Transformations of democracy and the problem of wealth: some remarks on oligarchy and the Czech case

Abstract

There are many signs that our democracies are undergoing a transformation: populism, an erosion of civic participation in political parties, to replace citizens’ decision- making with expert knowledge, and the growing power of super-wealthy people. Urbinati grasps these problems in terms of three phenomena: technocratic depoliticisation, populism, and plebiscitarianism. This article argues that the central issue in contemporary democracies is wealth and inequality, and that is why we need a fully developed concept of oligarchy. Although Urbinati tries to take oligarchy into account, she does so mainly in relation to media ownership. This article considers oligarchy as a phenomenon typical for the contemporary era, and analyses it in the context of the development of Czech society during the last decade. The article adapts Jeffrey A. Winters’ oligarchy theory to the Czech context, effectively connecting political and societal spheres. Finally, the article suggests that only a re-conceptualised theory of democracy enriched by the theory of oligarchy can provide an effective starting point for addressing the pitfalls of the transformations of democracy.

Keywords

• czech republic
• democracy
• economic inequality
• media ownership
• oligarchy
• opinion formation