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Oligarchy (; ) "ὀλίγος", Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek–English Lexicon, on Perseus Digital Library "ἄρχω", Liddell/Scott. "ὀλιγαρχία". Liddell/Scott. is a form of government in which power rests with a small number of people. Leaders of such regimes are often referred to as oligarchs, and generally are characterized by having titles of nobility or high amounts of wealth.
In the early 20th century, Robert Michels expanded on this idea in his iron law of oligarchy, arguing that even democracies, like all large organizations, tend to become oligarchic due to the necessity of dividing labor, which ultimately results in a ruling class focused on maintaining its power.
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.
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.Herodotus, Histories, 5.70 Over the next few years, Cleisthenes and Isagoras entered into a power struggle. With Isagoras calling for the Spartan army 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.Plutarch, Lives. Life of Cimon.( University of Calgary/) 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 Ostracism 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 , 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.Plutarch, Pericles
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.
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".
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.Prokop, A. (18 April 2014) "The new study about oligarchy that's blowing up the Internet, explained" Vox 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. Businessman 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.9783031847868, Palgrave Macmillan. . ISBN 9783031847868 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.
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