Broligarchy is a

neologism A neologism Greek νέο- ''néo''(="new") and λόγος /''lógos'' meaning "speech, utterance"] is a relatively recent or isolated term, word, or phrase that may be in the process of entering common use, but that has not been fully accepted int ...

and

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsoligarchy Oligarchy (; ) is a conceptual form of power structure in which power rests with a small number of people. These people may or may not be distinguished by one or several characteristics, such as nobility, fame, wealth, education, or corporate, ...

and broism describing the rule of government by a coterie of extremely wealthy men (occupying leadership roles in the

tech companies A technology company (or tech company) is an electronics-based technological company, including, for example, business relating to digital electronics, software, and internet-related services, such as e-commerce services. Details According to '' ...

and tech-enabled businesses) who are perceived by the public as

tech bro "Brogrammer" or "tech bro" are slang terms often used to label a stereotypically masculine programmer. ''Brogrammer'' is a portmanteau of '' bro'' and ''programmer''. It is often used pejoratively, but some programmers self-describe themselves as ...

s. It is also known as tech oligarchy.

Origin of the term

According to

Prospect magazine ''Prospect'' is a monthly British general-interest magazine, specialising in politics, economics and current affairs. Topics covered include British and other European, and US politics, social issues, art, literature, cinema, science, the medi ...

, "Broligarchy appears in surfer language in the early 2000s “when a small group of bros run a break”—referring to locals controlling a surf spot." The modern use of the terms ''broligarch'' and ''broligarchy'' can be traced to a Twitter post in 2009. Broligarchy appeared on

Urban Dictionary ''Urban Dictionary'' is a crowdsourced English-language online dictionary for slang words and phrases. The website was founded in 1999 by Aaron Peckham. Originally, ''Urban Dictionary'' was intended as a dictionary of slang or cultural wor ...

in 2011. The terms gained wide adoption on social media during the

2024 US presidential election The 2024 United States presidential election will be the 60th quadrennial presidential election, scheduled for Tuesday, November 5, 2024. It will be the first presidential election after electoral votes were redistributed during the 2020 ce ...

and the second Trump presidency. In a tweet on X in March 2024,

Condé Nast Condé Nast () is a global mass media company founded in 1909 by Condé Montrose Nast, and owned by Advance Publications. Its headquarters are located at One World Trade Center in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan. The company's med ...

editor Luke Zaleski, called

Elon Musk Elon Reeve Musk ( ; born June 28, 1971) is a business magnate and investor. He is the founder, CEO and chief engineer of SpaceX; angel investor, CEO and product architect of Tesla, Inc.; owner and CEO of Twitter, Inc.; founder of The ...

"the world's first broligarch". The term broligarch was first used in the

mainstream media In journalism, mainstream media (MSM) is a term and abbreviation used to refer collectively to the various large mass news media that influence many people and both reflect and shape prevailing currents of thought. Chomsky, Noam, ''"What makes ma ...

in late July 2024 in a news article in

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper Sunday editions, published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group, Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. ...

by the British journalist

Carole Cadwalladr Carole Jane Cadwalladr (; born 1969) is a British author, investigative journalist and features writer. She is a features writer for ''The Observer'' and formerly worked at '' The Daily Telegraph''. Cadwalladr rose to international prominence in ...

. In early August 2024, the term ''broligarch'' appeared in the title of articles in

the Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...

magazine by

Brooke Harrington Elisabeth Brooke Harrington, born 1968, is an American academic and author, and professor of economic sociology at Dartmouth College. Early life In 1990, Harrington earned a bachelor's degree in English literature from Stanford University. In 1 ...

and in the English edition of

Al Majalla ''The Majalla'', often directly transliterated as ''Al Majalla'' (Arabic:المجلة, "the magazine") is a Saudi-owned, London-based political news journal published in Arabic, English and Persian. The magazine's headquarters in Saudi Arabia i ...

by Bryn Haworth. The subsequent months saw a flurry of media usage following the

in November of the same year and the

second inauguration of Donald Trump The United States presidential inauguration, inauguration of Donald Trump as the 47th president of the United States took place on Monday, January 20, 2025. Due to freezing temperatures and high winds, it was held inside the United States Capi ...

in January 2025.

Historical developments

In the 2021 book

The Tyranny of Big Tech ''The Tyranny of Big Tech'' is a 2021 book written by Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri. The book's claim is that Facebook, Google, Amazon and Apple (Big Tech) are the "gravest threat to American liberty since the monopolies of the Gilded age" be ...

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) *Republican Party ...

politician and senior

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and ...

member of

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

Josh Hawley Joshua David Hawley (born December 31, 1979) is an American politician and lawyer who has served as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States Senate, United States senator from Missouri since 2019. A member of the Republic ...

argued that major technology companies like

Google Google LLC () is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company focusing on Search Engine, search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, software, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, ar ...

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin ...

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technolog ...

, and

Apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus '' Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ances ...

have become tech oligarchs with overwhelming economic and political power. He describes these companies as modern-day robber barons who are draining prosperity and power from the middle class and creating a new oligarchy.

References

{{Authority control 2020s neologisms Political culture Oligarchy

Origin of the term

Historical developments

See also

Further reading

References