Oligarchy

The Resource Oligarchy
Label
Oligarchy
Statement of responsibility
Jeffrey A. Winters
Creator
Subject
Language
eng
Summary
  • "The common thread for oligarchs across history is that wealth defines them, empowers them, and inherently exposes them to threats. The existential motive of all oligarchs is wealth defense. These variations yield four types of oligarchy: warring, ruling, sultanistic, and civil"--
  • "For centuries, oligarchs were viewed as empowered by wealth, an idea muddled by elite theory early in the twentieth century. The common thread for oligarchs across history is that wealth defines them, empowers them, and inherently exposes them to threats. The existential motive of all oligarchs is wealth defense. How they respond varies with the threats they confront, including how directly involved they are in supplying the coercion underlying all property claims, and whether they act separately or collectively. These variations yield four types of oligarchy: warring, ruling, sultanistic, and civil. Oligarchy is not displaced by democracy but rather is fused with it. Moreover, the rule of law problem in many societies is a matter of taming oligarchs. Cases studied in this book include the United States, ancient Athens and Rome, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, medieval Venice and Siena, mafia commissions in the United States and Italy, feuding Appalachian families, and early chiefs cum oligarchs dating from 2300 BCE"--
Assigning source
  • Provided by publisher
  • Provided by publisher
Cataloging source
DLC
Illustrations
illustrations
Index
index present
Literary form
non fiction
Nature of contents
bibliography

Context

Context of Oligarchy

Work of

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