The Mind and Society
The Mind and Society (Italian: Trattato di Sociologia Generale) is a 1916 book by the Italian sociologist and economist Vilfredo Pareto (1848-1923). In this book Pareto presents the first sociological cycle theory, centered on the concept of an elite social class.
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The Mind and Society has been named one of the most influential books ever written by Martin Seymour-Smith. The English edition was published in 1935.
Summary
The book characterises human acts as mostly 'non-logical': not conducive to an intended goal that is ever achieved. Rather, the author identifies categories of mere instinctive tendencies, such as 'combinations' (creative synthesis) and 'group-persistences' (solidification of preconceptions), as well as their rationalisations. He divides the elite social class into two groups: the radical promoters of change (cunning 'foxes' characterised by 'combinations'), and the conservative defenders of the status quo (violent 'lions' characterised by 'group-persistences'). In his view, the prosperity of a society is influenced by its proportion of 'foxes' to 'lions', and power constantly passes from 'foxes' to 'lions' and vice versa.
See also
References
- Bongiorno, Andrew (November 1930). "A Study of Pareto's Treatise on General Sociology". American Journal of Sociology. 36 (3): 349–370. doi:10.1086/215412. ISSN 0002-9602.
- Burnham, James (1943), "Pareto: The Nature of Social Action", The Machiavellians: Defenders of Freedom, The John Day Company.
- Pareto, Vilfredo (1935), The Mind and Society [Trattato Di Sociologia Generale], Harcourt, Brace.
External links
- First dozen pages of the book
- Excerpts from Volumes III and IV (Sections 2026–2029 and 2233–2236)