Oligarchy

The United States of America is governed by an oligarchy. Regardless of what children are taught every year in school, from kindergarten to graduation, the belief instilled in people from a young age that we are a democracy is an idealistic, and unrealistic view of current political affairs. Before delving into why the United States operates as a government dominated by the economic elite rather than a democracy though, the latter must be defined. Following the classical teachings of Aristotle’s utopian view of democracy, in which each citizen has as much weight in the policy-making that governs as any other and still maintains the rights to live as a free individual, it is not controversial to suggest that America has never been a

Government is an essential part of civilization in modern and historic times. This crucial element of society has been observed in different forms. There are three main systems of governments: autocracy, oligarchy, and democracy. Which system a government belongs to is determined by who hold the sovereignty, meaning who has the supreme power and authority (“Sovereignty”). This leads to there being major differences between autocracies, oligarchies, and democracies.

The type of government that will fit on my island would be democracy, because it is a system of the whole population of the state. I chose democracy because I would want my island to have laws similar to the ones of the United States. The reason why I didn't choose autocracy or oligarchy is because autocracy is a system of one government which means one person makes laws and has all the power to control how things work on the island. Oligarchy is a system in which the groups are small and have little little ideas for the island. The island will need large groups with leaders that will be in charge of certain things on the island this is why I think having democracy is better than the other two. You will have more groups to help you organize

Robber Baron: someone who manipulates others at a disadvantage to succeed or prosper by himself.

A robber baron is defined as, “an unscrupulous plutocrat, especially an American capitalist who acquired a fortune in the late nineteenth century by ruthless means.” Two famous robber barons are James Fisk and Jay Gould.

Similarly, elites have power in the Executive branch, which is composed of the President and his cabinet. The current President, Donald Trump is an elite for many reasons. He inherited family money (including a $1 million loan from his father to start a business) and his father’s real estate company. He also has fame and fortune from developing well-known buildings, such as Trump Place. He is also a successful businessman as he owned Miss Universe, Miss USA, and Miss Teen USA for 20 years. He also got paid $213 million for his presence on NBC’s television show, “The Apprentice.” Furthermore, Forbes states that his net

No matter how a person looks at it, there will always will be a power struggle between the ones who have it and the ones that don’t. James C. Scott describes in his memoir “Behind the Official Story”, political sciences in society and hidden transcripts in the public. In describing his idea of hidden transcripts he states, “I shall use the term public transcript as a shorthand way of describing the open interaction between subordinates and those who dominate.” (Scott 522). He says the hidden transcript is a lie and disguise for those who don’t have control and power. He argues that both parties are misleading and conspiring against each other. Nafisi talks about power relations in her memoir

The oligarchs came to be known as the concentrated centralized economic class of corrupt men who took advantage of Yeltsins privatization movement. These economic elite ascended to power during Yeltsin's terms. Yeltsin's economic plans lead to corruption, economic stagnation and increased power of the oligarchs. The oligarchs were adroit at finding loopholes and ways around any attempt Yeltsin had at privatization. They did not follow any market rules because there were really none in place in the infant Russian market. The oligarchs took money out of Russia by setting up offshore accounts from their enterprises; defeating the purpose of the economic reforms by not investing money back into the

Everyday citizens often live unaware of their government’s inner workings. The knowing of political espionage is often too heavy of a subject to be inducted in conversation. True, prima facie, modest twists and turns of information may not be considered substantial, but this inconsideration leaves much to be uncontrolled. It is easy for political leaders to become power crazed, to not realize the massive implications that come of their actions. Only after all is said and done do the people actually realize their government is an opaque mask of deception. The Watergate Scandal substantially impacted Americans’ trust in their government.

The reality is depicted in a litany of powerful, clever men, who misuse their abilities for their own personal ends - which are chiefly, the acquisition and maintenance of power. Their goal is public acclaim, cynically acquired through a popularity based on the

Where did the stereotype of the greedy, selfish, evil businessman come from? Sure, there are countless real-life examples of that, but don't let them distract you from all the good in the world. Some of the most successful investors are good Samaritans and strive to make Earth a better place for us. Take Jay Z and Beyoncé, for example. They invest in good deeds all the time. Let's check out nine examples right now.

In Putin’s Kleptocracy: Who Owns Russia?, Karen Dawisha relates Russian President Vladmir Putin’s rise to power. She overarchingly claims that Putin is an authoritarian leader who has obstructed and even reverted Russia’s path of democratization, citing, amongst many factors that enabled his ascension, his “interlocking web of personal connections in which he was the linchpin” (100), money-laundering to tax havens and personal projects, and the complicity of the West. With copious research, journalistic interviews, legal documents, and even sporadic informational diagrams, it is evident why her book is so popular amongst scholars and history enthusiasts. Unfortunately however, in spite of the grand yet oftentimes substantiated claims she generates, a more subtle yet noteworthy assumption is made: that the state is a protector, as Olson proffered. She employs this theoretical underpinning from the beginning, though is not representative of Putin’s actual authoritarian regime.

Oligarchy as it is known in Aristotle’s politics; is a government run by a small group of people, ‘elites’. However, the oligarchy which this essay addresses is currently referred to in Russia as “a very wealthy and politically well-connected businessman...one who is the main owner of a conglomerate of enterprises and has close ties with the president” (Aslund and Dabrowski, 2007; 144). In the 1990s Russia’s economic reforms are said to have created the rise of a small group of oligarchs who gained an overwhelming amount of power and control. By 1997, this small group of previously unknown businessmen and bankers, often with gangster ties, had acquired control of many of the key parts of the Russian economy. Why did they emerge? It is argued by David Satter that three processes facilitated the emergence of the oligarchs. The first was hyperinflation and the social, economic and political consequences. The second was the process of privatisation, and finally the third was criminalisation (Satter, 2003). However, were these powerful oligarchs just a phase during the transition from Soviet to Post-Soviet Russia? Even with Putin’s efforts and declaration to distance the oligarchs from politics and power, and start a war against them exemplified by the Khodorkovsky affair, are oligarchs still significantly powerful in contemporary Russia? What is the role they play in Russia? It seems that the power of those original oligarchs of the 1990s has decreased or been concealed in

“Yet among men there are some endowed with vision, an insight more penetrating and more sustained. To their liberated spirit the world unfolds a farther prospect.” These words were spoken by Carleton Noyes to his class as they were analyzing The Harvard Classics (collection of poetry). This phrase means to reflect the driving genius behind such philanthropist entrepreneurs as John D. Rockefeller and Ted Turner. Both of these ‘supermen’ have displayed great determination in their lives, enabling each to accomplish far and above more mortal men. Ted Turner, for example, won the America’s Cup despite the fact that he had never been trained in competitive sailing.

With a net worth of $17.6 billion and ranked 37th on the Forbes World billionaires list, Alisher Usmanov is evidently one of the world’s wealthiest men. Alisher Usmanov gained his wealth from being a successful Russian oligarch; known to be one of Vladimar Putin’s own. However, it is important not to confuse him with oligarchs who are associated with the "loans-for shares" auctions held in the mid-1990s (Guriey and Rachinsky, 2005; 138). Instead, his fortune is much more recent. Interestingly, “this man was virtually unknown at that time but is now one of his country's richest men” (Powell and Hempel, 2010; 152). How did he go from prison to a billionaire? Was this due to his illegal gangster background to which many are claiming?