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Athenians in the fourth century BCE: After the restoration of democracy from oligarchical coups, they used the drawing of lots for selecting government officers to counteract that tendency toward oligarchy in government
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In the early 20th century Robert Michels developed the theory that democracies, as all large organizations, have a tendency to turn into oligarchies.
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He suggests that the necessary division of labor in large organizations leads to the establishment of a ruling class mostly concerned with protecting their own power.
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