12. Oligarchy Ancient and Modern

Oligarchy is an ancient concept that plays a central role in modern analysis. Piketty’s finding that the rate of return to asset ownership has persistently outpaced the rate of growth of the economy as a whole suggests an “oligarchic” tendency in modern liberal democracies. This modern understanding is economic and informal, whereas ancient oligarchies were understood to be structured through property qualifications. The central focus of ancient analysis was the political means by which the few subordinate the many. Moreover, the idea of “economic” inequality as the basis of oligarchy would have made little sense to ancient analysts without observing the political effects of unequal wealth. Modern political scientists are increasingly studying these effects, renewing the ancient contrast between oligarchy and democracy in the organisation of political life.