Yotsuba

Oligarchy

By lundonx
  • 400 BCE

    History

    Athenians in the fourth century BCE: After the restoration of democracy from oligarchical coups, they used the drawing of lots for selecting government officers to counteract that tendency toward oligarchy in government

  • Idea

    In the early 20th century Robert Michels developed the theory that democracies, as all large organizations, have a tendency to turn into oligarchies.

  • Conception

    He suggests that the necessary division of labor in large organizations leads to the establishment of a ruling class mostly concerned with protecting their own power.