This work has been declared by the AHA board as historic, and is superseded by Humanist Manifesto III. The Manifesto is a product of many minds. It was designed to represent a developing point of view, not a new creed.
Re: the iron law of oligarchy Aug22-09, 10:47 PM JRDunassigned: The iron law of oligarchy is a political theory, first developed by the German syndicalist sociologist Robert Michels in his 1911 book, Political Parties. This is actually wrong.
Building on the term oligarchy, a system in which many are ruled by a few, sociologist Robert Michels (1876â1936) coined the term the iron law of oligarchy to refer to how organizations come to be dominated by a small, self-perpetuating elite.