WORLD HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -Throughout history, power structures considered to be oligarchies have often been viewed as tyrannical, relying on public obedience or oppression to exist. Aristotle pioneered the use of the term as meaning rule by the rich, for which another term commonly used today is plutocracy .

Detailed explanation-2: -Aristotle used the term oligarchia to designate the rule of the few when it was exercised not by the best but by bad persons unjustly. In this sense, oligarchy is a debased form of aristocracy, which denotes government by the few in which power is vested in the best individuals.

Detailed explanation-3: -The main difference between the two is the basis for the ruling class’s power. When aristocrats rule, they do so because of their inherited social class. In an oligarchy, people rule because of wealth or land ownership. In some Greek city-states, an oligarchy replaced aristocratic rule.

Detailed explanation-4: -Oligarchy is a term for a government in which power is held by a select few individuals or a small class of powerful people. This can mean that these few people are the actual leaders, or that they influence or control the decisions that the leaders make (that they’re the ones “pulling the strings” behind the scenes).