oligarchy
Few hold power
Oligarchy is government by a small group, typically the wealthy or powerful.
The term implies that power serves the interests of the ruling few rather than the broader population: The country had become an oligarchy controlled by a handful of billionaires.
By extension, oligarchy can describe any organization where a small elite holds disproportionate control.
System of governance
- juntaPost-coup ruling clique
- cabalScheming political faction
- syndicateCombined group pursuing shared interest
- factionGroup within group
council · directorate · triumvirate · autocracy · kleptocracy · gerontocracy · technocracy · theocracy
Preferring kin in hiring
- cronyismFavoring friends in appointments
- briberyCorrupt payment for influence
- graftIllicit political gain
- embezzlementFraudulent taking of entrusted assets
kickbacks · collusion · patronage · favoritism · self-dealing · malfeasance · exploitation · rigged
Rule by business interests
- monopolyOne seller, no substitutes
- conglomerateCorporation spanning many industries
- cartelPrice-fixing coalition
- trustConfidence in another
megacorporation · lobbying · bailouts · neoliberalism · privatization · deregulation
Superior influence over others
- hegemonyDominant group's control
- authorityPower to enforce obedience
- sovereigntySupreme independent authority
- supremacyHighest rank or power
control · influence · clout · ascendancy · leverage · command · sway · stranglehold
Rulers through financial power
- billionairesPeople with vast fortunes
- magnatesWealthy, powerful industrialists
- tycoonsPowerful business leaders
- moneyedHaving substantial wealth
capital · assets · fortunes · estates · holdings · inherited · concentration · hoarding
Titled ruling class
- patricianHighborn Roman elite
- gentryHighborn but not noble
- upper-classSocially and economically privileged
- establishmentFounded organization or venue
privileged · blueblood · peerage · dignitaries · notables · exclusivity · prestige · eminence
Measurable difference between things
- stratificationDivision into distinct levels
- classismPrejudice by economic rank
- exclusionBeing barred from participation
- marginalizationRelegation to powerless periphery
underclass · oppression · disenfranchisement · powerlessness · voicelessness · two-tiered · unequal · concentrated
regime
System of governance
- juntaPost-coup ruling clique
- cabalScheming political faction
- syndicateCombined group pursuing shared interest
faction · council · directorate · triumvirate · autocracy · kleptocracy · gerontocracy · technocracy · theocracy
nepotism
Preferring kin in hiring
- cronyismFavoring friends in appointments
- briberyCorrupt payment for influence
- graftIllicit political gain
embezzlement · kickbacks · collusion · patronage · favoritism · self-dealing · malfeasance · exploitation · rigged · captured
corporatocracy
Rule by business interests
- monopolyOne seller, no substitutes
- conglomerateCorporation spanning many industries
- cartelPrice-fixing coalition
trust · megacorporation · lobbying · bailouts · neoliberalism · privatization · deregulation
dominance
Superior influence over others
- hegemonyDominant group's control
- authorityPower to enforce obedience
- sovereigntySupreme independent authority
supremacy · control · influence · clout · ascendancy · leverage · command · sway · stranglehold · consolidation
plutocrats
Rulers through financial power
- billionairesPeople with vast fortunes
- magnatesWealthy, powerful industrialists
- tycoonsPowerful business leaders
moneyed · capital · assets · fortunes · estates · holdings · inherited · concentration · hoarding · accumulation
nobility
Titled ruling class
- patricianHighborn Roman elite
- gentryHighborn but not noble
- upper-classSocially and economically privileged
establishment · privileged · blueblood · peerage · dignitaries · notables · exclusivity · prestige · eminence · power-brokers
disparity
Measurable difference between things
- stratificationDivision into distinct levels
- classismPrejudice by economic rank
- exclusionBeing barred from participation
marginalization · underclass · oppression · disenfranchisement · powerlessness · voicelessness · two-tiered · unequal · concentrated · top-heavy
- Meiji JapanEmperor Meiji, modernization, westernization, privy council, prefectures
- ancient worldancient Greece, ancient Rome, ancient Egypt, pyramids, pyramid
- Dystopia1984, Nineteen Eighty-Four, dystopian fiction, totalitarianism, Brave New World
- Eastern EuropePoland, Hungary, Romania, Ukraine, Bulgaria
- governancegovernance, government, democracy, vote, parliament
- governmentsdemocracy, monarchy, autocracy, republic, tyranny
oligarchydemocracy
Rule by the people
popular sovereignty · majority rule · direct democracy · participatory democracy · mob rule
oligarchydemocracy
Rule by the people
meritocracy · technocracy · theocracy · aristocracy · monarchy
oligarchyegalitarianism
Philosophy of universal equality
classless society · equality · social democracy · communalism · collectivism
- Russian oligarchWealthy, politically connected businessman