Aristocracy

For the social class, see Aristocracy (class).

For other uses, see Aristocrat (disambiguation).

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Aristocracy (Greek ἀριστοκρατία aristokratía, from ἄριστος aristos "excellent," and κράτος kratos "power"), is a form of government in which a few elite citizens rule. The term derives from the Greek aristokratia, meaning "rule of the best". In origin in Ancient Greece, it was conceived of as rule by the superior citizens from an intellectual and moral perspective, and contrasted with monarchy. In later times, "superiority" was usually seen as subjective and aristocracy was usually seen as rule by a privileged few (the aristocratic class).

Concept

The concept evolved in Ancient Greece, whereby a council of famous citizens was commonly used and contrasted with "direct monarchy" in which an individual king held the power. The Greeks did not like the concept of monarchy, and as their democratic system fell, aristocracy was upheld.

In Rome, the Republic consisted of an aristocracy as well as consuls, a senate, and a tribal assembly. Later, aristocracies primarily consisted of an elite aristocratic class, privileged by birth and often by wealth. Since the French Revolution, aristocracy has generally been contrasted with democracy, in which all citizens hold some form of political power. However this distinction is often oversimplified.

In Leviathan, Thomas Hobbes describes an aristocracy as a commonwealth in which the representative of the people is an assembly by part. Simply put, a government when only a certain part of the general public can represent the public.

Modern depictions of aristocracy regard it not as a legitimate aristocracy (rule by the best) but rather as a plutocracy (rule by the wealthy).

Advocates of aristocracy

• John Calvin
• G. K. Chesterton
• Julius Evola
• Guillaume Groen van Prinsterer
• Heraclitus
• D. H. Lawrence
• Joseph de Maistre
• Charles Maurras
• John Maynard Keynes^{[citation needed]}
• Arthur Moeller van den Bruck
• Friedrich Nietzsche
• José Ortega y Gasset
• Plato
• Oswald Spengler
• Alexis de Tocqueville
• Theodor Herzl
• Charles Baudelaire

See also

• Gentry
• Nobility
• Old Money

References

• History, John Cannon (Editor), Oxford University Press, 1997, ISBN 9780198661764