Oligarchy
"Government" by those who can buy government. The private extraction of public wealth and resources in a collapsing society β like birds of prey.
How We Say It
olΒ·ΙΒ·garΒ·kee
Where It Comes From
Greek oligarkhia β rule by the few. From oligoi (few) + arkhein (to rule). Aristotle distinguished oligarchy as the corrupted form of aristocracy β rule by the wealthy in their own interest rather than the common good. Entered English in the 16th century with its critical edge intact.
How It's Been Used
Applied to post-Soviet Russia in the 1990s when a small group acquired immense wealth through privatization of state assets. Increasingly applied in scholarly analysis of the United States β a 2014 Princeton study by Gilens and Page found policy outcomes correlate more with the preferences of the wealthy than with majority opinion. The word has lost its purely historical sense.