ARISTOCRACY (An Essay)

By the late Tang period a series of social changes had begun that did not reach their culmination until the 11th century. The most important of these was the change in the nature of the ruling class. Although from early Tang times the examination…. As conceived by the Greek philosophers Plato c.

Such a form of government differs from the rule of one by a monarchy or by a tyrant , of the ambitious, self-interested, or greedy few oligarchy or timocracy , or of the many democracy or mobocracy. Because a monarchical system has its own aristocracy and because the people try to elect the best as their rulers in democracies , an aristocratic element also is present in those regimes.

For those reasons, the term aristocracy often is used to mean the ruling upper layer of a stratified group. Thus, the upper ranks of the government form the political aristocracy of the state; the stratum of the highest religious dignitaries constitutes the aristocracy of the church; and the richest captains of industry and finance constitute an aristocracy of economic wealth. The Brahman caste in India, the Spartiates in Sparta, the eupatridae in Athens, the patricians or Optimates in Rome, and the medieval nobility in Europe are various historical examples of the social aristocracy or nobility.

Most such social aristocracies both legally and factually have been hereditary aristocracies. Other aristocracies have been nonhereditary and recruited from different strata of the population, such as the upper stratum of the Roman Catholic church, the ruling aristocracy of elective republics and monarchies, the leaders of scientific and artistic organizations, and certain aristocracies of wealth.

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The distinction between aristocracy of birth and nonhereditary aristocracy is relative, because even in caste societies some low-born persons climb into the higher castes and some high-born persons slide into the lower castes. On the other hand, even in open aristocracies there is a tendency for the upper stratum to become a hereditary group filled mainly by the offspring of aristocratic parents. For example, among millionaires and billionaires living in the United States at the beginning of the 21st century, the percentage born of wealthy parents is notably higher than among American millionaires of the midth century.

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Your contribution may be further edited by our staff, and its publication is subject to our final approval. Unfortunately, our editorial approach may not be able to accommodate all contributions. Our editors will review what you've submitted, and if it meets our criteria, we'll add it to the article. This topic This board Entire forum Google News: March 10, , Frumple on September 24, , The industrial revolution helped the British economy grow in the 19th century, along with the French, German, American, Dutch, Belgian, Swedish and other economies.

And actually Madisonian democracy, i. Read the federalist papers sometime. February 10, , An extremely lopsided essay. Essentially, it consists of two parts: In this case, X is Democracy, Y is Aristocracy.

Your premise for why aristocracy is good, however, is based on an unexplained historical claim- "late 19th century Britain was awesome" sums it up nicely. You similarly mention that you're not talking about a traditional aristocracy, but don't really explain what you mean. You say that it should be a "meritocracy," and mention "highly educated and qualified gentry" as your example base, but otherwise give no insight into what that would mean or why it would work.

Nobility - Wikipedia

You might as well say they'd be "good. Also a bit pompous and formal for being so simplistic and short, but generally well-written. In much of Madagascar, before French colonization of the island, the Malagasy people were organised into a rigid social caste system, within which the Andriana exercised both spiritual and political leadership.

The word "Andriana" has been used to denote nobility in various ethnicities in Madagascar: The word Andriana has often formed part of the names of Malagasy kings, princes and nobles. Linguistic evidence suggests that the origin of the title Andriana is traceable back to an ancient Javanese title of nobility. Before the colonization by France in the s, the Andriana held various privileges, including land ownership, preferment for senior government posts, free labor from members of lower classes, the right to have their tombs constructed within town limits, etc.

The Andriana rarely married outside their caste: In , the Council of Kings and Princes of Madagascar endorsed the revival of a Christian Andriana monarchy that would blend modernity and tradition. Contemporary Nigeria has a class of traditional notables whose titles are tied to those of its reigning monarchs, the Nigerian traditional rulers. Though their functions are largely ceremonial, their titles are often centuries old and are usually vested in the members of historically prominent families in the various subnational kingdoms of the country.

Membership of initiatory societies that have inalienable functions within the kingdoms is also a common feature of Nigerian nobility, particularly among the southern tribes, where such figures as the Ogboni of the Yoruba , the Nze na Ozo of the Igbo and the Ekpe of the Efik are some of the most famous examples. Although many of their traditional functions have become dormant due to the advent of modern governance, their members retain precedence of a traditional nature and are especially prominent during festivals. Outside of this, many of the traditional nobles of Nigeria continue to serve as privy counsellors and viceroys in the service of their traditional sovereigns in a symbolic continuation of the way that their titled ancestors and predecessors did during the pre-colonial and colonial periods.

Many of them are also members of the country's political elite due to their not being covered by the prohibition from involvement in politics that governs the activities of the traditional rulers. Holding a chieftaincy title, either of the traditional variety which involves taking part in ritual re-enactments of your title's history during annual festivals, roughly akin to a British peerage or the honorary variety which does not involve the said re-enactments, roughly akin to a knighthood , grants an individual the right to use the word "chief" as a pre-nominal honorific while in Nigeria.

In addition to a variety of indigenous peoples such as the Aymara and the Quechua , who have long traditions of being led by nobles called Apu Mallkus and Mallkus , tribal connections exist among a number of other groups. The nobility in Brazil began during the colonial era with the Portuguese nobility.

When Brazil became a united kingdom with Portugal in , the first Brazilian titles of nobility were granted by the King of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves. With the independence of Brazil in as a constitutional monarchy the titles of nobility initiated by the King of Portugal were continued and new titles of nobility were created by the Emperor of Brazil. However, according to the Brazilian Constitution of , the Emperor conferred titles of nobility, which were personal and therefore non-hereditary, unlike its Portuguese and Portuguese-Brazilian predecessor, being inherited exclusively to the royal titles of the Brazilian Imperial Family.

During the existence of the Empire of Brazil noble titles were acknowledged. With the proclamation of the First Brazilian Republic , in , the Brazilian nobility was extinguished. It was also prohibited, under penalty of accusation of high treason and the suspension of political rights, to accept noble titles and foreign decorations without the proper permission of the State. In particular, the nobles of greater distinction, by respect and tradition, were allowed to use their titles during the republican regime.

The Imperial Family also could not return to the Brazilian soil until , when the Banishment Law was repealed. Amongst the Polynesians of the Pacific the Ali'i occupied the traditional place of an Aristocratic class. The Kingdoms of Hawaii , Tahiti and presently the Kingdom of Tonga were all ruled by a ruling class known as the Ali'i. The Ali'i routinely provided the kings and nobles of various Polynesian Kingdoms; including the Kingdom of Hawaii prior to its dissolution , and have served as a bastion of Native Hawaiian revivalism since its occurrence.

In Tonga , after contact with Western nations, the traditional system of chiefs was developed into a Western-style monarchy with a hereditary class of "barons", the Tongans even adopting that English title as a synonym for chief. A list of noble titles for different European countries can be found at Royal and noble ranks.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. For other uses, see Nobles disambiguation and Noble House disambiguation. This section includes a list of references , related reading or external links , but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please help to improve this section by introducing more precise citations.

July Learn how and when to remove this template message. Royal and noble ranks. For the historical hierarchy of the Indian subcontinent, see princely state.

Aristocracy

Images from the Boxer Codex illustrating ancient Filipino nobility wearing the distinctive colours of their social status: Lakan of the island of Luzon. For the proper address of holders of these titles, see Royal and noble title styles. For the English Wikipedia category, see Category: University of Illinois Press. Retrieved 15 September Retrieved 15 September — via Lund University Libraries.

Hall, Lesley; Lilley, Keith D. The European nobility, How the King became His Highness. The nature of arms. The nobility of the British Gentry or the political ranks and dignities of the British Empire compared with those on the continent 2nd ed.

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Hookham -- Simpkin and Marshall. This title is not, however, a peerage , thus Scotland's noblesse ranks in England as gentry. Little, Brown and Company, , p. The European nobility, — Presses universitaires de France. May, 1st Baron Volume I, Chapter 5, pp.

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Longmans, Green and Co. Therefore, we order the governors of those islands to show them good treatment and entrust them, in our name, with the government of the Indians, of whom they were formerly lords. In all else the governors shall see that the chiefs are benefited justly, and the Indians shall pay them something as a recognition, as they did during the period of their paganism, provided it be without prejudice to the tributes that are to be paid us, or prejudicial to that which pertains to their encomenderos.

Clark Company, , Vol. Familia, corte, libros in Cuadernos de Ayala , N. El indio aborigen, jefe de tribu, es reconocido como noble y las pruebas irrefutables de su nobleza se encuentran principalmente en las Hojas de Servicios de los militares de origen filipino que abrazaron la carrera de las Armas, cuando para hacerlo necesariamente era preciso demostrar el origen nobiliario del individuo.

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The Philippine Islands, — Volume 27 of 55 Historia de los PP. Imprenta y esteriotipia de M Rivadeneyra, p.

Administrative detainee Alien illegal immigrant refugee Citizen dual or multiple native-born naturalized second-class Convicted Migrant worker Political prisoner Stateless. Lower middle class Upper middle class Bourgeoisie Petite bourgeoisie. Working poor Proletariat Lumpenproletariat. Aristocracy Hanseaten Patrician Royal family. By country or region. Household Inequality Personal Poverty. Educational attainment Homelessness Home ownership Wealth.

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