Oligarchy

Types

Minority rule

Main article: Minoritarianism

The consolidation of power by a dominant minority, whether religious or ethnic, can be considered a form of oligarchy. In these cases, oligarchic rule was often tied to the legacy of colonialism.

In their 2009 paper, "Oligarchy in the United States?", political scientists Benjamin Page and Jeffrey Winters acknowledge that an oligarchy doesn't control all political life and instead the common interests of an oligarchy lie more in "wealth protection". They define an oligarchy as a "type of political system" in which "the wealthiest citizens deploy unique and concentrated power resources to defend their unique minority interests", and that their disproportionate influence over policymaking may not reflect the broader public's interest. Oligarchs do not need to hold formal government positions, as indirect influence is sufficient. Winter and Page, along with other scholars, have outlined primary mechanisms through which this influence can be achieved:

• 1. Lobbying - allows concentrated wealth to access and shape political decisions and policy outcomes, typically for favorable tax policies, without holding any formal government positions. The field has become increasingly professionalized and resource-intensive.
• 2. Elections - Significant campaign contributions influence who becomes elected to office.
• 3. Opinion shaping - Influence who gets heard by formal decision-makers and crowding out ordinary citizens.
• 4. Constitutional rules - using financial resources and political networks to shape constitutional design. This includes supporting the appointments of judges that have legal interpretations that align with their economic interests.

Scholars have also noted that modern democratic systems often exhibit structural biases favoring affluent citizens and organized corporate interests. Political scientist and oligarchy scholar, Jeffrey Winters, cautions democracy and oligarchy can co-exist, but tension arises when a majority of voters opposes unequal wealth distribution and desires a more equitable distribution of wealth.

Business oligarchies

Main article: Business oligarch

Business groups may be considered oligarchies if they meet the following criteria:

• They are the largest private owners in the country.
• They possess sufficient political power to influence their own interests.
• The owners control multiple businesses, coordinating activities across sectors.

Intellectual oligarchies

George Bernard Shaw coined the concept of an intellectual oligarchy in his play Major Barbara (1907). In the play, Shaw criticizes the control of society by intellectual elites and expresses a desire for the empowerment 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.

History

Aristotle pioneered the use of the term as meaning rule by the rich, contrasting it with aristocracy, arguing that oligarchy was a corruption of aristocracy.

Athens

The Ancient Greek word oligarchia is used by historians of Ancient Greece to describe the position of the Eupatridae, the aristocratic elite, of the city-state of Athens. However, in the mid-6th century BC, the tyrant Pisistratus dismantled this structure and replaced it with a semi-popular autocratic system. As Pisistratus was succeeded by his two sons, Hippias and Hipparchus, the tyranny became increasingly more unpopular in Athens, especially among the aristocracy.

In 510 BC, the influential and exiled Athenian aristocrat Cleisthenes, of the powerful Alcmaeonid clan, convinced King Cleomenes I of Sparta to invade Athens, in order to overthrow Hippias. Cleomenes installed Isagoras, Cleisthenes's rival, as an oligarch. Over the next few years, Cleisthenes and Isagoras entered into a power struggle. With Isagoras calling for the Spartans to return to the city in support of him, Cleisthenes mobilised the middle class and overthrew Isagoras in the 508–507 BC Athenian Revolution. Cleisthenes' reforms laid the foundation for Athenian democracy.

Reaction against the Spartan hegemony also turned several oligarchies in the Peloponnese into democracies. However, the elite soon came into conflict with the people, or demos, specifically in Aegina, Syracuse, and Naxos in the 500s and 490s BC. Soon many city-states had settled into a fairly constant system of plutocracy (rule by the rich), with the demos being used periodically by the weaker party and otherwise being out of power. Many nominally democratic Greek city-states, despite frequent revolt by the demos, remained firmly controlled by the wealthy elite, who spurned attempts to allow commoners into power.

In 493 BC, a member of the middle class named Themistocles became archon. This may not have led to any political change on its own, but Themistocles, to counter the threat of the rising Persians to the east, greatly increased the power of the Athenian navy, which allowed the lower classes, through their military might, to influence Athenian politics. The first of a group of Athenian populists, Themistocles ruled Athens for over twenty years, and is best known as the victor of the Greco-Persian Wars.

When Themistocles fell from power around 471 BC, the Areopagus, an aristocratic council which was formerly the most powerful body in Athens, began to gain more prominence, spearheaded by the conservative politician Cimon, a strategos who oversaw an aggressive expansionist policy for the Athenian Empire amid closer relations with Sparta. Cimon's failed attempt to provide military aid to Sparta caused him to lose the support of the Athenians, allowing the democratic faction to make a bid for power. In 461 BC, politician Ephialtes, who supported radical democracy, proposed a law to limit the Areopagus' powers, which the ecclesia, or Assembly, passed unanimously. The ancient boule, or Council of Five Hundred, which had also existed under the old oligarchy, but whose membership had been changed from being hereditary to being chosen by lot, took over its remaining functions. Cimon was ostracized for ten years by Ephialtes and his supporters.

Ephialtes was assassinated in 461 BC, possibly by the aristocrats. In the aftermath of Ephialtes' death, power in Athens was consolidated by his protegé, Pericles, an influential Alcmaeonid, who had such an impact on Athens as a city-state that the entire fifth century in Athens is sometimes simply called the Age of Pericles. Pericles led Athens for over thirty years, presiding over the Delian League during the First Peloponnesian War with Sparta. After the Thirty Years' Peace was concluded with Sparta in 445 BC, Thucydides, son of Melesias (not to be confused with Thucydides the historian), a relative of Cimon and the new head of the conservative faction, attempted to gain power using the Ecclesia. Pericles' powerful oratory instead led to Thucydides' being ostracised.

By country

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

The Philippines

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

During the presidency of Ferdinand Marcos from 1965 to 1986, several monopolies arose in the Philippines, primarily linked to the Marcos family and their close associates. Analysts have described this period, and even subsequent decades, as an era of oligarchy in the Philippines.

President Rodrigo Duterte, elected in 2016, promised to dismantle the oligarchy during his presidency. However, corporate oligarchy persisted throughout his tenure. While Duterte criticized prominent tycoons such as the Ayalas and Manny Pangilinan, corporate figures allied with Duterte, including Dennis Uy of Udenna Corporation, benefitted during his administration.

Russia

Main article: Russian oligarchs

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the subsequent privatization of state-owned assets, a class of Russian business oligarchs emerged. These oligarchs gained control of significant portions of the economy, especially in the energy, metals, and natural resources sectors. Many of these individuals maintained close ties with government officials, particularly the president, leading some to characterize modern Russia as an oligarchy intertwined with the state.

In 1996, fearing the possible victory of the Communist Party, the oligarchs, especially the Seven Bankers, funded and substantially supported Boris Yeltsin's re-election campaign in that year's election, continuing to manipulate him and exert influence over his government over the next several years. After Yeltsin's successor, Vladimir Putin, came to power in 1999, he cracked down on many oligarchs, arresting several for tax evasion and forcing others into exile. By the end of the 2000s decade, however, Putin had created a new class of oligarchs consisting mainly of his own personal friends and colleagues, continuing to crack down on those who opposed him. According to NPR, he "changed the guy sitting in [the] chairs, but he didn't change the chairs".

India

In 2023, Robert Lighthizer, the architect of American trade policy during the first presidency of Donald Trump, wrote in his book No Trade is Free that, "fifteen or so billionaires" shaped India's trading policy. Terming them as "oligarchs", Lighthizer added India is "the most protectionist country in the world".

Adani Group owned by India's richest man Gautam Adani, is noted to have immensely benefitted from the Modi government. After Narendra Modi became prime minister in 2014, Adani won bids to operate six Indian airports despite lacking any experience in the sector. His wealth significantly increased about $100 billion during just 2020-2023. However, in 2024, this came to be seen as a "cautionary tale" with regards to cronyism under Modi government after Hindenburg Research alleged Adani of fraud and stock manipulation, which resulted in Adani Group losing $110 billion in market value within a few days.

Iran

Main article: Khomeinism, Velayat-e-faqih

The Islamic Republic of Iran, established after the 1979 Iranian Revolution, is sometimes described as a clerical oligarchy. Its ruling system, known as Velayat-e-Faqih (Governance of the Jurists), places power in the hands of a small group of high-ranking Shia clerics, led by the Supreme Leader. This group holds significant influence over the country's legislative, military, and economic affairs, and critics argue that this system concentrates power in a religious elite, marginalizing other voices within society. The Iranian government has also intensified its surveillance efforts to suppress dissent, particularly targeting women and human rights activists. The "Noor plan," implemented in April 2024, has led to increased policing and criminal prosecution against women defying mandatory hijab laws.

Ukraine

Main article: Ukrainian oligarchs

Since Ukraine's independence in 1991, a powerful class of business elites, known as Ukrainian oligarchs, have played a significant role in the country's politics and economy. These oligarchs gained control of state assets during the rapid privatization that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union. In 2021, Ukraine passed a law aimed at curbing oligarchic influence on politics and the economy.

United States

Several commentators and scholars have suggested that the United States demonstrates characteristics of an oligarchy, particularly in relation to the concentration of wealth and political influence among a small elite, as exemplified by the list of top donors to political parties.

Economist Simon Johnson argued that the rise of an American financial oligarchy became particularly prominent following the 2008 financial crisis. This financial elite has been described as wielding significant power over both the economy and political decisions. Former President Jimmy Carter in 2015 characterized the United States as an "oligarchy with unlimited political bribery" following the 2010 Citizens United v. FEC Supreme Court decision, which removed limits on donations to political campaigns.

In 2014, a study by political scientists Martin Gilens of Princeton University and Benjamin Page of Northwestern University argued that the United States' political system does not primarily reflect the preferences of its average citizens. Their analysis of policy outcomes between 1981 and 2002 suggested that wealthy individuals and business groups held substantial influence over political decisions, often sidelining the majority of Americans. While the United States maintains democratic features such as regular elections, freedom of speech, and widespread suffrage, the study noted that policy decisions are disproportionately influenced by economic elites. However, the study received criticism from other scholars, who argued that the influence of average citizens should not be discounted and that the conclusions about oligarchic tendencies were overstated. Gilens and Page defended their research, reiterating that while they do not label the United States an outright oligarchy, they found substantial evidence of economic elites dominating certain areas of policy-making.

In his presidential farewell address on January 15, 2025, outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden warned that an oligarchy was taking shape in America which threatened democracy, basic rights, and freedom, aided by a tech–industrial complex in what Politico described as "echoing Roosevelt's language in calling out the 'robber barons' of a new dystopian Gilded Age". Elon Musk, a close collaborator of Donald Trump during his 2024 campaign and head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has been described as an oligarch due to his extensive influence on Trump during the first few months of his second presidency. Musk contributed over $200 million into the 2024 election, creating a "super" PAC to promote Trump's campaign. However, in June 2025, Musk feuded with Trump, leaving the DOGE and calling for his impeachment. Two-time Presidential candidate and progressive movement leader Bernie Sanders started his Fighting Oligarchy ("Where We Go from Here") Tour across America in response to Trump's election victory.

Notes

References

References

1. [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
2. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3Da%29%2Frxw "ἄρχω"], Liddell/Scott.
3. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3Do%29ligarxi%2Fa "ὀλιγαρχία"]. Liddell/Scott.
4. (18 April 2011). "Oligarchy". Cambridge University Press.
5. (2000). "Oligarchy, democracy, inequality and growth". Journal of Development Economics.
6. (1966). "Political Parties and National Integration in Tropical Africa". [[University of California Press]].
7. (1915). "Political Parties: A Sociological Study of the Oligarchical Tendencies of Modern Democracy". Hearst's International Library Company.
8. Mulroy, Claire. (March 10, 2023). "This form of government leaves power in the hands of a few: Oligarchies explained". USA Today.
9. "Oligarchy in the United States?".
10. (2020-05-04). "Unmaking Democracy: How Corporate Influence Is Eroding Democratic Governance".
11. (2014-05-02). "How Campaign Contributions and Lobbying Can Lead to Inefficient Economic Policy".
12. "Is the U.S. witnessing the rise of oligarchy?".
13. (2025). "Are poor people poorly heard?". European Journal of Political Research.
14. (2022). "Why are the affluent better represented around the world?". European Journal of Political Research.
15. Berman, Russell. (2025-03-06). "The Specter of American Oligarchy".
16. (2014-04-08). "Rich people rule!". The Washington Post.
17. Drutman, Lee. (2025-04-28). "Democrats keep saying America is an "oligarchy." Is that true?".
18. Winters, Jeffrey A.. (2017). "Wealth Defense and the Complicity of Liberal Democracy". Nomos.
19. (2018). "Capital structure and oligarch ownership". [[Munich University of Digital Technologies & Applied Sciences]].
20. Shaw, Bernard und Baziyan, Vitaly. 2-in-1: English-German. Major Barbara & Major in Barbara. New York, 2020, {{ISBN. 979-8692881076
21. 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'."
22. (1988). "The Tyrant in Athenian Democracy". Quaderni Urbinati di Cultura Classica.
23. Herodotus, ''Histories'', 5.70
24. Lewis, D. M.. (1963). "Cleisthenes and Attica". Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte.
25. Hayek, Friedrich A. von. (1960). "The Constitution of Liberty". University of Chicago Press.
26. Alwine, Andrew. (2018). "The Soul of Oligarchy". Johns Hopkins University Press.
27. [[Plutarch]], Themistocles [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2008.01.0066%3Achapter%3D2%3Asection%3D1 2.1]. Translated by [[Bernadotte Perrin]], 1914.
28. [[Plutarch]], Themistocles [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2008.01.0066%3Achapter%3D1%3Asection%3D1 1.1]. Translated by [[Bernadotte Perrin]], 1914.
29. [[Plutarch]], Themistocles [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2008.01.0066%3Achapter%3D1%3Asection%3D2 1.2]. Translated by [[Bernadotte Perrin]], 1914.
30. [[Plutarch]], Themistocles [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2008.01.0066%3Achapter%3D1%3Asection%3D3 1.3]. Translated by [[Bernadotte Perrin]], 1914.
31. Holland, Tom. (2005). "Persian Fire". Abacus.
32. (7 March 2016). "Themistocles, Athenian politician, c. 524–459 BCE". Oxford Research.
33. [[Plutarch]], Lives. Life of Cimon.([https://www.ucalgary.ca/~vandersp/Courses/texts/plutarch/plutcimo.html University of Calgary]/[[s:Lives/Cimon. Wikisource]])
34. Abbott, Evelyn. (1891). "Pericles and the golden age of Athens". G. P. Putnam's sons.
35. Goušchin, Valerij. (26 February 2019). "Plutarch on Cimon, Athenian Expeditions, and Ephialtes' Reform (Plut. Cim. 14–17)". Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies.
36. Rollar, Duane W.. (1989). "Who Murdered Ephialtes?". JSTOR.
37. Bagnall, Nigel. (2006). "The Inter-War Years 480-431 BC – The Peloponnesian War: Athens, Sparta and the Struggle for Greece". Thomas Dunne Books.
38. [[Plutarch]], ''Pericles'' [[s:Plutarch's Lives (Clough)/Life of Pericles#11:2. 11.2]]
39. (2009). "Oligarchy in the United States?". Perspectives on Politics.
40. Hutchcroft, Paul D.. (April 1991). "Oligarchs and Cronies in the Philippine State the Politics of Patrimonial Plunder". World Politics.
41. Mendoza, Ronald U.. (1 February 2022). "Cronyism, Oligarchy and Governance in the Philippines: 1970s vs 2020s".
42. Quimpo, Nathan Gilbert. (2015). "Can the Philippines' wild oligarchy be tamed?". Routledge.
43. "Explainer: The oligarchy in the Philippines is more than just one family or firm".
44. Ruth Abbey Gita-Carlos. "Duterte takes pride in dismantling oligarchy". [[Philippine News Agency]].
45. Esmael, Lisbet. (June 29, 2022). "Businesses under Duterte administration: Who gained, who got hurt?".
46. Scheidel, Walter. (2017). "The Great Leveler: Violence and the History of Inequality from the Stone Age to the Twenty-First Century". [[Princeton University Press]].
47. (January 2026). "Russian oligarchs: What are they and how have they changed over time?".
48. Treisman, Daniel. (November–December 2000). "Blaming Russia First".
49. "European Court: Khodorkovsky's Rights Violated".
50. Aslund, Anders. (2019-08-13). "Putin's Economic Policy and Its Consequences". Oxford University Press.
51. (2025-02-04). "What Americans can learn from the story of Russia's oligarchs".
52. Desk, Business Today. (2025-08-21). "'Fifteen or so billionaires': Former Trump aide claims they shaped India's trade policy in book".
53. (2023-04-24). "Indian billionaire businessman Gautam Adani faces scrutiny".
54. Ghosh, Jayati. (2023-02-26). "The Crisis of India's Oligarchy".
55. Kazemzadeh, Masoud. (2020). "Iran's Foreign Policy: Elite Factionalism, Ideology, the Nuclear Weapons Program, and the United States". Routledge.
56. Amuzager, Jahangir. (2014). "The Islamic Republic of Iran: Reflections on an Emerging Economy". Routledge.
57. "Iran: Government continues systematic repression and escalates surveillance to crush dissent in the aftermath of protests, UN Fact-Finding Mission says".
58. Riabchuk, Mykola. (2012). "Ukraine's 'muddling through': National identity and postcommunist transition". Communist and Post-Communist Studies.
59. (January 2026). "Zelensky's battle against oligarchs: What does the new law mean?".
60. Kroll, Andy. (2 December 2010). "The New American Oligarchy". [[Truthout]].
61. (24 August 2012). "America on the Brink of Oligarchy".
62. Winters, Jeffrey A.. (November–December 2011). "Oligarchy and Democracy". [[The American Interest]].
63. Herbert, Bob. (19 July 1998). "The Donor Class". [[The New York Times]].
64. (10 October 2015). "The Families Funding the 2016 Presidential Election". [[The New York Times]].
65. . (January 17, 2025). ["Is the U.S. witnessing the rise of oligarchy?"](https://www.oxfamamerica.org/explore/issues/economic-justice/is-the-us-witnessing-the-rise-of-oligarchy/). *[[Oxfam]]*.
66. (10 October 2015). "From Fracking to Finance, a Torrent of Campaign Cash – Top Donors List". [[The New York Times]].
67. McCutcheon, Chuck. (26 December 2014). "Why the 'donor class' matters, especially in the GOP presidential scrum". "[[The Christian Science Monitor]].
68. [[Thomas Piketty. Piketty, Thomas]] (2014). ''[[Capital in the Twenty-First Century]].'' [[Belknap Press]]. {{ISBN. 067443000X p. 514 "The risk of a drift towards oligarchy is real and gives little reason for optimism about where the United States is headed."
69. Johnson, Simon. (May 2009). "The Quiet Coup". The Atlantic.
70. Kreps, Daniel. (2015-07-31). "Jimmy Carter: America Is Now an 'Oligarchy'".
71. (2014). "Testing Theories of American Politics: Elites, Interest Groups, and Average Citizens". [[Perspectives on Politics]].
72. 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''
73. Bashir, Omar S.. (1 October 2015). "Testing Inferences about American Politics: A Review of the "Oligarchy" Result". Research & Politics.
74. (2021-12-07). "Critics argued with our analysis of U.S. political inequality. Here are 5 ways they're wrong.". Washington Post.
75. Wren, Adam. (January 16, 2025). "Playbook: The 'tech-industrial complex' comes to Washington". Politico.
76. Watson, Kathryn. (2025-01-16). "In final address, Biden warns of rise of "tech industrial complex" while outlining threats, challenges - CBS News".
77. (2025-01-16). "Biden warns of dangers of oligarchy taking shape in US".
78. Lunday, Chris. (February 18, 2025). "Germany's Habeck slams 'tech oligarch' Musk, calls for a European X". Politico Europe.
79. Inskeep, Steve. (February 4, 2025). "What Americans can learn from the story of Russia's oligarchs". NPR.
80. Kuper, Simon. (2023-10-28). "From Putin to Musk: the making of a modern-day oligarch". Financial Times.
81. "Sharded Media: Trump's Rage Against the Mainstream". Palgrave Macmillan.
82. Pruszyinski, Katie. (March 24, 2025). "Trump 2.0 and the New American Oligarchy". Political Insight.
83. Naudé, Wim. (22 March 2025). "The Economic Decline of the West: Guns, Oil, and Oligarchs". Palgrave Macmillan.
84. (January 16, 2025). "Biden warns the US risks becoming an 'oligarchy.' What does the term mean?".
85. Piper, Jessica. (December 5, 2024). "Elon Musk was behind mysterious pro-Trump super PAC that invoked Ruth Bader Ginsburg". Politico.
86. Kim, Whizy. (November 25, 2024). "Elon Musk and the age of shameless oligarchy". Vox.
87. Basu, Zachary. (June 5, 2025). "Musk calls for Trump's impeachment". [[Axios (website).
88. (June 5, 2025). "Impeachment, Epstein and bitter acrimony: Trump and Musk joust in astonishing social media duel". The Guardian.
89. Kaye, Danielle. (June 5, 2025). "Tesla Shares Slide as Musk Feuds With Trump". [[The New York Times]].
90. [https://www.semafor.com/article/03/24/2025/aoc-sanders-erase-biden-as-progressive-movement-moves-on Semafor: AOC, Sanders erase Biden as progressive movement moves on]