In this episode, CJ revisits DHP Episode 34, “The Iron Law of Oligarchy,” from 2014, in preparation for an upcoming mini-series on oligarchy & CJ’s argument that modern democracy is just oligarchy with extra steps. Join CJ as he discusses: A little bit about German sociologist Robert Michels, who first described this law The Iron Law of Oligarchy as described by Michels in his early-20th century book Political Parties The Iron Law of Oligarchy in other contexts Some noteworthy exceptions to the Iron Law that various scholars have found, including the International Typographical Union, the New Left student movement of the 1960s, ancient Athens, and Wikipedia Links Sign up for CJ’s upcoming Dangerous History Live-Ceum Course “The Decline & Fall of the Soviet Empire” (Patreon supporters at $25/month & higher can get 15% off) Support the Dangerous History Podcast via Patreon Other ways to support the show Get CJ’s Dangerous American History Bibliography FREE Subscribe to the Dangerous History Podcast Youtube Channel Follow CJ on Twitter/X Follow the DHP on Instagram Follow the DHP on Facebook Hire CJ to speak to your group or at your event Like this episode? You can throw CJ a $ tip via Paypal here: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=D6VUYSYQ4EU6L Or throw CJ a BTC tip here: The post DHP Special: Revisiting “The Iron Law of Oligarchy” first appeared on The Dangerous History Podcast.