iron law of oligarchy
E799602
The iron law of oligarchy is a political theory stating that all complex organizations, regardless of how democratic they are at the start, inevitably develop oligarchic leadership and concentrated power among a small elite.
Statements (47)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
organizational theory concept
ⓘ
political theory ⓘ sociological theory ⓘ |
| alsoKnownAs | Michels's iron law of oligarchy NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| appliesTo |
bureaucratic organizations
ⓘ
mass-based organizations ⓘ political parties ⓘ trade unions ⓘ |
| assumption |
large-scale organization requires delegation of authority
ⓘ
leaders develop interests distinct from rank and file ⓘ organizational survival becomes a primary goal ⓘ technical expertise concentrates in leadership ⓘ |
| claimType | tendency rather than strict logical law ⓘ |
| consequence |
internal democracy is undermined
ⓘ
power becomes concentrated in a small leadership group ⓘ rank-and-file members lose effective control ⓘ |
| coreClaim |
all complex organizations tend to develop oligarchic leadership
ⓘ
democratic organizations evolve toward rule by a small elite ⓘ |
| critiquedBy |
participatory democracy theorists
ⓘ
pluralist theorists ⓘ |
| debatedIn |
democratic theory
ⓘ
elite theory literature ⓘ organizational studies ⓘ |
| empiricalBasis | Michels's study of the German Social Democratic Party ⓘ |
| field |
organizational sociology
ⓘ
political science ⓘ political sociology ⓘ |
| formulatedBy | Robert Michels NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| hasStatus | pessimistic view of democracy ⓘ |
| historicalContext | early 20th-century European mass parties ⓘ |
| influenced |
elite circulation theories
ⓘ
studies of political parties ⓘ studies of trade unions ⓘ theory of bureaucracy ⓘ |
| mainWork | Political Parties NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| normativeImplication | democratic control is structurally fragile ⓘ |
| oftenContrastedWith |
deliberative democracy
ⓘ
participatory democracy ⓘ |
| originalLanguage | German ⓘ |
| originalTitle | Zur Soziologie des Parteiwesens in der modernen Demokratie NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| publicationYear | 1911 ⓘ |
| relatedConcept |
bureaucratization
ⓘ
democracy ⓘ elite theory ⓘ leadership ⓘ mass democracy ⓘ oligarchy ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.