Political theory that advocates the rule of "the best" whom it identifies, generally, with a hereditary upper class Contrast: autocracy, democracy, oligarchy
A form a government, in which the supreme power is vested in the principal persons of a state, or in a privileged order; an oligarchy
government by a few with special privileges, ranks or positions; rule by an elite few who are above the general law; a group who by birth or position are "superior to everybody else" and who can make or apply laws to others but consider that they themselves are not affected by the laws
The aristocracy is a class of people in some countries who have a high social rank and special titles. a member of the aristocracy. = nobility. aristocracies the people in the highest social class, who traditionally have a lot of land, money, and power. Originally, leadership by a small privileged class or a minority thought to be best qualified to lead. Plato and Aristotle considered aristocrats to be those who are morally and intellectually superior, and therefore fit to govern in the interests of the people. The term has come to mean the upper layer of a stratified group. Most aristocracies have been hereditary, and many European societies stratified their aristocratic classes by formally titling their members, thereby making the term roughly synonymous with nobility. See also oligarchy
Hereditary ruling class in ascriptive structured societies where social position is determined by birth
The nobles or chief persons in a state; a privileged class or patrician order; (in a popular use) those who are regarded as superior to the rest of the community, as in rank, fortune, or intellect