Oligarchy

Abstract

Oligarchy is a form of concentrated minority power. Even in democratic societies with free participation and universal suffrage, small segments of a population or community can be disproportionately empowered in a variety of ways and with different effects. Concentrated wealth, both as the foundation of oligarchic power and as a constant source of social tension, provides a basis of political cohesion for oligarchs, whether or not they are networked. The power and interests of oligarchs are an intrinsic element of their position at the top of materially stratified social formations.