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An oligarchy is any type of government in which power is held by relatively few people. An oligarchy may take many different forms. For example, a republic may be an oligarchy if only a relatively few people have the right to vote. In most oligarchies, the ruling group has power because of its wealth or military authority. The advantages of this would be that the nation/country would be capable of making swift decisions, and acting quickly. One may argue, based primarily on the work of sociologist C. Wright Mills, that oligarchy is a permanent element of our republic. The notion that we citizens elect leaders (who "lead" us but do not "rule" us) stops short of a pertinent point: in each Presidential election, though in reality hundreds of candidates run on various ballots trhoughout the country, only two--one Democrat and one Republican--have a chance of winning. The last third party candidate to carry a state was George Wallace in 1968 (he carried 5 southern states for 46 electoral votes). Essentially, what we see is a two-party system dominated by the corporate, political, and military elite who hold the power to support candidates that best serves their goal: to remain powerful. Fortunately, the Bill of Rights (and specific amendments) creates a set of civil liberties and immunities that protects U.S. citizens from government oppression.

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16y ago

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