aristocracies

But free states and aristocracies are mostly destroyed from want of a fixed administration of public affairs; the cause of which evil arises at first from want of a due mixture of the democratic and the oligarchic parts in a free state; and in an aristocracy from the same causes, and also from virtue not being properly joined to power; but chiefly from the two first, I mean the undue mixture of the democratic and oligarchic parts; for these two are what all free states endeavour to blend together, and many of those which we call aristocracies, in this particular these states differ from each other, and on this account the one of them is less stable than the other, for that state which inclines most to an oligarchy is called an aristocracy, and that which inclines most to a democracy is called a free state; on which account this latter is more secure than the former, for the wider the foundation the securer the building, and it is ever best to live where equality prevails.

Politics: A Treatise on Government 384 BC-322 BC Aristotle

Only in aristocracies do citizens allow a select group lavish benefits.

Senators raise doubts about health care reform 2009

"The things we call aristocracies and reigning houses are the last places to look for masterful men.

The Path of the King John Buchan 1907

Those which incline more to oligarchy are called aristocracies, and those which incline to democracy constitutional governments.

Politics Aristotle 2002

Enough of the manner in which a constitutional government, and in which the so-called aristocracies ought to be framed.

Politics Aristotle 2002

For to combine these is the endeavor of constitutional governments; and most of the so-called aristocracies have a like aim, but differ from polities in the mode of combination; hence some of them are more and some less permanent.

Politics Aristotle 2002

They scouted the venerable old dogma of the divine right of kings and titled aristocracies to rule the submissive multitude.

History of Woman Suffrage, Volume I Matilda Joslyn Gage 1863

The primary one proscribed monarchs and titled aristocracies Article 1, Section 10 says, "No state shall . . . grant any title of nobility".

The Washington Post: National, World & D.C. Area News and Headlines - The Washington Post George F. Will 2011

Societies like that are called "aristocracies," and all those so-called Constitutional Originalists running around hijacking elections by screaming about excessive taxation should take a moment to remember that our Constitution was designed precisely to interfere with the establishment of a government by inheritance.

Kelly Kleiman: Billions for Charity, But Not One Cent for Taxes! 2010

The millionaires of the world, so called "aristocracies," and the taxes imposed by sovereign states to liquidate obligations more frequently contracted to enslave than to ameliorate the conditions of mankind, are a constant drain which comes ultimately out of the laboring classes in every case.

Black and White Land, Labor, and Politics in the South Timothy Thomas Fortune 1892