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The German political theorist, Roberto Michels introduces the idea of an "iron law of oligarchy," the application of a hierarchy of power. This establishes the idea that democratic institutions are naturally hierarchal in nature, with inflexible organisational processes. His theory states that "democratic" institutions, such as political parties, take away the right for the mass membership to participate in the policy process. The natural conclusion of this argument is that democracy is not an attainable …

…New York.1958. p.361 Michels, R. Political Parties. New York: The Free Press, 1962. p. 70, 72, 342. Mosca, G. The ruling class in representative democracy, in Etzioni-Halevy, 1939. p.50. Ostrogorsky, Modern Democracy and Political Parties, Moscow, 1927. Parry, G. Political Elites. London: Allen & Unwin. 1969. P.31-32 Rothschild, J. Whitt, J.A. The Cooperative Workplace, London. 1986 p. 51 Weber, M. Legitimate order, in Economy and Society (ed. G. Roth and C. Wittich), University of California Press, Berkeley, Los Angeles. pp. 31-38.