Iron law of oligarchy
Etymology
Coined by the German sociologist Robert Michels in his 1911 study "Political Parties," where he argued that "who says organization says oligarchy." He derived the law from watching supposedly egalitarian socialist parties calcify around their own leaderships.
noun phrase · /EYE-urn LAW uv OL-ih-gar-kee/
The claim that every organization, however democratic in intent, inevitably drifts toward control by a small elite.
What it names
A cynical but clarifying lens for why revolutionary parties, unions, and reform movements so often end up ruled by an entrenched few — the tendency is structural, not accidental.
Example
The startup swore it would stay flat and consensus-driven, but the iron law of oligarchy set in the moment a handful of founders controlled every real decision.
Related idea
Complements the Peter principle, which explains how individuals rise to their level of incompetence; Michels’s law explains how organizations as a whole concentrate power regardless of who holds it.