When you think about the word aristocracy, what comes to mind is images of big palaces, aristocrats with titles and family lineages that date back to centuries with their wealth and power.
Aristocracy is a word of Greek origins The word comes after Aristos which means best and Kratos which means power or ruling power. Aristocracy initially referred to a form of government in which authority was vested in the hands of the most competent or righteous citizens.
The aristocracy however was to change its meaning and form over time becoming most of the time a term being synonymous with hereditary privilege as opposed to meritocratic rule.
In the current world the form of historical aristocracies has metamorphosed to a democratic world order nonetheless the reality and effect of the aristocratic practice can still be traced in most facets of the present society
Classical Meaning and Origins
Aristocracy can be traced back in ancient Greece when philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle wrote about different types of government. The rule by wise and just, which was a philosophical aristocracy, was the best form of government in a perfect republic according to Plato. In his political works Aristotle was also advocating aristocracy as being among the three virtuous orders of governance, together with monarchy and polity. To him the aristocracy was the dominion of the best men, men endowed with higher moral and intellectual ideals who ruled to establish the common good.
This initial conception of aristocracy was closely connected with such concepts as virtue and civic duty. It did not simply depend on access to wealth and some form of lineage but reflected a proven capability and suitability in governing. Nevertheless, even in antiquity, such a system could be widely practiced in practice and differ considerably with the philosophical prototype, which is why the theory experienced criticisms and finally transitioned to the more democratic management.
Medieval and Early modern Europe Aristocracy
The advent of feudalism in medieval Europe was a great change in the notion of aristocracy. Rather than constituting the aristocracy thus being made by virtue and merit, their status was acquired hereditary and the ownership of lands, roles in military engagements and also staying loyal to monarchs. The aristocracy or nobility was the upper society of the people who had extensive power over land and people. One of them was based on titles, which were inherited, such as duke, count, baron and earl that resulted in a strict hierarchy of society.
At this period the aristocrats not only were political leaders but also the arts and culture patrons. They used their riches to build castles, to support artists and to provide educational institutions. During the Renaissance and enlightenment years, there were some aristocrats who actively participated in scientific, literary, and philosophical advancements. Nonetheless, the strict entitlements possessed by members of the aristocratic circle were seriously questioned, especially when the bourgeoisie (a group of rich common people) began to assert itself.
Falling of Aristocracy in Contemporary Age
Kingship is something that is not suitable to the 19th and 18th century because kingship was tremendously overturned in these two periods. An important milestone was a French Revolution (1789) where the regime was overthrown and the privileges of the aristocracy destroyed. The motto describing the rejection of an inherited privilege to the ideal of democracy was the one about liberty, equality, and fraternity. Other such forces came in other parts of Europe and slowly the aristocratic political influence was reduced.
The aristocratic order was further worn down by industrialization. Fortune was not anymore tied to the possession of soil; industry, trade and invention had generated in the economy new elites. Traditional influence of the aristocrats was also taken over by the rise of the capitalistic economy, urbanization, and higher level of literacyTowards the 20th Century, most of the aristocratic titles were mostly ceremonial, especially within the constitutional monarchies in the United Kingdom. In Britain the House of Lords continues to have hereditary peers but their power to legislate has been curtailed dramatically. Aristocracy has been discarded in most democratic societies and the consideration of individuals on the basis of ability and effort, characterized by meritocracy, is the current shared guiding principle in social settings.
Contemporary Aristocracy and its Power
Although formal aristocracies have become extinct, aristocratic prestige and organization remains. Aristocratic titles are part of the tradition and national identity in the countries which have a monarch system of rules. King marriages, crowning, aristocratic events still draw the eye of the public and have their share in the sphere of tourism and diplomacy.
In addition, critics are of the view that new types of aristocracy have developed in capitalist societies. Such concepts as corporate aristocracy or plutocracy refer to elite organizations that possess an unreasonable amount of power because of wealth, education, or connections. In that regard, the aristocracy did not vanish but changed. Particular patterns of inherited privilege can be reproduced in elite universities, elite social clubs, and political dynasties, which makes the dream of opportunity vulnerable.
Culture and Imagination Aristocracy
Aristocracy is still romantic in books, movies and pop culture. Whether it is in the novels of the writer Jane Austen or in a modern day period drama such as Downton Abbey, people are obsessed with the glamour, manners, and mystery of a life of the rich and noble. Such images are a mixture of nostalgia and criticism and show both the charm and the evils of the aristocracy.
Such cultural preoccupation is both a complicated association with nobility. On the one hand, it denotes sophistication, rigor and sense of the past. Consequently, on the other hand, it signifies inequality, exclusion, and concentration of power. Such tensions have been going on and shaping social ideas about class, privilege and social mobility.
Conclusion
In its proper meaning, Aristocracy is a good idea because it was the rule of the best, a noble rule based on virtue and wisdom. It developed into a hereditary system over the centuries and could be based more on the birth than the ability. Although the powers of the aristocracies in political life have lost their charge, their cultural, economical, and symbolic power should not be overlooked. The history of the aristocracy and its evolution serves as good supplements to the general issues of power and class and governance in the past and modern society.