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.

Italian cover

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.
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