro-oligarchic article “Oligarchy, the Utopian system” it is stated that one thing fantastic about the oligarchy is the ratio of those holding power to the ordinary people, not the system itself. This so-called perfect ratio is 1 to 400.This ratio allows the oligarchs to govern easily. Suppose I described democracy and autocracy as two opposing ends, oligarchy will be right at the center. Suppose that an autocratic government can be represented by the ratio 1 to 10000; in this case the ruler will be out of touch of what is going on in the country because he is in charge with so many people. On the other hand, suppose that a democratic government is represented by 1 to 100, the government officials will be lazy to deal with problems because they had virtually no control over the government. Nevertheless this is just an assumption.

Public Opinions

If you are a poor person, you probably won’t like this system at all and likewise if you are a rich person, you will love it and maybe you will be even getting opportunity to rule because of your wealth and your generous donation to the authority. Perhaps it’s quite hard to make people patriotic to their nation because the oligarchs will probably be thinking of many more money, as well as the affluent ones and the destitute will be struggling through and grumbling about the government and after all, oligarchy usually does not aim to raise nationalism and unity. Below are some quotes about oligarchy from several famous people.

“Where some people are very wealthy and others have nothing, the result will be either extreme democracy or absolute oligarchy, or despotism will come from either of those excesses.”
Aristotle (Ancient Greek Philosopher, Scientist and Physician, 384 BC-322 BC).

“Tradition means giving votes to the most obscure of all classes, our ancestors. It is the democracy of the dead. Tradition refuses to submit to that arrogant oligarchy who merely happen to be walking around.”

G. K. Chesterton quotes (English born Gabonese Critic, Essayist, Novelist and Poet, 1874-1936)

“An oligarchy of private capital cannot be effectively checked even by a democratically organized political society because under existing conditions, private capitalists inevitably control, directly or indirectly, the main sources of information.”

Albert Einstein quotes (German born American Physicist)

References

0303/09/02 -- Protest the Oil Oligarchy?s Energy and Ecology Policies. (n.d.). Retrieved March 22, 2008, from http://forests.org/archived_site/today/recent/2002/buecodis.htm.

Carr, K. (2006, Nov. 10). Oligarchy - History for Kids!. Retrieved March 22, 2008, from http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/government/oligarchy.htm.

Murdock, D. M. (n.d.). Oligarchy is Not Democracy. Retrieved March 22, 2008 from , Web site: http://www.truthbeknown.com/democrac.htm

Oligarchy Quotes. (n.d.). Retrieved March 22, 2008, from http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/oligarchy.html.

Oligarchy page. (2007, August 9). Retrieved March 22, 2008, from http://www.angelfire.com/mac/egmatthews/worldinfo/glossary/oligarchy.html.

Oligarchy quotes & quotations. (n.d.). Retrieved March 22, 2008, from http://thinkexist.com/quotes/with/keyword/oligarchy/.

Oligarchy, the Utopian System. (n.d.). Retrieved March 22, 2008, from http://www.students.org.au/oligarchy/.

	Oligarchy General So what is oligarchy? Well, it is basically a term to describe a form of government system ruled by a small group of people within a society. This is people are so called the “elite”, either defined in terms of wealth, military status, family or even race! The term oligarchy originates from the Greek word meaning “few” and “rule”. Origin and History of oligarchy Now that we know the origin of the word, however, we cannot conclude that oligarchy first originated in Greece. Historical records have shown that oligarchy was practiced by places around the world long ago and this form of government was not very common. The Spring and Autumn Era and the Warring States Period in the Chinese history was in some sense oligarchic where political power rested in the hands of a group of nobles and warlords. Other common states that exercised oligarchy in ancient time would be the Etruscans and city-states in Greek like Sparta and the Roman Republic. In modern times, countries like Japan (notably in the Meiji Era) and 20th century South Africa (Apartheid period), where privilege and power were in the hands of the local European descent who constituted only 20% of the total population. Map of Sparta Impact on Society There are two types of oligarchy: caste and elected oligarchy. In the case of caste, oligarchy is of inheritance. This means if your parents are oligarchs, their political power will be passed on to you when they die. Elected oligarchy was, ironically, just the synonym for democracy. In this type of “oligarchy”, the common elects the members of government. This small group of representative of people is in charge of running the country and faced by hundreds of decisions to make, cannot afford to take into account of every single opinion from the others. Hence, democracy nevertheless is still oligarchic. In fact, Robert Michels, a syndicalism sociologist suggested in his book “Political Parties” that any forms of organization will develop into oligarchy, some are more democratic and some are more autocratic. This is known as the “Iron Law of Oligarchy”. Knowing what kind of organization the oligarchy aimed to reach e.g. democracy at the start is a key point to know what effect it will bring to the society. In this part of section, we are going to have a closer look on the impact of oligarchy on a society. We will focus mainly on the “caste” oligarchy rather than democracy (you can study it by entering the democracy page). This is because most people were more familiar with this type of oligarchy. Social Impact Oligarchy is inevitably related to aristocracy (rule by noble and elite) and plutocracy (Rule of the wealthy).The oligarchs are a group of privileged people. They receive probably the best education and hold many special rights. This is more likely to create a system of social classification. In the Roman Republic, there are three distinctive classes, namely the Patrician, Equestrian and Plebian class. Likewise, any other oligarchic society will have two groups - the rich and the privileged and the poor who does not have influence. The majority of the people will be classified into the group “poor and not influential”. However, you will find that most wealth went into the pocket of those few privileged people. Education In an oligarchic society, not all children will be able to receive good education; the destitute ones cannot afford to have it as a result of deepening of social cracks created by this system. In Britain, those having access to real power appear to have attended private schools and the two oldest English universities. Economy The level of economy will be based on how good the rulers are. However, under some circumstances there may be a monopoly of trade. This is not good news for people who have the potential to be great businessman. Cons 1. Social hierarchy distinguishes poor and rich. 2. The rich and powerful will become richer and more powerful and the poor will be likely to remain poor as before. 3. Fewer opportunities for the common. 4. With most of the money in the hands of a few, the common may not be happy and a revolution may happen, 5. In the case of hereditary oligarchy, the rulers may not always be competent and this may result in the collapse of a nation. 6. Corruption is likely to occur. According to the pro-oligarchic article “Oligarchy, the Utopian system” it is stated that one thing fantastic about the oligarchy is the ratio of those holding power to the ordinary people, not the system itself. This so-called perfect ratio is 1 to 400.This ratio allows the oligarchs to govern easily. Suppose I described democracy and autocracy as two opposing ends, oligarchy will be right at the center. Suppose that an autocratic government can be represented by the ratio 1 to 10000; in this case the ruler will be out of touch of what is going on in the country because he is in charge with so many people. On the other hand, suppose that a democratic government is represented by 1 to 100, the government officials will be lazy to deal with problems because they had virtually no control over the government. Nevertheless this is just an assumption. Public Opinions If you are a poor person, you probably won’t like this system at all and likewise if you are a rich person, you will love it and maybe you will be even getting opportunity to rule because of your wealth and your generous donation to the authority. Perhaps it’s quite hard to make people patriotic to their nation because the oligarchs will probably be thinking of many more money, as well as the affluent ones and the destitute will be struggling through and grumbling about the government and after all, oligarchy usually does not aim to raise nationalism and unity. Below are some quotes about oligarchy from several famous people. “Where some people are very wealthy and others have nothing, the result will be either extreme democracy or absolute oligarchy, or despotism will come from either of those excesses.” Aristotle (Ancient Greek Philosopher, Scientist and Physician, 384 BC-322 BC). “Tradition means giving votes to the most obscure of all classes, our ancestors. It is the democracy of the dead. Tradition refuses to submit to that arrogant oligarchy who merely happen to be walking around.” G. K. Chesterton quotes (English born Gabonese Critic, Essayist, Novelist and Poet, 1874-1936) “An oligarchy of private capital cannot be effectively checked even by a democratically organized political society because under existing conditions, private capitalists inevitably control, directly or indirectly, the main sources of information.” Albert Einstein quotes (German born American Physicist) References 0303/09/02 -- Protest the Oil Oligarchy?s Energy and Ecology Policies. (n.d.). Retrieved March 22, 2008, from http://forests.org/archived_site/today/recent/2002/buecodis.htm. Carr, K. (2006, Nov. 10). Oligarchy - History for Kids!. Retrieved March 22, 2008, from http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/government/oligarchy.htm. Murdock, D. M. (n.d.). Oligarchy is Not Democracy. Retrieved March 22, 2008 from , Web site: http://www.truthbeknown.com/democrac.htm Oligarchy Quotes. (n.d.). Retrieved March 22, 2008, from http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/oligarchy.html. Oligarchy page. (2007, August 9). Retrieved March 22, 2008, from http://www.angelfire.com/mac/egmatthews/worldinfo/glossary/oligarchy.html. Oligarchy quotes & quotations. (n.d.). Retrieved March 22, 2008, from http://thinkexist.com/quotes/with/keyword/oligarchy/. Oligarchy, the Utopian System. (n.d.). Retrieved March 22, 2008, from http://www.students.org.au/oligarchy/.
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A to Z government systems A system where a Government is unnecessary and undesirable whichmeans that everything is based on voluntary cooperation by individuals and groups A system where a Government is unnecessary and undesirable which means that everything is based on voluntary cooperation by individuals and groups One person who has absolute rule over a country or a state and is usually hereditary or they claim as being given divine right with or without advisors. A system combining Anarchism and capitalism A system where there is no State or capitalism A system combing Anarchism and savagery where savagery means acceptance comes easily. A system where there are no hierarchies such as political or economic hierarchies. A system where labour is emphasized and thus it has trade unions that replace the State A system where there is more democratic decision-making A government with only a few people who are thought to be best qualified. A system where the people vote on the legislation and executive bills instead of electing leaders to do it for them. A concentration of power in a leader who is not constitutionally responsible to the people A one person government. A system that is ruled by enlightened monarchs. A system that is suitable for Islams as this system represents the political unity of the Muslims A system that combines republic and capitalism together. A system where the health of the community is the first priority A system where there is no such thing as a private property because the goods are owned by the government and is available to anyone if needed A system where many opinions are taken into consideration before making decisions The system of Constitutional Monarchy has a Head of State that does not change as the governments change and a Government. Only the elected Officials can pass laws, the Head of State acts as an advisor to the Officials. Leaders are elected by the people but the leaders have a limited power over the people and must go according to constitutional laws A system where there are civic assemblies which represents the country's economic, social, industry and cultural aspects A system where the making of laws must arise from the public if not the law cannot be approved. A system where there is democratic representations in a country without the use of elections. A democratic republic is a country where there is freedom of speech, election and press. A system where two rulers have equal shared absolute power over the country Government organization or group in with unlimited power A true democratic system where the people elect their leaders System where ruler with absolute power over the country. A system similar to that of tyranny where all is controlled by one man. A system ruled by dukes or duchesses A system combining Anarchism but with saving the environment as their first priority. A monarchy whose ruler is elected by the people. A monarchy that is Arab-suited A system that concentrates on the society's welfare as a whole and thus seeks patriotism. A system used by the medieval age where warriors and nobility rule. A system where the oldest are the leaders A system ruled by grand dukes or grand duchesses A system where the power lies with the loser level of government such as the name suggests, grassroots A system for the Jews because non-Jews would not be granted full citizenship. A monarchy where the kingship is passed to the sons when the father dies. A system with the Pope as its leader. A system where the people elect their leaders but the leaders have the freedom to do what they want. A system combining democracy with a religion, Islam A name that is given to many Muslim countries Government by those who want power and personal gain. A system where judges rule and rules by natural rights A system where judges rule but based on the judges opinions A system where the people elect the leaders to make decisions for them. A system which emphasizes on liberty, freedom for the people. A system where absolute power is given to magicians and wizards A government where females rule. Government by those with talent. A system where military force is used to establish freedom and liberty. A military-based government that has absolute rule over the country A system combining oligarchy, democracy and monarchy. A democratic system where there are no government parties. A small group which makes up the government which is usually corrupted and do things for their own sake. Government by the majority. A system where the people are allowed to coose whatever government system they want. A system similar to the parliamentary system except that the head of state does not have that much power. A system where the parliament checks on the executive branch of the government A system where voting is limited and where politicians take care of the governing of the country A system where the people vote on the legislation and executive bills instead of electing leaders to do it for them. Timocracy, Government controlled by the rich. A state where government uses police by means to control the life of the citizens. A monarchy where the monarch's title is linked to the people. A system where the executive branch is independent of the legislative branch. A monarchy where the monarch's title is prince A system combining democracy and religion A system where the government is elected by the people and the government has the responsibility in acting in people's interest. A system where there is restricted democracy A system where robots rule One person who proclaims himself as king which would usually lead to hereditary monarchy. A system similar to that of a presidential system except for the fact that the president and prime minister gets involved in everyday decision-making. A system where there is only 1 government party running the country and no other party is allowed to enter for elections. A system combining socialism and democracy A system that emphasizes on socialism that also has aspects of free market in its economy. A democratic system where workers are represented in government too. A system where the rulers are those highly-skilled and qualified. Maritime (relating to navigation or commerce on the sea) government Government of a state by divine rule, usually by people who are guided by the deities Government of a state by God. A democratic system where the leader is elected but has absolute rule. Absolute state which the people must follow orders from. Tribalism existed during the time of primitive men. Thus, it has a sense of primitive in it. However, it also emphasizes on communism and equality. A government ruled by an oppressive and severely unjust ruler. A system with administrative divisions governed by a person who is governed by the viceroy. A system combining democracy and parliamentary system which is somewhat similar to the United nations is adopting Auto: Manual: Drag Me