Plutocracy
Plutocracy is a form of governance where the wealthy hold significant power and influence over political decision-making. This concept implies that a small elite, consisting of individuals or families with substantial financial resources, can shape laws and regulations to their advantage, often overshadowing the needs and interests of the broader population. Plutocracies may emerge from other governmental systems, such as democracies, as wealth allows individuals to manipulate political outcomes through lobbying and campaign financing, raising concerns about the integrity of democratic processes.
Historically, societies like the Roman Empire and the ancient city-state of Carthage have been characterized as plutocracies, where a land-owning class exercised control over governance. In contemporary discourse, the United States is frequently cited as a potential plutocracy, with critics pointing to the disproportionate influence of wealthy individuals and corporations in politics, particularly through lobbying efforts and campaign finance. While plutocracies can create laws that favor the elite, they are often viewed as unstable due to the inherent tensions between the wealthy few and the larger, less privileged majority, which can lead to societal unrest and calls for reform. Understanding the dynamics of plutocracy can provide insights into current debates about wealth, power, and political representation in various societies.
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Plutocracy
A plutocracy is a government in which the wealthy rule and govern. The word plutocracy can also mean a group of wealthy people who control or influence a particular government. Plutocracies are not overtly labeled as or structured as plutocracies. Instead, other types of governments can change into plutocracies. For example, a country that is a democracy can devolve into a plutocracy because the wealthiest people in society have the opportunity to directly or indirectly influence the laws and rules of the government.
One important idea behind plutocracy is that money can actually buy what the person with the money desires. Although it is not guaranteed that money will influence law or government in the exact manner that wealthy people want it to, researchers agree that plutocracies do create laws, regulations, and social norms that mostly benefit corporations and wealthy people with power.
Governments and organizations do not generally label themselves plutocracies; often critics and people outside circles of power label them plutocracies. Therefore, disagreements arise about which governments and organizations are actually plutocracies. For example, some social critics have labeled the United States a plutocracy. The American government is not officially a plutocracy, and many other people argue that the country is not a plutocracy. People who do believe the United States is a plutocracy argue that the democratic government has transformed into a plutocracy because the wealthiest people have all or nearly all the power and influence.
Background
The term plutocracy is derived from the Greek term ploutokratia. This term comes from the Greek roots ploutos, meaning "wealth," and kratia, meaning "rule." A term related to plutocracy is plutodemocracy. A plutodemocracy is a government that is supposed to be a democracy but is actually ruled only by wealthy elites. It is also the term for a state having such a government. The idea behind democracy is that decisions are based on the majority and the common good. A plutodemocracy is different because the will of the majority is overshadowed by the will of the people with the most wealth. Another related term is plutocrat. This is the term for a member of a wealthy ruling class.
A plutocracy is similar in some ways to an oligarchy. An oligarchy is a society or government ruled by a small group of powerful people. The word oligarchy roughly means "government by the few." Both plutocracies and oligarchies are undemocratic because the power of the government is held by small groups. Democratic styles of government are meant to give power to the people. Both plutocracies and oligarchies are also related to aristocracies. Aristocracies are forms of government in which small groups of nobility or other powerful people control the government.
Overview
Governments and organizations do not generally label themselves plutocracies. Instead, a government or an organization can take on the attributes of a plutocracy. Often, researchers identify groups of plutocrats or plutocracies by examining history. Today many view the ancient city-state of Carthage as a plutocracy. Carthage, which was located in modern-day northern Africa, was ruled by a land-owning class of people. The city-state had a manager, a senate, and a popular assembly. The members of the senate were all landowners, and the senate elected the manager.
The United States also has a history of being identified with plutocracy and plutocrats. When the United States was first founded, only land-owning white men could vote. Since owning land was a prerequisite for choosing the government, the United States was founded as a plutocracy, where only men with enough money to own land could vote for their leaders.
In the late 1800s and early 1900s, a group of the very wealthy had great power in the United States. The group included many well-known business leaders, such as Andrew Carnegie and J. P. Morgan. Many historians look back at this period and conclude that such wealthy people were plutocrats who were not only wealthy but also powerful and influential. (The distinction between a wealthy person and a plutocrat is that a plutocrat is wealthy but also wants to influence government and laws.)
Some social critics believe that the government of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries in America is also a plutocracy. These critics believe that government and policy are unequally influenced by the wealthiest people and corporations. Critics who call the United States a plutocracy often point to lobbyists, or people whose job is to influence government and laws. These people are hired by corporations, nonprofit groups, and others. Critics argue that the people and groups with the most money have the most lobbyists and, therefore, the most power over the government.
Other critics say that campaign finance laws in the country are changing country into a plutocracy. In the United States, the Supreme Court, which is the most powerful court in the country, has made a number of decisions that affect the ways people and corporations can spend money on political campaigns. The Court has said that campaign contributions can be limited to prevent corruption. However, the Court found that having a dollar-amount limit on campaigns is unconstitutional because it limits free speech, which is a right guaranteed by the Constitution. Critics believe that campaign spending influences government. These people also believe that current campaign-finance laws allow corporations and the wealthiest citizens to control government by donating money to political campaigns.
Even though critics can point out a number of former and current example of plutocracies, experts says that plutocracies can be inherently unstable forms of government. At its core, a plutocracy is a society in which a small group has power over a much larger group. When a smaller group has this much power, it can cause instability. The larger group most likely will notice that the smaller group has all the power and is making decisions that benefit the smaller group. When the larger group recognizes the disparity, tension and even upheaval could result. For this reason, plutocracies can be unstable forms of government.
Bibliography
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