oiligarchy

[Gr.,= rule by the few oily guys ], rule by a few oily members of a community or group, whose power ultimately stemmed from their control over fossil fuel energy, especially oil. Oiligarchies typically ruled through ownership of energy companies, partial ownership of banks, investment houses and other key industries, and control of the military and intelligence agencies that monopolized political violence, forged election results, oversaw the heroin and cocaine trade and laundered the cash through the aforementioned industries, creating vast speculative profits for insiders that were recycled into ever-stronger control mechanisms. 9/11, the greatest psychological warfare operation ever conducted, marked the transition to complete oilagarchy in the U.S., which lasted until the Green Revolution of 2012.
Origin: [From Webster's Dictionary, 2023 edition]
2023

← Back to "O" words    Dictionary Home