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democracy->oligarchy->dictatorship->collapse->democracy

• michaelochurch 12y ago
  Actually, I tend to think that the Iron Law of Oligarchy is correct. Dictatorships also converge to oligarchy. The autocrat still has to rely on his handlers and lieutenants for information. They become oligarchs. Oligarchy gives way to aristocracy, which is more effete and less dangerous. Oligarchs want to be powerful. Aristocrats want to be other things (e.g. dignified, respectable, prestigious) and tend to let go of some of their power. The problem is that some aristocrats see the power vacuum and rush in, and then you get a new oligarchy, but one based solely on entitlement. That tends to lead to collapse, from which all sorts of systems can emerge.