A form a government, in which the supreme power is vested in the principal persons of a state, or in a privileged order; an oligarchy.
The nobles or chief persons in a state; a privileged class or patrician order; (in a popular use) those who are regarded as superior to the rest of the community, as in rank, fortune, or intellect.
Rule ( kratos) of the so-called best men ( aristoi).
those regarded as better than the rest of the community in rank, wealth, or intellect BACK
a government that is made up of a small privileged class.
A privileged, educated, and powerful upper class that rules society. Interpreted by Plato as government by the best.
a privileged class holding hereditary titles
the most powerful members of a society
a rule of men of virtue, an oligarchy is a rule of the rich, and Aristotle does not consider virtue and wealth strictly synonymous
Some historians use it to describe titled members of society with their families (that is, the nobility) while other historians include both the peerage and the gentry, whether titled or no.
Members of noble families and class
members of an heriditary ruling class. see nobility.
a type of Greek government in which only the top members of society exercise authority. The word translates "power in the hands of the best." (p. 61)
The Ancient Greek term aristocracy originally meant a system of government with "rule by the best". The word is derived from two words, "aristos" meaning the "best" and "kratein" "to rule". Aristocracies have most often been hereditary plutocracies (see below), where a sense of historical gravitas and noblesse oblige demands high minded action from its members.