Elitism

Theories of Elitism

The concept of the elite was first introduced by Vilfredo Pareto (1848–1923), an Italian economist, sociologist, and senator. A firm believer in economic liberalism and an adversary of socialism, he aimed at challenging the Marxist conception of class struggle. In 1901, he published Rivista italiana di sociologica, a famous text later translated as The Rise and Fall of the Elites: An Application of Theoretical Sociology (1968), and in 1916 he published Trattato di Sociologia Generale, later translated as The Mind and Society (1935). He defined members of the elite as people with exceptional virtues who show distinguished abilities in any domain. Being part of the elite therefore depends on individual capacities and natural talent that lead to above-average success.

Gaetano Mosca (1858–1941) had previously worked on a very similar theory, although not explicitly using the concept of elite. A professor of public law, and deputy and then life senator of the former Kingdom of Italy, he wrote the first version of Elementi di scienza politica in 1896 (The Ruling Class, 1939). He further developed the notion of the “ruling class” and the idea that all societies are based on a distinction between the ruled and rulers. According to Mosca, the former is always an organized minority that takes on all political responsibilities, monopolizes power, and enjoys all the subsequent advantages. The latter, always greater in number, is led and controlled by the rulers, who act more or less legally and sometimes violently.

The German socialist Roberto Michels (1876–1936) is also among the elitist authors. A pupil of Max Weber, he studied in England, France, Germany, and Italy, where he taught economics and political science. After World War I, he joined Mussolini's Fascist party, whose ideals he perceived as a more democratic form of socialism. In 1911, he published Zur Soziologie des Parteiwesens in der modernen Demokratie. Untersichungen über die oligarchischen Tendenzen des Gruppenlebens (Political Parties: A Sociological Study of the Oligarchical Tendencies of Modern Democracies, 1915). His premise was that the masses lacked the “mechanical and technical” capacity to govern themselves. According to Michels, a society cannot exist without a dominant class because leadership is technically indispensable to the survival of organizations. The principle of his “iron law of oligarchy” is that one dominant class inevitably succeeds to leadership in an organization, as the collective psychological characteristics of both masses and elites make the leaders of any organization become concerned above all with remaining in office and strengthening their control over the organization.

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