Initiatives v Oligarchy

Our Founders' Warning: “Every government degenerates when trusted to the rulers of the people alone. The people themselves are its only safe depositories.” (Thomas Jefferson)

Plutocrat

Oligarchy and Plutocracy are often used interchangeably in the U.S.

Plutocracy is government by the wealthy: An elite or ruling class (plutocrats) whose power derives from their wealth. (Courtesy © Academic Dictionaries and Encyclopedias);

Oligarchy is government by a few powerful people;

Aristocracy is government by the self-proclaimed best people who are often the descendants of Plutocrats.

Moreover, “the risk of a drift towards oligarchy [i.e., Plutocracy] is real and gives little reason for optimism about where the United States is headed.” (Piketty, Capital in the 21st Century, Courtesy © Wikipedia)