According to one dictionary, it has several different meanings: (1) government by the wealthy (2) a wealthy class that controls the government and (3) a state or society in which the wealthy classes rule.(3) Yet the essence of plutocracy has been defined more broadly as "the determination and ability of wealth to reach beyond its own realm of money and control politics and government as well."(4) There are many conceptual definitions of plutocracy - such as, for example, "government by or in the interests of the rich"(5) - but very few, if any, operational ones. Like democracy, plutocracy is a controversial, value-laden, and imprecise term. The term is derived from the Greek word ploutokratia, meaning "government based on wealth" - combining ploutos, wealth, and cratos, rule or government. So, what exactly is "plutocracy" and what are its main characteristics? For analytical and comparative purposes it is necessary to define a concept that provides a clear idea of what plutocracy is and what its essential elements are. The plutocracy is a form of government or oligarchy in which a community is governed by a wealthy minority in other words, it is a state that is controlled by a group of people belonging to the richest stratum of society. In this respect there is a gap in the theoretical literature that cries out to be filled. In 1784, America was the first democracy in modern history. PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION AND RECENT FINANCIAL SCANDALS involving high-flying American CEOs and top politicians in Italy, France and Germany have revived the more than century-old debate about the role of money in politics in general, and the illicit marriage between government and concentrated economic power known as plutocracy in particular.(1) Today the term plutocracy is used repeatedly, albeit rather casually, by social critics, such as 2000 Green Party presidential candidate Ralph Nader and commentators like Kevin Phillips, Paul Krugman, Paul Kurtz, William Keegan (who has unwittingly revived the old Paretian term "plutodemocracy"), and others.(2) But very few users have bothered to define clearly the term plutocracy and its differentia specifica. It can credibly be argued that America is now, officially, a plutocracy.
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