The oligarchy began to interest the ancient thinkers. The first authors who described this phenomenon in their treatises are Plato and Aristotle. So what is oligarchy in the understanding of ancient Greek philosophers?
Oligarchy in the teachings of Plato
One of the most prominent ancient Greek authors is Plato. It is his works that form the basis for the study of most political science disciplines. Such treatises as the “State”, “Apology of Socrates”, “Politia” and others are subjected to comprehensive analysis. It is in them that he discusses the pressing problems of his time, in particular, the question of the best form of government. In other words, he gives answers to questions about what is an oligarchy, democracy, polity, tyranny, timocracy, etc.
Plato does not give a clear meaning of the word “oligarchy,” since he considers this form of government in comparison with others, highlighting its characteristic features. However, by this term it means the structure of the state, which is based on the property qualification. In other words, only financially well-off people are at the helm, while the poor do not even have the right to vote.
According to the reasoning of the thinker, the oligarchy belongs to a single galaxy of perverted forms of government. This social system is smoothly reborn from timocracy, embodying the worst vices in life. Virtue ceases to play a significant role in politics, since wealth takes its place. The oligarchic system rests only on the armed force, and not on respect and veneration of the sovereign. Most of the population is below the poverty line, and the ruling elite does not even try to take steps to overcome this trend. The oligarchy also implies the redistribution, and injustice, of the social goods existing in society.
Thus, according to the teachings of Plato, a just state and an oligarchy are incompatible with each other. But it is impossible to avoid the transformation of timocracy into this form of the socio-economic structure of society.
Oligarchy in the teachings of Aristotle
Aristotle was a student of Plato, so in many ways he continued to study his teacher. In particular, in his scientific works he began to consider the question of what is an oligarchy. The philosopher believed that this form of government, as well as democracy and tyranny, are perverse types of socio-political system.
In the treatise "Politics" Aristotle put in the meaning of the word "oligarchy" the whole essence of the politics of that time, in other words, he said that this form implies the power of the rich. It is in the oligarchic state that greater attention will be paid to the benefits of those in power, representatives of the wealthy class. The philosopher considered this system to be imperfect, since he argued that there is the possibility of "buying" a place under the sun, therefore such a structure of society is not stable.
The concept of R. Michels
What is an oligarchy? Great attention was paid to this issue at various times, including in the 20th century. In particular, R. Mikhels made a tremendous contribution to the study of this phenomenon, who at the beginning of the 20th century announced his concept, which was later called the “iron law of the oligarchy”. The philosopher believed that any socio-social structure of society ultimately degenerates into an oligarchy, regardless of whether the foundation was laid in them - democratic or autocratic.
The main reason for this trend is the desire of the public leader to become the head of government of the state and put forward his own interests to the forefront, including financial ones. Moreover, the crowd impeccably trusts their sovereign, blindly obeying all his orders, acting in the form of laws.
Varieties of oligarchy
Today, political scientists studying this phenomenon distinguish four different types of oligarchy, each of which has unique characteristics and features:
- Monoligarchy. This social system arises in those states where all sovereign power is concentrated in the hands of the monarchist ruler. It doesn’t matter if he is theocratic or secular. But the main difference is that the monarch creates a hierarchical structure, whose activity is primarily aimed at enrichment. In some cases, the will of such a social structure is much stronger and in rank higher than that of the monarch. An example is the feudal system.
- Demoligarchy. As the name implies, there is a mixture of democracy and oligarchy, which manifests itself in the fact that a people with sovereignty transfers all power to a small oligarchic group through elections or referenda.
- Transit oligarchy. This type of society is transitional. It occurs when the monarch has already lost all power, and the people have not yet become a sovereign. It is during this unstable period that the oligarchy tries to play a dominant role, which tries to stay in power by any means.
- Enraged oligarchy. In this case, rich people, in order to stay in power, do not try to justify their position with sovereignty. On the contrary, they use illegal types of impact on society, including violence and lies.
Boyar oligarchy - a spirit of the past
Some researchers, in addition to the 4 types of oligarchies mentioned above, single out the fifth type, the boyar type. This form of device was characteristic of Novgorod and Pskov during the period from the 12th to the 15th centuries. At this time, with the slightest weakening of power in the hands of the monarchist ruler, the oligarchic group in the form of the most influential boyars tried to win over sovereignty.
In other words, they wanted to remake the foundation of the state, giving it the basic features of an oligarchy.
Prospects for the oligarchy in the modern world
Today, the oligarchy has become one of the key topics for discussion on the territory of the states of the former USSR. If we analyze the situation of the last 15-20 years, we can conclude that the dictatorship of the oligarchs is only gaining momentum, in particular, on the territory of the Russian Federation.
The government builds its policy in such a way as to close the issue of the prevalence of oligarchs in government. But in spite of all attempts, it is still not possible to find a solution to this problem. Therefore, the prospects of the oligarchy in Russia, and throughout the modern world, are rather sad, as this can cause a destabilization of the political situation in states that have embarked on the democratic path of development.