Broligarchy is a neologism and portmanteau combining oligarchy and Bro culture describing the rule of government by a coterie of Ultra-rich men (occupying leadership roles in the tech companies and tech-enabled businesses) who are perceived by the public as .
Origin of the term
According to Prospect magazine, "Broligarchy appears in surfer language in the early 2000s “when a small group of bros run a break”—referring to locals controlling a surf spot."
The modern use of the terms
broligarch and
broligarchy can be traced to a Twitter post in 2009.
Broligarchy appeared on
Urban Dictionary in 2011.
The terms gained wide adoption on social media during the 2024 US presidential election and the second Trump presidency.
In a tweet on
Twitter in March 2024, Condé Nast editor Luke Zaleski called
Elon Musk "the world's first broligarch".
The term broligarch was first used in the mainstream media in late July 2024 in a news article in The Observer by the British journalist Carole Cadwalladr.
In early August 2024, the term broligarch appeared in the title of articles in the Atlantic magazine by Brooke Harrington
Historical developments
In the 2021 book
The Tyranny of Big Tech, Republican Party politician and senior United States Senate member of
Missouri Josh Hawley argued that major technology companies like
Google,
Facebook, Amazon, and Apple have become tech oligarchs with overwhelming economic and political power. He describes these companies as modern-day robber barons who are draining prosperity and power from the middle class and creating a new oligarchy.
Critics claimed that Hawley's book contained factual errors
and accused him of using the book as a launching pad for his own political career.
See also
-
Glossary of surfing
-
Tech–industrial complex
Further reading
