Oligarchic governments were more common in his time than today. But although such governments did not necessarily begin as corrupt or tyrannical, Aristotle saw them as inevitably becoming so. Aristotle did not regard democracy favorably, however, for he believed that government by the masses could lead to disorder or lawlessness. An autocrat was a ruler with unlimited authority. Absolute monarchy, a related term, refers to a monarch who ruled without checks on his or her power.
Absolute monarchies exist today only in some of the states of the Arabian Peninsula.
Another related term for autocracy, more commonly used in the past, is despotism, or rule by a despot. All male Athenian citizens were expected to participate directly in their government, in the making of laws as well as in choosing officials. The modern democratic state is usually a republic, in which the people do not take a direct role in legislating or governing but elect representatives to express their views and wants. A democratic government exists when these representatives are freely chosen by the people, whose demands are then recognized by the duly elected government. In addition to free elections, true democratic governments also have other standards by which they can be measured.