Elites And Democracy – Hugo Drochon

As Finer writes: ‘such a work would have put the logical actions . . . ​on an equal footing with the non-­logical ones’.246 Indeed, if it is the case that most actions are non-­logical—­desires for something and post-­facto rationalisations of them—­that does not mean that the actions to achieve them cannot be ra- tional, which Pareto strove to point out. As Zettterberg puts it: the inability to solve the prob­lem of the role of reason in the circulation of elites is most obvious when the issue is phrased as reason versus sentiment.

It is neither reason nor sentiment that should be maximised to insure the survival of an elite, but efficiency. And efficiency is produced through a deli- cately balanced mixture of reason and sentiment, working not against one another, but in harness’.247 It is certainly the case that Pareto thought force to be an indispensable means of maintaining power by elites: he berated Louis XVI for thinking he could ‘halt the Revolution with his royal veto, for his was the illusion of a 242.

See also Femia, ‘Pareto’s Concept of Demagogic Plutocracy’, p. 147: ‘Reason . . . ​can help us to get from A to B, but it cannot determine ­whether B is a desirable destination. The conflict between competing ethical systems is incapable of rational resolution. . .

. ​[Pareto] saw himself as an heir of Machiavelli, separating morality from ­political analy­sis’. 243. Pareto, Treatise, #150, 152. 244. Ibid., #2079. 245. Bellamy, ‘Vilfredo Pareto’, p. 31. 246. Finer, ‘Introduction’, p. 48. 247. Zetterberg, ‘Introduction’, pp. 20–21. ch apter 2 spineless weakling who was soon to lose what ­little head he had’.248 But we should remember that Pareto distinguished between vio­lence, the weapon of the weak, and force, that of the strong, a distinction he feared the fascists ­were not able to make.

He wrote to Pantaleoni that ‘­there are growing signs in Italy, very slight it is true, of a worse ­future than one ever could have ­imagined.

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Ever failed. No ­matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better. —­samuel beckett, ‘Worstward Ho’ vii Contents Acknowledgements xiii Introduction 1 I: Elite Theory 4 II: Demo­cratic Theory 7 III: Dynamic Democracy 11 Movement 12 Dynamism 17 Regimes 25 Pessimism 28 IV: Book Structure 36 1 Mosca and the Ruling Class 39 I: Sicily 45 II: Making Italians 52 III: The Ruling Class I 58 IV: The Ruling Class II 69 Conclusion: Dynamic Democracy 78 2 Pareto and the Circulation of Elites 82 I: France, Italy 88 II: Lausanne, Economics 94 III: The Application 98 IV: The Treatise 101 viii Contents V: The Transformation of Democracy 112 VI: Fascism 116 Conclusion: Dynamic Democracy 120 3 Michels and the Iron Law of Oligarchy 122 I: Germany, France, Italy 123 II: The Iron Law 128 III: Michels and Weber 133 IV: Michels and Mussolini 138 V: Democracy’s Two Palliatives 141 VI: Dynamic Democracy 145 Conclusion 149 4 Schumpeter and Elite Competition 154 I: Elite Competition 158 II: Economic Competition 163 III: Economic Democracy 166 IV: The Conditions of Minimalism 168 V: Pareto 172 Conclusion: Dynamic, Transformative and Oppositional Democracy 174 5 Dahl and Mills, Polyarchy or Power Elite?

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