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Business oligarch
Rich industrialists / capitalists of great political influence From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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A business oligarch is generally a business magnate who controls sufficient resources to influence national politics.[1][2] A business leader can be considered an oligarch if some of the following conditions are satisfied:
- uses monopolistic tactics to dominate an industry;
- possesses sufficient political power to promote their own interests, often exacerbating income inequality and corruption, particularly through policies that benefit the elite at the expense of the majority.
- controls multiple businesses, which intensively coordinate their activities.[2]
More generally, an oligarch (from Ancient Greek ὀλίγος (oligos) 'few' and ἄρχειν (archein) 'rule') is a "member of an oligarchy; a person who is part of a small group holding power in a state".[3]
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Criticism
It has been noticed how in Western media, the term "oligarch" appears often and exclusively used with reference to Eastern Europe and the former Soviet sphere, where it was first used - as if such figures didn't exist or infleunce politics and society in the former "free world". Paradigmatical, in this respect, appear the fortunes of media moguls like Silvio Berlusconi.
See also
References
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