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The iron law of oligarchy is a political theory first developed by the German-born Italian sociologist Robert Michels in his 1911 book Political Parties. [1] It asserts that rule by an elite, or oligarchy , is inevitable as an "iron law" within any democratic organization as part of the "tactical and technical necessities" of the organization.
[1] [2] He is best known for his book Political Parties, published in 1911, which contains a description of the "iron law of oligarchy." [3] [4] [5] He was a friend and disciple of Max Weber, Werner Sombart and Achille Loria.
Michels argued that this amounted to an iron law of oligarchy: all groups, regardless of how democratic they may be at the start, eventually and inevitably develop into oligarchies with swollen bureaucracies. Michels himself, after falling out with the German Social Democrat Party, migrated to Italy and joined Mussolini's Fascist Party.
The challenge to resisting a new American oligarchy is not to convince the public that there is a problem, but to offer compelling solutions. In that regard, reformers have a lot of work to do.
Oligarchy (from Ancient Greek ὀλιγαρχία (oligarkhía) 'rule by few'; from ὀλίγος (olígos) 'few' and ἄρχω (árkhō) 'to rule, command') [1] [2] [3] is a form of government in which power rests with a small number of people.
"Today, an oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power and influence that literally threatens our entire democracy, our basic rights and freedoms and a fair shot for everyone to ...
"Today, an oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power, and influence that literally threatens our entire democracy, our basic rights and freedoms, and a fair shot for everyone ...
The Iron Law states that in every case the second group will gain and keep control of the organization. It will write the rules, and control promotions within the organization. [85] This is related to the iron law of oligarchy and to the Self-licking ice cream cone.