Government in Modern Times

An oligarchy is a form of power structure in which power effectively rests with a small segment of society distinguished by royalty, wealth, family ties, or military control. The word oligarchy is from the Greek words "ὀλίγος" (olígos), "a few" and the verb "ἄρχω" (archo), "to rule, to govern, to command". Such states are often controlled by a few prominent families who pass their influence from one generation to the next.

Oligarchies have been tyrannical throughout history, being completely reliant on public servitude to exist. 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, and do not have to be connected by bloodlines as in a monarchy. Some city-states from ancient Greece were oligarchies

Robert Michels believed that any political system eventually evolves into an oligarchy. He called this the iron law of oligarchy. According to this school of thought, modern democracies should be considered as oligarchies. In these systems, actual differences between viable political rivals are small, the oligarchic elite impose strict limits on what constitutes an acceptable and respectable political position, and politicians' careers depend heavily on unelected economic and media elites. Thus the popular phrase: there is only one political party, the incumbent party.

References

1.  ὀλιγαρχί, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus Digital Library
2.  ὀλίγος,  Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus Digital Library
3.  ἄρχω,  Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus Digital Library
4.  http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/60263/marshall-i-goldman/putin-and-the-oligarchs,  Putin and the Oligarchs, Foreign Affairs. November/December 2004
5.  M.H. Hansen, The Athenian Democracy in the Age of Demosthenes 97, 308, et al. (Oxford, 1991)
6.  Bernard Manin, Principles of Representative Government 11-24 (1997).
7.  Bernard Manin, Principles of Representative Government 19-23 (1997).