Poligarchy (political + oligarchy); Poligarch
Entry in progress—B.P.
Wikipedia: Oligarchy
Oligarchy (from Greek ὀλιγαρχία (oligarkhía); from ὀλίγος (olígos), meaning ‘few’, and ἄρχω (arkho), meaning ‘to rule or to command’ ) is a form of power structure in which power rests with a small number of people. These people might be distinguished by nobility, wealth, family ties, education or corporate, religious or military control. Such states are often controlled by families who typically pass their influence from one generation to the next, but inheritance is not a necessary condition for the application of this term.
Throughout history, oligarchies have often been tyrannical, relying on public obedience or oppression to exist. Aristotle pioneered the use of the term as a synonym for rule by the rich, for which another term commonly used today is plutocracy.
(Oxford English Dictionary)
polyarchy, n.
Chiefly Polit.
Rule or government by many people; (also) an instance of this; a state or polity ruled by many. Cf. monarchy n.
(...)
[1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Poligarchie, a monarchie diuided into sundrie parts; or such a diuision.]
1643 C. Herle Answer to Fernes Reply 32 The extreames of these three kinds of..Government are tyrannie, oligarchie, polygarchie (i.e.) of one, of many, and of all, when arbitrary and unbounded in their governments.
1656 T. Blount Glossographia Polygarchy, a Monarchy divided into sundry parts; or such a division; a Government of many; opposite to Monarchy, which is a Government of one.
Google Groups: sci.nanotech
Why Nanotech?
Cybes
1/23/01
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whether it’s an elected body actually called ‘government’, or an informal organising comittee like the w3c, people generally can’t get anything *done* without some sort of referee or standard.
*pure* anarchy quickly results in monsterous fragmentation, leading to stagnation or even decay. anarchy -> dictatorship -> monarchy -> oligarchy -> polygarchy (democracy is one form of which, btw) -> anarchy. look up ‘governmental cycles’ some time.
Twitter
Erin Kotecki Vest
@QueenofSpain
Replying to @TSDivaDani
@tsdivadani get’s a crown too! can we have a polythe-Monarchy? Wait. That’s not right…a polygarchy?
1:24 AM - 13 Feb 2008
Twitter
Antigone Girl
@antigonegirl500
Lebedev, owner of Evening Standard, also owns the biggest potato farm in the world. Among many other things. Hates the O word. Polygarch?
6:21 PM - 14 Apr 2009
Twitter
Janet Byron Anderson
@janetbyronander
Olig(o)-, quant. prefix, ‘few’ [Gk oligos];eg. oligarchy, rule by few’. Antonym poly- ‘many’ [Gk polys];eg. polygarchy, ‘shared sovereignty’
10:29 AM - 14 Oct 2011
Twitter
Alastair Dant
@ajdant
Replying to @mattpointblank
@mattpointblank @igorclark perhaps the best term for rich Russian autodidacts is polygarch ?
2:14 AM - 24 Feb 2012
Twitter
Dushyant Shrikhande
@ShriDushyant
Do implore, kind Samaritan, how these polygarchs maintain their ascendancy over us slaves of mirth? I have answered my own question.
9:09 AM - 2 Aug 2013
Twitter
Erika Dudley
@Francoitalian
Did the car or the tag come over last year? Sweet Stingray. #walkhomefromdinner #oligarchs #polygarchs http://instagram.com/p/dkNYO_hvd-/
12:48 PM - 28 Aug 2013
THe New Yorker
The Poligarchs, Oligarchs, and Stooges of the Paradise Papers
By Masha Gessen November 6, 2017
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The Hungarian sociologist Bálint Magyar has a name for it: a mafia state. Magyar—who studied the Soviet Union as an academic in Communist Hungary, served in the Hungarian government, and returned to academia after the populist takeover of his country—argues that the mafia state is a new kind of regime, distinct from autocracies previously known to man. By Magyar’s definition, the mafia state is run by a clan—a political family—that consists of poligarchs, oligarchs, and stooges.
The topmost poligarch is the patriarch, the mafia boss. (...) The word “poligarch” combines “political” and “oligarchy”; the poligarchs are first endowed with political power, which they use to procure material wealth.