Plato’s former student Aristotle made a distinction between aristocracies and oligarchies. He classified pure aristocracy as a good form of government, a noble ideal that enabled persons with special abilities and high morals to devote themselves to public service for the benefit of others. But when headed by an oppressive and selfish elite, a pure aristocracy deteriorated into an unjust oligarchy. This he considered a perverted form of government.

While advocating rule by ‘the best,’ Aristotle admitted that combining aristocracy with democracy would probably produce the desired results, an idea that still appeals to some political thinkers. In fact, the ancient Romans actually did combine these two government forms with a measure of success.

It has been contended, and with some justification, that all governments are aristocratic in nature, since all of them strive to have the best qualified people in charge. The concept of a ruling class has served to strengthen this view. A reference work therefore concludes: “Ruling class and elite are becoming synonymous terms to describe as actual what Plato and Aristotle argued for as ideal.”