Thanks for the clarifications. I appreciate the danger of a perspective that's too reductive.

We may be interested in slightly different aspects of the problem, though. I'm curious whether systems theory has a lower-level way of speaking of the higher-level phenomenon that corresponds roughly to the law of oligarchy. Someone who thinks that social "law" or principle is important might look to systems theory for further ammunition to buttress his suspicions.

And indeed, I try to avoid the naturalistic fallacy here. I don't think we're doomed to repeating animal behaviours like submitting to dominance hierarchies. We're anomalous enough to be able to transcend those norms with some creative vision. But it would be interesting to see all of what we're up against, even at the level of complex systems in general.