Vilfredo Pareto
Vilfredo Pareto
Vilfredo Federico Damaso Paretowas an Italian engineer, sociologist, economist, political scientist, and philosopher. He made several important contributions to economics, particularly in the study of income distribution and in the analysis of individuals' choices. He was also responsible for popularising the use of the term "elite" in social analysis...
NationalityItalian
ProfessionEconomist
Date of Birth15 July 1848
CountryItaly
eye men intellectual
Society is not homogeneous, and those who do not deliberately close their eyes have to recognize that men differ greatly from one another from the physical, moral, and intellectual viewpoints.
reality men people
The diverse natures of men, combined with the necessity to satisfy in some manner the sentiment which desires them to be equal, has had the result that in the democracies they have endeavored to provide the appearance of power in the people and the reality of power in an elite.
passion science men
Above, far above the prejudices and passions of men soar the laws of nature. Eternal and immutable, they are the expression of the creative power they represent what is, what must be, what otherwise could not be. Man can come to understand the: he is incapable of changing them.
men merit doe
The assertion that men are objectively equal is so absurd that it does not even merit being refuted.
believe men names
When it is useful to them, men can believe a theory of which they know nothing more than its name.
men years people
There are some people who imagine that they can disarm their enemy by complacent flattery. They are wrong. The world has always belonged to the stronger and will belong to them for many years to come. Men only respect those who make themselves respected. Whoever becomes a lamb will find a wolf to eat him.
men self looks
Men follow their sentiments and their self-interest, but it pleases them to imagine that they follow reason. And so they look for, and always find, some theory which, a posteriori, makes their actions appear to be logical. If that theory could be demolished scientifically, the only result would be that another theory would be substituted for the first one, and for the same purpose.
bursting error fruitful full sterile time truth
Give me the fruitful error any time, full of seeds, bursting with its own corrections. You can keep your sterile truth for yourself.
bursting fruitful full
Give me a fruitful error anytime, full of seeds, bursting with its own corrections.
wish chemistry physics
My wish is to construct a system of sociology on the model of celestial mechanics, physics, and chemistry.
progressive-taxation pay imagine
The liberals who demanded equality of taxation on behalf of the poor, for instance, did not imagine that they would obtain progressive taxation to the disadvantage of the well-off, and that they would end up with an arrangement in which taxes are voted by those who do not pay them.
knowing victory battle
Assume that the new elite were clearly and simply to proclaim its intentions which are to supplant the old elite; no one would come to its assistance, it would be defeated before having fought a battle. On the contrary, it appears to be asking nothing for itself, well knowing that without asking anything in advance it will obtain what it wants as a consequence of its victory.
play people roles
Usually, so far as improvement in the people's economic conditions is concerned, humanitarians simply play the role of the busybody.
luxury america united-states
Among civilized peoples, especially the very wealthy population of the United States of America, women have become objects of luxury who consume but do not produce.