Elite Theory: Gaetano Mosca and Vilfredo Pareto

I outline some of the core ideas of elite theory.

Sources:

Gaetano Mosca, The Ruling Class, ed. Arthur Livingstone, trans. Hannah D. Khan (1923; New York: McGraw Hill, 1939).

Vilfredo Pareto, Compendium of General Sociology [Abridged version of The Mind and Society] , ed. Elisabeth Abbott, trans. Guilo Farina (1935; Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press, 1980).

James Burnham, The Machiavellians: Defenders of Freedom (London: Putnam, 1943).

George Orwell, ‘Review of The Machiavellians by James Burnham’, in Essays (New York: Everyman’s Library, 2002).

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[brianna]

I'm currently working on my masters thesis regarding Elite Theory, and I can say that I found this immensely helpful

[wilius]

Makes sense that post modern analysis of society comes down to a general power struggle, when you decide that every action taken must be political.

[dilvanythagoddess]

Academic Agent once again spits mad 🔥 in educational video form

[PrybarCommando]

This is one of the best videos on YouTube. Absolutely fascinating

[IzaakCha]

Thank you for recommending The Machiavellians awhile back, I'm glad I read it

[adamnbayley]

Equality is contrary to the nature of things. Yes indeed.

[Chud_Bud_Supreme]

Orwell sounds like a modern day centrist here. The political "center" is now socialism lite

[ThePdeHav]

A meritocratic non-hereditary elite is a good idea. But then I’m 6ft 3” ., comparatively well-off, and good looking. Thus as Pareto and Mosca attest, to confirm this stance is to advance my self interest.

[professionalreality]

Would not have grasped this video 2 years ago but very useful today now that I am intellectually more capable. Thank you

[Saddamuel]

Principle is an illusion, the raw struggle for power is revealed in classic literature:
"Fabulous secret powers were revealed to me the day I held aloft my magic sword and said, “By the power of Grayskull! I have the power!”"

[cliffordbates]

Great job, read these guys when I was an undergraduate in the early 80s.

[KenNohara]

You contradict this theory by attempting to show that Orwell is wrong.

Equality, economics, power, democracy, elites, quality of life, and progress all share the trait of relying on perspective rather than nuanced analysis.

You could argue the exact inverse, and depending on your perspective, it would be true.

The desire to validate one’s perspectives to others is the pinnacle of progress.

[aethelwolfe]

You are the third result in YouTube search for “Elite Theory”

[alasdairsideas]

Bravo, AA; thanks for this video. It was masterful. I really hope you will consider making more videos on Pareto's contribution to the Machiavellian realist tradition. What would be really interesting would be more videos linking the early elite theory to the historical pessimist general sociology that came later. What I think your channel viewers may find really interesting, is the idea that Pareto's 'foxes' and 'lions', later developed as the 'class I and class II residues', can provide a loose framework for making sense of the psycho-cultural antagonism at the heart of today's culture war. I wrote about this antagonism in a book on Pareto's framework for political psychology back in 2006 (shameless plug) and would urge anyone interested in the more recent culture war and rise of nationalist-populism to read Pareto. As Pareto himself put it, "one day the lion will reach the fox with a well aimed cuff".

[seanwieland]

Would love to see you continue the line from Public Choice Theory to then Selectorate Theory and the Logic of Political Survival by Bruce Bueno de Mesquita. CGP Grey’s Rules for Rulers (based on The Dictator’s Handbook) is an ideal summary of this.

[fusion]

Brilliantly written; brilliantly read.

[herbertmasing]

Very professionally summed up and presented!

[EliVieira]

On the point about all moral codes being a facade, I have two comments:
- Moral philosophy properly done is, among other things, an attempt to arrive at a moral code that is free from old conceits. And it's a worthwhile endeavour as is inquiry on truth and falsehood. Take a modern work on ethics like Terence Cuneo's "moral web", for instance. It's as cognitively engaging as these Italian gentlemen's arguments about society as it is.
- Almost everything we do has two groupings of motivations: the public, often noble ones, and the private, less laudable ones, often hidden under shrouds of self-deception and self-discretion. The cynics claim only the latter exist. The utopians claim only the former exist. A scientific mind accepts they co-exist in complicated tangles.

[nandodando]

I found parts of this quite profound. It's odd how the correct phrasing so slightly more perfect can unlock so much.

[ThePdeHav]

Excellent video essay. I’m new to right wing political theory. Ploughing my way through the works of G. Faye at present. As an immigrant from the Labour Party, any book recommendations you might make would be greatly appreciated.