oligarchy

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welcome to introspection ft. harsehaj! ⭐️ i’m harsehaj, a 19 y/o always up to something in social good x tech.

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onto today’s topic: oligarchy 🤵‍♂️ 

i’m currently taking a required class called “voting and elections” and i seem to be getting shoved deeper into america’s political business by the week. well, that business is my business too now, unfortunately.

a word i haven’t heard since my grade 6 social studies class is being brought up a lot as of late: oligarchy. let me walk you through what it means, and then i’ll leave the job of connecting the dots up to your discretion. 🤷‍♀️ 

an oligarchy is primarily a political/governmental system where power and control are concentrated in the hands of a small, privileged group. this power can extend beyond politics too (like the economic and social realms) and often, these systems are intertwined anyway.

this select group holds the reigns to decision-making that impacts the broader population. a few examples of specific oligarchies include aristocracies (rule by nobles), plutocracies (rule by the wealthy), and technocracies (rule by experts). anything sound familiar? 😇 

an oligarchy is set up to continue serving that elite group and increasing their power — after all, the policies are self-serving and there is very limited social mobility. to paint a few pictures historically, the militaristic governance of sparta in ancient greece was a key example of an oligarchy in motion.

in our modern world, capitalist giants are definitely growing to resemble oligarchies in a number of countries.

i’m curious, how would you argue in favour of an oligarchy?

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