The Rise and Fall of Elites

An Application of Sociological Theories

Widely recognized as one of the most influential economists of the 20th century, Vilfredo Pareto helped to develop Microeconomics and established a number of theorems that bear his name. He is perhaps best known for the Pareto Principle or the 80/20 Principle, Pareto Index, and Pareto Efficiency.

Following Léon Walras as Chair of Political Economy at the University of Lausanne, Pareto was one of the first to incorporate sociology and mathematics into the study of economics, thus bringing rigor to the discipline and solidifying it as a science.

In this classic text, first published in Italian in 1901, Pareto lays out his argument for the sociological causes of power shifts in the modern world. With lucid prose and balanced perspective, Pareto ably sets the tone for the intellectual and cultural upheaval that would later define the century.

©2025 Eric Robert Morse (P)2025 Eric Robert Morse