Definition of Aristocracy:

Aristocracy is defined as the form of government that places the strength or power in the hands of privileged and small ruling class. The term Aristocrat is derived from the Greek word aristokratia meaning “rule of the best born”.

The term aristocracy is somewhat similar with hereditary government along with hereditary succession which is the primary philosophy which is the hereditary monarch that is appointed by the officers once they see fit. In later times, the word aristocracy was usually meant for being ruled by the best qualified citizens who are often contrasted in favor with the monarchy which is ruled by an individual. Aristocracy is identified as an element related to the social structure that is characterized by human societies from ancient times and is directly associated with land ownership. Aristocracy is developed in different countries in different forms while encompassing a confined noble class that forms an extensive group small or large scale farmers with labeled gentry. As a part of government, aristocracy was associated based on rules and debates that extend within a given social and political role characterized with an intellectual life within the society. At the end of the eighteenth century, the concept of aristocracy began to be challenged by means of a social form and vision that are put forwarded by the society without any ranking hierarchy.

Example of Aristocracy:

Some of the example of aristocracy is stated as follows:

1. Britain’s Royal Family

2. Kennedy Family in the United States.

3. Actors and actresses in Hollywood

4. The Brahman caste in India

5. The Spartiates in Sparta

6. The Eupatridae in Athens

7. The Patricians or the Optimates in Rome

8. The Medieval nobility in Europe

9. Upper stratum of the Roman Catholic Church

10. The elective republics and monarchies.

How does an Aristocracy work?

Aristocracy works as a beneficial factor for the ruling state or society. However the basic view of aristocracy differs from people to people in different terms according to their basic abilities and aptitude. People who are related to the civil society gets legally or morally equal to one another but this does not imply that they have equal and same rights to income, gain political power or with any social prestige. In business, aristocracy is defined as the ruling board with a group of chosen people running a firm based on the specific business knowledge and experiencing personal income.

Group of people considered as a part of Aristocracy:

A group of social class, or a particular society that are considered as the highest order in a society are considered as a part of Aristocracy. In many states, the group of upper class people with hereditary rank and titles are considered as a part of aristocrats.

Existence of Aristocracy:

In the 20^th century, aristocracy showed a remarkable difference in the welfare of the nation with an indication of the upper house within the attendance. During the second world war, there were rarely a dozen peers in the attendance and in the post two centuries, the trend of aristocracy has become a quite accentuated. The tedious business of today’s world is now no longer interested in lordships but when their personal interest comes at a stake, their hackles get raised turning them up in forces. In today’s world, individuals are accustomed to thinking of Britain’s aristocracy as a part of quaint historical curiosity. According to some recent report for the Country Life, a third of the Britain’s land still belongs to the aristocracy. However the existence of aristocracy became extinct of some titles and sales of land in the early 20^th century with some of the list of major aristocratic landowners in the year 1872 and in 2001 the count remaining the same. The existence of aristocracy in Scotland is even more shocking as nearly half of the land is under the control of 432 private individual as well as companies. It is estimated that more than a quarter of all the Scottish estates ranging to about 5,000 acres are listed under the aristocratic families. Hence in total, the aristocratic hold of land is about 2.24 m acres of them which are mainly Lowlands. Many of the noble land holdings, fall within the most prestigious and valuable aristocratic land in the world. In addition with this count, about 96,000 acre of Reay Forest, 23,500 acre of Abbey stead estate in Lancashire and about 11,5000 acre of Eaton estate in Cheshire falls under this list of aristocratic lands.