Lady Scylla wrote:Russo-Byzantine Empire wrote:But oligarchies are by definition not meritocracies, they are the rich of society exploiting it for their own profits, not for the benefit of society.
ol·i·gar·chy
ˈäləˌɡärkē/
noun
a small group of people having control of a country, organization, or institution.
It isn't solely limited to a "rich elite" (or by actual definition, a Plutocracy)
It's far more often that it is a plutocratic oligarchy. The rich are the only ones with the resources to fight an endless campaign.