Mosca, Gaetano (1858–1941)

Gaetano Mosca, an Italian political theorist, jurist, and constitutionalist, together with Vilfredo Pareto (1848–1923) and Roberto Michels (1876–1936), were cofounders of the Italian School of Elitists. Michels was a sociologist of German origin but took Italian citizenship in 1923. These three thinkers' contribution to the development of political analysis was important for theoretical, historical, juridical, and social elements. Paralleling James Burnham's (1905–1987) interpretation in The Machiavellians: Defenders of Freedom (1943), the Elitists' approach emphasized a realistic view of politics. In addition, their theoretical approach opposed any utopianism that involved a totalitarian conception of political thought.

Mosca, born in Palermo, became editor of the Italian Chamber of Deputies proceedings in Rome in 1888. Ten years later, he became professor of constitutional law at the University of Torino, ...