Oligarchy, a form of government that started democratically but then fell into the hands of a small group of states, appears in many places throughout history. Let’s take a closer look at the oligarchy that we see still practiced even today and see how it is reflected in the modern world.
Managing a country is a very difficult and complex task. For this reason, throughout history, commanders, leaders, politicians and philosophers have designed and implemented many different forms of government. One of them is oligarchy. Oligarchy is actually different from other forms of government because no one comes out just to let us all be oligarchs and take over the country.
Even with a very democratic election, the formation of an oligarchy over time, that is, the gathering of the entire administration in the hands of a single group, has been seen in many different states throughout history. What is more interesting is that, according to some theorists, oligarchy appears as an inevitable reality. Bride Let’s take a closer look at what is an oligarchy And let’s see what it’s like today.
First of all, let’s understand what it is; What is oligarchy?
Oligarchy, a term that came to our language from French, means little in Greek. oligo and to manage arkhein formed by the derivation of words. The oligarchy, also known as team power, minority power; the entire government of a state and its subordinate organs are in the hands of a small group.
So, what exactly does oligarchy mean?
Its basic definition can be a bit confusing because governments are already in the hands of a likely minority group and This minority also rules the country. However, in the management in the form of oligarchy, there is a relationship between agha and pasha in the roughest terms. The group holding the management owns this management because of their common interests.
The parliamentarians who were brought into the parliament through a democratic election are not oligarchs. However, all of these management staff not on the basis of merit It is oligarchy management to design them according to their parties, communities or similar groups. In other words, if the ruling group is handing over the entire administration to those who own it, then you are the oligarchy.
Are oligarchy and aristocracy the same thing?
From a distance, we can say that the oligarchy is actually the same form of government as the aristocracy, which has been practiced for many years and is still practiced in some countries. However there is an extremely fundamental difference between them; Persons under the aristocracy must come from noble families, whereas in the oligarchy this is not the case.
What binds the oligarchs together is actually the relationship of interest they have established between them. They do not need to come from the same religion, creed, nationality, race or family. You scratch my back, I’ll scratch your back so we can eat the goods of this country. Everyone who shares in his opinion takes part in the administration of the oligarchy. Of course, these make up a small group.
How did the oligarchy, a form of government based on interests, come about?
Frankly, we do not have any information that this state established an oligarchy administration at this time, but the first people to talk about the oligarchy, of course, as we would not be surprised. Ancient Greek philosophers are Plato and Arosteles. Both philosophers defined oligarchy as the despotic rule of the minority and described it as the corrupt state of the aristocracy.
As we mentioned in the introduction, no government has ever said that we are oligarchs and we rule the country with an oligarchy, but this form of government has been seen and practiced by philosophers throughout history. has been the subject of frequent criticism. For this reason, we can say that oligarchy has existed since the concept of state administration emerged, and perhaps even has to be.
There is an assertive view that says oligarchy is inevitable:
One of the most detailed studies of the oligarchy is the man who lived between 1876 and 1936. It was made by the German sociologist Robert Michels. Michels, who examined how the oligarchy was practiced throughout history in his studies, also predicted the future of the oligarchy and put forward a theory that he called the Bronze Law of Oligarchy.
No matter what form of government is practiced or what political system is run according to the Bronze Law of the Oligarchy. eventually the form of government will revert to oligarchy. Because the dominant group, which wants to keep its political rivals in the background, will limit important positions and positions.
According to Michels’ theory, which speaks of surprising details, these limitations are particularly as it will be monopolized by the bosses who control the economy and the media. Because of these people who do not have a political career, the administration will inevitably turn into an oligarchy. The following sentence, which summarizes the oligarchy, is extremely striking; “There is only one political party, and that is the government party.”
It is possible to see the two most concrete examples of oligarchy in history:
One of the two important states that have left their mark on the world’s recent history. one is the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the other is Nazi Germany. One has been the bastion of fascism and the other has been the bastion of communism, and the Second World War passed with the bloody conflicts of these two states. The common point of these two dissimilar states is surprisingly oligarchy.
Although the Soviets are a state that is presented as the rule of the workers, the country is actually the highest decision-making body of the Communist Party. It was run by a 15-member Polit Bureau. An almost identical party system was used by the Nazis as well. In other words, as Robert Michels said, the oligarchy could develop independently of the political system. It is possible to see similar examples in Greece, Argentina, Chile and Portugal until recently.
So, are there still countries ruled by oligarchy today?
As far as we know at the moment, there is no government that explicitly says that the form of government is oligarchy and that they are oligarchs. However, we should not forget the Bronze Law theory of Oligarchy. When you think about it, it is possible to say that many countries are ruled by oligarchy even today. Of course, it is not possible to talk about them by naming them one by one.
A form of government in which the administration of the country is in the hands of a small group Answering the question of what is oligarchy, we talked about its place in the historical process and its effects on the modern world. Michels’ theory is scary, but seeing it real is even more frightening.