Oligarchy
Cambridge University Press, 4/18/2011
EAN 9781107005280, ISBN10: 1107005280
Hardcover, 344 pages, 23.4 x 15.6 x 2.1 cm
Language: English
Originally published in English
For centuries, oligarchs were viewed as empowered by wealth, an idea muddled by elite theory early in the twentieth century. The common thread for oligarchs across history is that wealth defines them, empowers them and inherently exposes them to threats. The existential motive of all oligarchs is wealth defense. How they respond varies with the threats they confront, including how directly involved they are in supplying the coercion underlying all property claims and whether they act separately or collectively. These variations yield four types of oligarchy: warring, ruling, sultanistic and civil. Moreover, the rule of law problem in many societies is a matter of taming oligarchs. Cases studied in this book include the United States, ancient Athens and Rome, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, medieval Venice and Siena, mafia commissions in the United States and Italy, feuding Appalachian families and early chiefs cum oligarchs dating from 2300 BCE.
Part I
Preface
Part II. The Material Foundations of Oligarchy
1. Toward a theory of oligarchy
2. Power resources
3. Wealth defense
4. Oligarchy and the elite detour
5. Types of oligarchies
Conclusions
Part III. Warring Oligarchies
6. Chiefs, warlords, and warring oligarchs
7. Warring oligarchs in medieval Europe
8. Appalachian feuds
Conclusions
Part IV. Ruling Oligarchies
9. Mafia commissions
10. Greco-Roman oligarchies
11. Athens
12. Rome
13. Italian city-states of Venice and Siena
Part V. Sultanistic Oligarchies
13. Indonesia
14. Untamed ruling oligarchy in Indonesia
15. The Philippines
Conclusions
Part VI. Civil Oligarchies
16. The United States
17. Singapore
Conclusions
Part VII. Conclusions
18. Other cases and comparisons
19. Oligarchy and other debates.