Sociological analysis: a cornerstone of Pareto’s political theory?

Much of the scientific discussion on Pareto—at least from the sociological side—has focused on what is the core of his theory, that is, the relationship between social heterogeneity, circulation of élites and ruling classes. In this paper, the greatest attention is instead paid to the part that I would define as a cornerstone of Pareto’s elitism, namely the one that looks at the mechanisms of production and reproduction of social inequalities and the related processes of mobility. In a sense, the focus of the analysis has shifted from the political dimension (the governing élite) to the social dimension (the non-élite). If the premises of Pareto's analysis are still fundamentally nineteenth century (there is basically a physical, moral, and intellectual diversity among human beings), his reading of the social composition of a country (the reference is often to Italy) it is of remarkable originality, as I try to demonstrate by considering specific social groups, in their family, status and class connotations. In my opinion, a hermeneutical complexity uncommon among his contemporaries emerges, where one can fully breathe the spirit of the twentieth century (enhancement of emotional factors; causality of values; cultural heritage, representations, and beliefs; etc.). © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2024.