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... > social science subjects > politics and international relations > political science > political theory > modern political thought > power and authority > aristocracy
... > social science subjects > politics and international relations > political science > political theory > power and authority > aristocracy

Preferred term

aristocracy  

Definition

  • The term aristocracy derives from the ancient Greek aristokratia, or “rule by the best.” In modern usage, it normally designates a ruling elite whose political powers and wealth are invested with titles and privileges and transmitted through hereditary succession. Modern parlance reflects the term's original meaning insofar as it plays on a moral contrast between aristocratic powers, legitimated by the responsibility and self-restraint supposedly attendant on good breeding, and oligarchic powers, acquired through ambition, calculation, eager new money, and similar vices, which are thought to prevail in self-appointed or otherwise illegitimate regimes. [Source: Encyclopedia of Political Theory; Aristocracy]

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https://concepts.sagepub.com/social-science/concept/aristocracy

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