Description
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.
Table of Contents
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.
