Could America be considered an Oligarchy?

Question

The definition of Oligarchy is "a form of government in which all power is vested in a few persons or in a dominant class or clique; government by the few."

Think about it, to get elected to any major office in America you have to have lots of money to get your name out, and get popularity .Then also almost every President has come from rich families.

So could America be considered an Oligarchy since the government is made up almost exclusively of the wealthy and powerful, which are the "few" of this country?

Answer 1

well nowadays yes cuz we're run by the republicans...

Answer 2

No, unless you interpret the word so loosely that it begins to lose meaning.

By definition, the government is always going to consist of the "powerful"; those that hold power have power to wield.

And it is true that most elected officials are wealthy. But it does not follow that money translates into electoral success. Steve Forbes, for example, has never been successful in any of his campaigns. On the contrary, neither President Reagan nor President Clinton had a privileged start in life.

It should also be considered that the reason many successful politicians are also wealthy is that they are highly-driven, smart, and have good social skills. It stands to reason that a person with the skills to win an election would also have the skills to succeed in the business or legal world.

Although unlikely, it is still possible for a person from a modest background to win a major elected office. As long as that is true, I don't think you can call America an oligarchy.

Answer 3

Yay, a place ot put in my own political rants!

I would definatly say that we have fallen from grace as far as a democracy is concerned. Most polititians are more concerned about their own pocket books than the wellfare of our nation. The more rights they can supress the more money they can suck up. It's not even Bush, this go way back! We haven't had a good president in a long while. If you look at what our ex-president Clinton was trying to pull before by threatening Disney if they released their movies "The Path to 9/11." Everyone is screwing up and breaking the record set by their predecessor and then when they leave they try to cover their asses and threaten anyone who tries to show them for what they are. I think I got off track but yeah, we're an oligarchy under a group of people who have no idea what they're doing.

Answer 4

Very good question. I think you are more than right.

1. If you compare the US with other democracies in the world, you'll see that other countries have strong third parties and even fourth and fifth strong political parties with many chances of winning, getting seats in congress, etc. The US only has two parties that have been alternating power for the last decade. Not to mention that both parties are basically the same: Behind the facade, they both advocate free-market policies, economic liberalization, no changes to the political system, etc... republicans and democrats, deep down, advocate for the same stuff - more economic rights for their corporate lobbies.

2. In the US, (and in many other parts of the world too), the media is owned by large multinational conglomerates. This causes the media to be very limited, because they report things with bias (look at FoxNews), and many times refuse to report things that would damage their economic interests or those of their sponsors.

3. Corporate donations to political parties are rampant. This causes politicians to act in favour of corporations, due to the fear of losing their monetary support.

4. Except for Jimmy Carter, all past US presidents after Eisenhower belong to the upper class.

5. Social inequality in the US is the highest in the developed world. And it has only increased on the past ten years, while middle class are slowly being destroyed thanks to de-industrialization caused by NAFTA. Factories are closing and production being moved to third world countries with cheap labour and little regulations. All this, in the interest of maximizing profits for the upper class.
The same can be said about Bush and his rampant tax cuts for the rich.

6. The US is one of the few, if not the only, modern democracy in the world that still has an electoral college. In other countries, elections are direct, they are not decided by the Senate but directly by the population.

I think this is more than enough evidence to say that the US is indeed an oligarchy. Or at least a weak democracy very limited by private economic interests and corporate clout.

Answer 5

America is a democracy that was controlled by the two party system making it like an oligarchy. Nevertheless, the power still remains with the people who votes for the leaders deemed to have them money and power of control resulting to the misinterpretation.

Answer 6

I was going to agree with the implicit point in your question because I consider the Supreme Court to be an oligarchy.

But I don't agree with this stuff about the President.

Answer 7

No my dear this is a straight dictatorship. Prescott Bush, President
Bush's grandfather helped put Hitler in power. Read about him and
the Union Bank Corp. This bank was closed and he was charged
with trading with the enemy because he was director of bank.

Answer 8

You are absolutely right the oligarchy being the ranking members of the military-industrial complex. can the US be cosidered fascist (as defined by Benito Mussolini) as well?

Answer 9

Yes, it's true. Bush and other presidents are elected ONLY by THIS secret and evil group that's been in control of everything for far too long!...
http://www.rense.com/general58/suspre.htm

Answer 10

Courts and agencies make the rules. Elected politicians are just for show.

Answer 11

perhaps, but Americans still officially elects its representative, few though they may be, they only stay in power as long as we want them to.