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View submission: Are there examples of oligarchic governments being removed peacefully?
Winters defies oligarchy as a system of rule in which the ultra-wealthy are capable of successfully mobilising their resources for the purposes of wealth defence.
This feels a little circular to me, since wealth is, by definition, control over/claims on resources. This definition basically reads as "oligarchy is a system of rule in which the ultra-wealthy are wealthy". Is there any example of a system/set of policies which could not be described as an "oligarchy" in these terms?
Comment by StorySad6940 at 25/01/2025 at 00:45 UTC
2 upvotes, 0 direct replies
No, the key element of the definition is that of wealth defence. The oligarch is so wealthy that he is able to devote a portion of his resources to the protection of his wealth. This may entail manipulating legislation by bribing politicians, hiring fleets of lawyers to circumvent legal challenges, or building fortifications and paying for private armies (depending on how oligarchy is manifested).
There may be cases where the ultra-wealthy control vast resources, but are constrained in what they can do with those resources - institutional settings may limit their ability to engage in wealth defence. To give a concrete example, the US once imposed marginal much higher marginal tax rates, implying the balance of political power was (somewhat) less favourable to the ultra-wealthy. Unions provided a foundation for working class solidarity, and political parties were relatively less beholden to the capitalist class. However, in the latter part of the 20th century, policies around political donations shifted dramatically, loosening the constraints on a key strategy of wealth defence. Through this period we also saw tax policies revised to the extent that the super-rich often pay proportionally less tax than their employees. Economic liberalisation allowed for capitalists to access foreign labour, thereby denying leverage to domestic manufacturing unions. The number of corporate lawyers grew exponentially, indicating the weaponisation of legal systems (which once served to check the power of the ultrawealthy) by the oligarchic class. What we end up seeing is a cycle of continued expansion of oligarchic power at the expense of all other socioeconomic groups. This is a very simplified narrative, of course, but it shows how the ability to engage in wealth defence is critical to the consolidation of oligarchic power.
TLDR, the US has become more oligarchic because the ultra-wealthy are increasingly empowered to engage in wealth defence.