The Ancient Greek term aristocracy meant a system of government with "rule by the best". This is the first definition given in most dictionaries. The word is derived from two words, "aristo" meaning the "best" and "kratia" "to rule". Because everyone has different ideas about what is "best", especially in relation to government, the term is tricky to apply in this sense. Aristocracies have most often been hereditary plutocracies (see below), where a sense of historical gravitas and noblesse oblige demands high minded action from its members. Ancient Greece is the term used to describe the Greek_speaking world in ancient times. ... In French, noblesse oblige means, literally, nobility obliges. ...

As a government term, aristocracy can be contrasted with:

• meritocracy - "rule by those who most deserve to rule". While this has on the surface a nearly similar meaning to "aristocracy", the term "meritocracy" has usually implied a much more fluid form of government in which one is not considered "best" for life, but must continually prove one's "merit" in order to stay in power.
• plutocracy - "rule by the wealthy". In actual practice, aristocrats are often just plutocrats whose wealth allows them to portray their own virtues as the "best" ones.
• oligarchy - "rule by the few". Whether an aristocracy is also an oligarchy depends entirely upon one's idea of what are a "few".
• monarchy - "rule by a single individual". Historically, the vast majority of monarchs have been aristocrats themselves. However, they have also been very often at odds with the rest of the aristocracy, since it was composed of their rivals. The struggle between a ruling dynastic family and the other aristocratic families in the same country has been a central theme of medieval history.
• democracy - "rule by the people". For the past two centuries, democracy has been the greatest enemy of aristocracy. The conflict between them began with the French Revolution, the first democratic revolution in Europe, and continued throughout the 19th century, occasionally flaring up in violent episodes such as the revolutions of 1848. Arguably, the end of the First World War in 1918 marked the final victory of democracy over aristocracy, as all the old European monarchies (and implicitly their aristocracies) were deposed. Today, the aristocracy is mostly powerless and plays a largely decorative role in most countries where it still exists. There are also exceptions, however, such as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

As the suffix -cracy implies, meritocracy is strictly speaking a system of government based on rule by ability (merit) rather than by wealth or social position. ... The term plutocracy indicates a form of government where all the states decisions are centralized in an affluent wealthy class of citizenry, and the degree of economic inequality is high while the level of social mobility is low. ... Oligarchy is a Political regime where most political power effectively rests with a small segment of society (typically the most powerful, whether by wealth, military strength, ruthlessness, or political influence). ... A monarchy, (from the Greek monos, one, and archein, to rule) is a form of government that has a monarch as Head of State. ... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... During the French Revolution (1789-1799) democracy and republicanism replaced the absolute monarchy in France, and the French sector of the Roman Catholic Church was forced to undergo radical restructuring. ... Europe forms the westernmost part of Eurasia. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... The European Revolutions of 1848, in some countries known as the Spring of Nations or the Year of Revolution, were a series of revolutions triggered by the Revolution of 1848 in France, which erupted in February 1848 in Paris and soon spread to the rest of Europe. ... Ypres, 1917, in the vicinity of the Battle of Passchendaele. ... 1918 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ...

History

The term "aristocracy" was first given in Athens to young citizens who led armies from the front line with their swords up. Since military bravery was such a highly regarded virtue in ancient Greece, the armies were being led by "the best". From the ancient Greeks, the term passed on to the European Middle Ages for a similar hereditary class of military leaders often referred to as the "nobility". As in ancient Greece, this was a slave holding class of privileged men whose military role made them see themselves as the most "noble", or "best". Both aristocracies relied upon an established church to back up their claims of being "best" in the society. Citizenship is membership in a political community (originally a city but now a state), and carries with it rights to political participation; a person having such membership is a citizen. ... Virtue (Greek αρετη; Latin virtus) is the habitual, well-established, readiness or disposition of mans powers directing them to some goodness of act. ... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... The Lords and Barons prove their Nobility by hanging their Banners and exposing their Coats-of-arms at the Windows of the Lodge of the Heralds. ... A church building (or simply church) is a building used in Christian worship. ...

One of the key causes of the French Revolution was the idea that the traditional aristocracy no longer represented the "best" of its society. The army had been modernized by Louis XIV to a degree that aristocrats no longer rode at the front of their troops, but directed movements from a safe distance in many cases. It was difficult to abide the aristocracy's traditional privileges when they didn't earn them in the traditional way. During the French Revolution (1789-1799) democracy and republicanism replaced the absolute monarchy in France, and the French sector of the Roman Catholic Church was forced to undergo radical restructuring. ...

The French Revolution focused on aristocrats as people who had achieved their status by birth rather than by merit, such unearned status being considered an affront to the bourgeoisie and new liberal norms. The term thus became symbolic of people who claim luxuries and privileges as a birthright, rather than people who claim the chance to die on the front lines as a birthright, a far cry from the original meaning of the term. In the United Kingdom and other European countries in which hereditary titles are still recognized, "aristocrat" still refers to the descendant of one of approximately 7,000 families with hereditary titles, usually still in possession of considerable wealth, though not necessarily so. Bourgeoisie (RP [], GA []) in modern use refers to the wealthy or propertied social class in a capitalist society. ... This article discusses liberalism as a major political ideology, not the usage of the term in specific countries. ...

In the United States and other nations without a history of a hereditary military caste, aristocracy has taken on a more stylistic meaning. In most cases, the usage is pejorative and refers to purveryors of snobbery, but "aristocrat" can also refer to an elegant person with a gracious lifestyle and strong sense of duty. This last meaning can be seen as taking the term back to its original roots. Caste systems have existed throughout history and throughout the world, but the most well-known caste system today is the Indian Varna system. ... A snob, guilty of snobbery or snobbism, is a person who imitates the manners, adopts the world-view and apes the lifestyle of a social class of people to which that person does not by right belong. ...

See also

• Billionaires
• Elite
• High culture
• Landed gentry
• Upper class
• White collar

A millionaire is a person who has a net worth or wealth of more than one million United States dollars, euros, UK pounds or units of a comparably valued currency. ... Look up élite and elite in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... This page meets Wikipedias criteria for speedy deletion. ... In Great Britain and Ireland, and especially in England, gentry was a term used from the late 16th century onwards to refer to people of good social standing. ... The term upper class refers to a group of people at the top of a social hierarchy. ... White-collar workers perform tasks which are less laborious yet often more highly paid than blue-collar workers, who do manual work. ...

External links

• BBC series on recent history of European aristocracy

Further reading

• Beerbohm, Max, Zuleika Dobson.
• Cannadine, David, 1998 Aspects of Aristocracy (series Penguin History) ISBN 0140249532. Essays on class issues, aristocratic family norms, careers.
• Channon, Sir Henry. Chips: The Diaries of Sir Henry Channon Robert Rhodes James, editor. Excerpts from the diaries of a privileged observer, 1934–53.
• Country Life Magazine, Documenting houses, gardens, pictures, horses, local history, debutantes since 1897.
• Cannadine, David, 1992.The Decline and Fall of the British Aristocracy
• (DNB) Prochaska, F.K., editor, 2002. Royal Lives ISBN 0198605307 (Lives series) Excerpted official biographies from the DNB
• (Curzon, etc.) Bence-Jones, Mark. The Viceroys of India
• Forster, E.M., Howard's End.
• Galsworthy, John. The Forsyte Saga
• Girouard, Mark. Life in the English Country House : A Social and Architectural History
• Halperin, John. Eminent Georgians: The Lives of King George V, Elizabeth Bowen, St. John Philby, & Nancy Astor
• James, Henry. The novels.
• (Marlborough) Brough, James. Consuelo: Portrait of an American Heiress Consuelo Vanderbilt's marriage to the Duke of Marlborough.
• (Mitfords) Lovell, Mary S. The Sisters: The Saga of the Mitford Family
• Mitford, Jessica. Hons and Rebels. ISBN 1590171101
• Mitford, Nancy, Love in a Cold Climate
• Montagu of Beaulieu, Lord, Edward John Barrington Douglas-Scott-Montagu. More equal than others: The changing fortunes of the British and European aristocracies by Montagu of Beaulieu
• (Montesquiou) Jullian, Philippe. Prince of aesthetes: Count Robert de Montesquiou, 1855-1921. The Decadent movement and the original of Proust's Baron de Charlus.
• (Rothschild)Morton, Henry. The Rothschilds
• (Sackville-West/Nicholson) Nicholson, Nigel. Portrait of a Marriage : Vita Sackville-West and Harold Nicolson
• (Sitwell) Pearson, John. The Sitwells: A Family's Biography
• Proust, Marcel, The Guermantes' Way', Sodom and Gomorrah. The closed circle of French aristocracy after 1870.
• Sutherland, Douglas, The Fourth Man: The story of Blunt, Philby, Burgess, and Maclean The double career of Sir Anthony Blunt, Keeper of the Queen's Works of Art and spy.
• The Tattler Magazine.
• Trollope, Anthony The Plantagenet Palliser series of Parliamentary novels.
• Waugh, Evelyn. Brideshead Revisited
• Waugh, Evelyn, Decline and Fall.

• BBC/PBS series, Upstairs, Downstairs, The Jewel in the Crown, Brideshead Revisited, The Aristocracy: Born to Rule 1875-1914 (1997)

Film: Gosford Park The Perfect Husband A Room with a View Max Beerbohm by William Rothenstein, 1893 Sir Henry Maximilian Beerbohm (August 24, 1872 - May 20, 1956) was an English parodist and caricaturist. ... Country Life is a weekly country magazine in Britain and Australia. ... The Dictionary of National Biography (or DNB) is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history. ... Edward Morgan Forster (January 1, 1879 - June 7, 1970) was an English novelist. ... John Galsworthy (August 14, 1867 – January 31, 1933) was an English novelist and playwright. ... This article is about the writer; for the politician who was almost his contemporary see Henry James, 1st Baron James of Hereford. ... The Honourable Nancy Mitford, CBE, (November 28, 1904 -June 30, 1973), novelist and biographer, was born in London, the eldest daughter of Baron Redesdale. ... Anthony Trollope (April 24, 1815 – December 6, 1882) was one of the most successful, prolific and respected English novelists of the Victorian era. ... Evelyn Waugh, as photographed in 1940 by Carl Van Vechten Evelyn Arthur St. ... Logo for British television series Upstairs, Downstairs. ... The Jewel in the Crown is a British television drama series produced by Granada Television for ITV and based on the Raj Quartet novels by Paul Scott. ... Brideshead Revisited is a novel by Evelyn Waugh, first published in 1945. ... Movie poster for Gosford Park Gosford Park is a 2001 film, directed by Robert Altman. ... A Room with a View is a novel by E. M. Forster that tells the story of a young Englishwoman whose encounter with a handsome young man in Florence may interfere with her marriage plans. ...