There are many types of oligarchies. In some places, the government system may be actually a dictatorship but what we’ll be talking about in this note is oligarchy with a Democratic cover; when a bunch of people rule behind the guise of democracy, making the citizens incapable of simply voting them out of office. How does this work?
– The oligarchs band together to advance their interest. Note that in an oligarchy, every oligarch has their specific role (tax collectors, propaganda officers, etc.) and the system will crumble if even one of them stop working to maintain the system. Thus, they reward themselves equally by taking away the rights of the people (ex: passing policies of lower taxes for rich people, corruption, etc.)
– They spent effort dividing the common folk, preventing them to make one united voice to topple down the oligarchy. They do this by creating tensions of people of different groups, etc. This can sometime go to the extent that one group feels the reason behind the country’s lack of prosperity IS the other group and not the oligarchs themselves.
– They control information to build their image, creating an illusion that the oligarchs are actually working to improve people’s welfare while actually they don’t. (ex: philanthropy, taking credit every time something good happens, etc.)
Given this context, how can we fight oligarchy then? A seemingly simple answer would be to give education to people, making them a more rational, and well-informed democratic citizen who aren’t inflamed easily with attempts of dividing the people, not choosing politicians based on persona but based on policies and track records, etc.