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1911 Encyclopedia Britannica

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• Oligarchy
• Oligarchies
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1911 Encyclopedia Britannica
• Oligarchy

(Gr. 6Myot, few, apyi, rule), in political philosophy, the term applied to a government exercised by a relatively small number of the members of a community. It is thus the appropriate term for what is now generally known as "aristocracy" (q.v.). The meaning of the terms has substantially altered since Plato's day, for in the Republic " oligarchy" meant the rule of the wealthy, and "aristocracy" that of the really best people.