Plato and Aristotle agreed: oligarchy is a decadent form of aristocracy. “Aristocracy” is rule by a small number of virtuous, enlightened citizens; “oligarchy” is rule by a self-perpetuating group of wealthy people in their own selfish interests.
Oddly, both the extreme right and left in this country would agree that our government is an oligarchy, and that the solution is a form of populism. In the case of the right, the “oligarchy” consists of snooty left-wing professionals and cosmopolitan business owners; the solution is white Christian nationalist populism. For leftists, the “oligarchy” is a small group of extremely wealthy business people, and the solution is a populism based on minority identity politics and the financial interests of workers.
Who’s right? How about neither? The right-wing version is more dangerous, since it has no regard for our institutions, but neither is a solution to what ails America. We need more enlightened gatekeepers, not less–an “aristocratic” element (in the classical sense) in an otherwise democratic state.