You might have heard President Joe Biden talk about an "oligarchy" in his recent speech. But what on earth is that? Basically, it's when a small group of super-rich people have a big say in how the government runs things.
Biden compared this situation to some really harsh regimes from history. For instance, Meta's CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, is planning to host a party for Trump with some wealthy Republican supporters. Amazon Prime Video, which is connected to billionaire Jeff Bezos, has snagged exclusive rights to show a documentary about Melania Trump.
Last month, the CEOs of Meta, Amazon, and OpenAI collectively donated $1 million to Trump's inauguration fund. And a super PAC linked to billionaire Elon Musk spent about $200 million to support Trump's election.
The term "oligarchy" comes from ancient Greece, and it literally means that a few people are calling the shots. It's not just about nobility and family lineage like in an aristocracy; it's more about who has the most money.
Aristotle, an ancient philosopher, once said that democracies are usually more peaceful than oligarchies because oligarchies can have two types of conflicts: between the rich people and between the rich and the average folks.
In today's world, some countries have been labeled as oligarchies by academics. After the Soviet Union broke up, Russia saw businessmen becoming billionaire oligarchs. President Putin has his own favorite rich folks, and he lets them keep their money as long as they stay loyal to him.
The Philippines has a history of powerful families and colonialism, leading some to call it an oligarchy. Apartheid-era South Africa was also seen as having a white racial oligarchy.
Even before Biden's speech, people were worried about the growing wealth gap in the US and China, wondering if these huge economies are sliding into oligarchies.
