When power is effectively vested in a segment of the governed society
(typically the richest segment), the result is a government of the few
against the many. Often, these oligarchies are organized into powerful
families, where the children are raised and groomed simply to propagate
and advance the power of the oligarchy, usually at the expense of the
governed. Oligarchies often arise as a natural course of
maturing of a republic, and often devolve into AuthoritariaN
? governments,
as one family gains supremacy over all of the others.
-- BryceHarrington