Robert Michels (; 9 January 1876 – 3 May 1936) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

-born

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

sociologist who contributed to

elite theory In political science and sociology, elite theory is a theory of the State that seeks to describe and explain power relationships in contemporary society. The theory posits that a small minority, consisting of members of the economic elite and poli ...

by describing the political behavior of intellectual elites. He belonged to the Italian school of elitism. He is best known for his book ''

Political Parties A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or pol ...

'', published in 1911, which contains a description of the "

iron law of oligarchy The iron law of oligarchy is a political theory first developed by the German-born Italian sociologist Robert Michels in his 1911 book ''Political Parties''.James L. Hyland. ''Democratic theory: the philosophical foundations''. Manchester, Engl ...

." He was a friend and disciple of

Max Weber Maximilian Karl Emil Weber (; ; 21 April 186414 June 1920) was a German sociologist, historian, jurist and political economist, who is regarded as among the most important theorists of the development of modern Western society. His ideas profo ...

Werner Sombart Werner Sombart (; ; 19 January 1863 – 18 May 1941) was a German economist and sociologist, the head of the "Youngest Historical School" and one of the leading Continental European social scientists during the first quarter of the 20th century. ...

and

Achille Loria Achille Loria (March 2, 1857 in Mantua – November 6, 1943) was an Italian political economist. He was educated at the lyceum of his native city and the universities of Bologna, Pavia, Rome, Berlin, and London and graduated at the University of ...

. Politically, he moved from the

Social Democratic Party of Germany The Social Democratic Party of Germany (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, ; SPD, ) is a centre-left social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been the ...

to the

Italian Socialist Party The Italian Socialist Party (, PSI) was a socialist and later social-democratic political party in Italy, whose history stretched for longer than a century, making it one of the longest-living parties of the country. Founded in Genoa in 1892, ...

, adhering to the Italian

revolutionary syndicalist Anarcho-syndicalism is a political philosophy and anarchist school of thought that views revolutionary industrial unionism or syndicalism as a method for workers in capitalist society to gain control of an economy and thus control influence i ...

wing and later to Italian Fascism, which he saw as a more democratic form of

socialism Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

. His ideas provided the basis of

moderation theory Moderation theory is a set of interrelated hypotheses that explain the process through which political groups eschew radical platforms in favour of more moderate policies and prefer electoral, compromising and non-confrontational strategies over ...

which delineates the processes through which radical political groups are incorporated into the existing political system.

Early life and education

Michels born to a wealthy

family, studied in

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Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

(at the

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

), and at universities in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

(1897), Halle (1898), and

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

. He became a

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

while teaching at the Protestant

University of Marburg The Philipps University of Marburg (german: Philipps-Universität Marburg) was founded in 1527 by Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse, which makes it one of Germany's oldest universities and the oldest still operating Protestant university in the wor ...

and became active in the

for whom he was an unsuccessful candidate in the 1903 German federal election. In Italy, he associated with Italian revolutionary syndicalism, a leftist branch of the

(PSI). He left both parties in 1907.

Career

He achieved international recognition for his historical and sociological study, ''Zur Soziologie des Parteiwesens in der modernen Demokratie. Untersuchungen über die oligarchischen Tendenzen des Gruppenlebens'', which was published in 1911; its title in English is '' Political Parties: A Sociological Study of the Oligarchical Tendencies of Modern Democracy''. In it, he presented his theory of the "

" that political parties, including those considered socialist, cannot be democratic because they quickly transform themselves into bureaucratic oligarchies. Michels attended the First International Eugenics Congress in 1912 where he delivered a paper entitled "Eugenics in Party Organization". Michels was considered a brilliant pupil of

, who began publishing his writings in the ''

Archiv für Sozialwissenschaft und Sozialpolitik The ''Archiv für Sozialwissenschaft und Sozialpolitik'' (, English: ''Archives for Social Science and Social Welfare'') was an academic journal for the social sciences in Germany between 1888 and 1933. Its first editors were Edgar Jaffé, Werner ...

'' in 1906 and appointed him as co-editor in 1913, but they disagreed over Michels' opposition to

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Michels criticized what he perceived to be

Karl Marx Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...

's materialistic

determinism Determinism is a philosophical view, where all events are determined completely by previously existing causes. Deterministic theories throughout the history of philosophy have developed from diverse and sometimes overlapping motives and consi ...

. Michels borrowed from

's historical methods. Because Michels admired Italian culture and was prominent in the

social sciences Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of soci ...

, he was brought to the attention of

Luigi Einaudi Luigi Numa Lorenzo Einaudi (; 24 March 1874 – 30 October 1961) was an Italian politician and economist. He served as the president of Italy from 1948 to 1955. Early life Einaudi was born to Lorenzo and Placida Fracchia in Carrù, in the prov ...

and

. They succeeded in procuring for Michels a professorship at the

University of Turin The University of Turin (Italian: ''Università degli Studi di Torino'', UNITO) is a public research university in the city of Turin, in the Piedmont region of Italy. It is one of the oldest universities in Europe and continues to play an impo ...

, where he taught

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

and

socioeconomics Socioeconomics (also known as social economics) is the social science that studies how economic activity affects and is shaped by social processes. In general it analyzes how modern society, societies social progress, progress, economic stagnation ...

until 1914. He then became professor of economics at the

University of Basel The University of Basel (Latin: ''Universitas Basiliensis'', German: ''Universität Basel'') is a university in Basel, Switzerland. Founded on 4 April 1460, it is Switzerland's oldest university and among the world's oldest surviving universit ...

, Switzerland, a post he held until 1928. In 1924, he joined the

Fascist Party The National Fascist Party ( it, Partito Nazionale Fascista, PNF) was a political party in Italy, created by Benito Mussolini as the political expression of Italian Fascism and as a reorganization of the previous Italian Fasces of Combat. The ...

, led by

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...

, former director of the Italian Socialist Party's newspaper " ''Avanti!''". Michels was convinced that the direct link between

charisma Charisma () is a personal quality of presence or charm that compels its subjects. Scholars in sociology, political science, psychology, and management reserve the term for a type of leadership seen as extraordinary; in these fields, the term "ch ...

and the working class was in some way the best means to realize a real lower social class government without political bureaucratic mediation. In 1928, he became professor of economics and the history of doctrines at the

University of Perugia University of Perugia (Italian ''Università degli Studi di Perugia'') is a public-owned university based in Perugia, Italy. It was founded in 1308, as attested by the Bull issued by Pope Clement V certifying the birth of the Studium Generale. Th ...

and occasionally lectured in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

where he died on May 3, 1936.

Writings

Title page of Political Parties by Robert Michels

* ''Syndicalisme & socialisme en Allemagne'' (Unionism & Socialism in Germany) (1908) * ''Proletariato e la borghesia nel movimento socialista italiano'' (The Proletariat and the Bourgeoisie in the Italian Socialist Movement) (1908; 1975) * ''Zur Soziologie des Parteiwesens in der modernen Demokratie. Untersuchungen über die oligarchischen Tendenzen des Gruppenlebens'' (On the Sociology of the Oligarchical Tendencies of Modern Democracy) (1911, 1925; 1970). Translated, as ''Sociologia del partito politico nella democrazia moderna : studi sulle tendenze oligarchiche degli aggregati politici'', from the German original by Dr. Alfredo Polledro, revised and expanded (1912). Translated, from the Italian, by Eden and

Cedar Paul Cedar Paul, ''née'' Gertrude Mary Davenport (1880 – 18 March 1972) was a singer, author, translator and journalist.''Who Was Who'' Biography Gertrude Davenport came from a musical family: she was the granddaughter of the composer George Alex ...

as ''

: A Sociological Study of the Oligarchical Tendencies of Modern Democracy'' ( Hearst's International Library Co., 1915; Free Press, 1949;

Dover Publications Dover Publications, also known as Dover Books, is an American book publisher founded in 1941 by Hayward and Blanche Cirker. It primarily reissues books that are out of print from their original publishers. These are often, but not always, books ...

, 1959); republished with an introduction by

Seymour Martin Lipset Seymour Martin Lipset ( ; March 18, 1922 – December 31, 2006) was an American sociologist and political scientist (President of the American Political Science Association). His major work was in the fields of political sociology, trade union o ...

( Crowell-Collier, 1962;

Transaction Publishers Transaction Publishers was a New Jersey-based publishing house that specialized in social science books and journals. It was located on the Livingston Campus of Rutgers University. Transaction was sold to Taylor & Francis in 2016 and merged with ...

, 1999, ); onlin
at archive.org
translated into French by S. Jankélévitch, ''Les partis politiques. Essai sur les tendances oligarchiques des démocraties'', Brussels, Editions de l'Université de Bruxelles, 2009 (). * ''Grenzen der Geschlechtsmoral'' (Boundaries of Sexual Ethics). Italian translation, ''Morale sessuale'' revised and expanded by Alfredo Polledro ( Fratelli Bocca, 19-?). Translated as ''

Sexual Ethics Sexual ethics (also known as sex ethics or sexual morality) is a branch of philosophy that considers the ethics or morality or otherwise in sexual behavior. Sexual ethics seeks to understand, evaluate and critique interpersonal relationships and ...

: A Study of Borderland Questions'' (

Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'', ''Rob Roy (n ...

George Allen & Unwin George Allen & Unwin was a British publishing company formed in 1911 when Sir Stanley Unwin purchased a controlling interest in George Allen & Co. It went on to become one of the leading publishers of the twentieth century and to establish an ...

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, 1914); republished with a new introduction by Terry R. Kandal (Transaction Publishers, 2001-2, ) * ''Probleme der Sozialphilosophie'' (Problems of Social Philosophy) (1914) * ''Imperialismo italiano, studi politico-demografici'' (Italian Imperialism: Political and Demographic Studies) (1914) * ''Amour et chasteté; essais sociologiques'' (Love and Chastity: Sociological Essays) (1914) * ''Organizzazione del commercio estero'' (The Organization of Foreign Trade) (1925) * ''Sozialismus und Faschismus in Italien'' (Socialism and Fascism in Italy) (1925) * ''Storia critica del movimento socialista italiano : dagli inizi fino al 1911'' (Critical history of the Italian socialist movement) (La Voce, 1926) * ''Corso di sociologia politica'' (First lectures in political sociology) (1927). Translated, and introduced by

Alfred de Grazia Alfred de Grazia (December 29, 1919 – July 13, 2014), born in Chicago, Illinois, was a political scientist and author. He developed techniques of computer-based social network analysis in the 1950s, developed new ideas about personal digital ar ...

, as ''First lectures in political sociology'' (

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

Press, 1949;

Arno Press Arno Press was a Manhattan-based publishing house founded by Arnold Zohn in 1963, specializing in reprinting rare and long out-of-print materials. History Zohn served 48 missions on a bomber crew during World War II, and when he returned home he ...

, 1974, ) * ''Sittlichkeit in Ziffern? Kritik der Moralstatistik'' (Morality in Numerics? Criticism of Morale Statistics) (1928) * ''Patriotismus, Prolegomena zu seiner soziologischen Analyse'' (Patriotism, Prolegomena to his sociological analysis) (1929) * ''Einfluss der faschistischen Arbeitsverfassung auf die Weltwirtschaft'' (Influence of the Fascist ArbeitsverfassungGerman word ''Arbeitsverfassung'' from ''Arbeitsverfassung-Gesetz'', which means: Federal law on labour relations on the World Economy) (1929) * ''Italien von heute. Politische und wirtschaftliche Kulturgeschichte von 1860 bis 1930'' (Italy Today - Political and Economical Cultural History from 1860 to 1930) (1930) * ''Introduzione alla storia delle dottrine economiche e politiche'' (Introduction to the history of economic and political doctrines) (1932) * ''Boicottaggio, saggio su un aspetto delle crisi'' (Boycotts, an essay on an aspect of crises) (1934) * ''Boycottage international'' (International boycotts) (1936) * ''Verelendungstheorie. Studien und Untersuchungen zur internationalen Dogmengeschichte der Volkswirtschaft'', with a foreword by Heinz Maus (Pauperization Theory - Studies and Research into International Dogmas History of National Economy) (1970) * ''Elite e/o democrazia'' (Elites and/or democracy) ( G. Volpe, 1972) * ''Antologia di scritti sociologici'' (Anthology of publications on sociology); edited by Giordano Sivini (1980) * ''Works on paper, 1918-1930'' ( Barbara Mathes Gallery, 1984) * ''Critique du socialisme : contribution aux débats du début du XXè siècle'' (Critique of Socialism: contributions to the debates at the start of the 20th century); articles selected and presented by

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and Jean-Marie Vincent ( Editions Kimé, 1992, )

References

* Volpe, Giorgio: ''Italian Elitism and the Reshaping of Democracy in the United States'', Routledge, 2021 * For a critique of Michels see Colin Barker ‘Robert Michels and the “Cruel Game”’ in Colin Barker et al eds. Leadership and Social Movements (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2001) * "Robert Michels And the "Iron Law of Oligarchy"," chapter 12 of ''Revolution and Counterrevolution: Change and Persistence in Social Structures'' by

* ''Entwicklung zum faschistischen Führerstaat in der politischen Philosophie von Robert Michels'' by Frank Pfetsch (1965) * ''Robert Michels; vom sozialistisch-syndikalistischen zum faschistischen Credo'' by Wilfried Röhrich (

Duncker & Humblot Duncker is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Alexander Duncker (1813–1879), German publisher and bookseller * Carl Friedrich Wilhelm Duncker (1781–1869), German publisher * Franz Duncker (1822–1888), German publisher, polit ...

, 1971, ). * ''Organizzazione, partito, classe, politica e legge ferrea dell'oligarchia in Roberto Michels'' by Giorgio Sola (1972) * ''Sociology and estrangement: three sociologists of Imperial Germany'' by Arthur Mitzman (

Knopf Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. () is an American publishing house that was founded by Alfred A. Knopf Sr. and Blanche Knopf in 1915. Blanche and Alfred traveled abroad regularly and were known for publishing European, Asian, and Latin American writers in ...

, 1973, ). Republished with a new introduction by the author (

Transaction Books Transaction Publishers was a New Jersey-based publishing house that specialized in social science books and journals. It was located on the Livingston Campus of Rutgers University. Transaction was sold to Taylor & Francis in 2016 and merged with ...

, 1987, ). * ''The anti-democratic sources of elite theory: Pareto, Mosca, Michels by Robert A. Nye (

SAGE Sage or SAGE may refer to: Plants * ''Salvia officinalis'', common sage, a small evergreen subshrub used as a culinary herb ** Lamiaceae, a family of flowering plants commonly known as the mint or deadnettle or sage family ** ''Salvia'', a large ...

, 1977, ).'' * ''Dilemmi della democrazia moderna: Max Weber e Robert Michels'' by Francesco Tuccari (Laterza, 1993, ) * ''Intelectuales, masas y élites: una introducción a Mosca, Pareto y Michels'' by María de los Angeles Yannuzzi ( UNR Editora, 1993, ). * ''Robert Michels : die Herausbildung der modernen politischen Soziologie im Kontext von Herausforderung und Defizit der Arbeiterbewegung'' by Joachim Hetscher (1993) * ''Robert Michels und das eiserne Gesetz der Oligarchie'' by Gustav Wagner in "Wer wählt, hat seine Stimme abgegeben" Graswurzel Revolution pp. 28 * Federico Trocini, ''Tra internazionalismo e nazionalismo. Robert Michels e i dilemmi del socialismo di fronte alla guerra e all’imperialismo (1900-1915)'', Aracne, Roma 2007. * Federico Trocini, ''Irredentismo e patriottismo nella scelta italiana di Robert Michels (1895–1915): un’«arcana affinità elettiva»'', in «Annali dell’Istituto italo-germanico in Trento», XXXIII, 2007, pp. 449–490. * Federico Trocini, ''Robert Michels: un marxista eterodosso al tempo della Seconda Internazionale (1900-1910)'', in POGGIO P. P. (a cura di), ''L’Altronovecento. Comunismo eretico e pensiero critico'', 5 voll., Jaca Book, Milano 2010, vol. I (L’età del comunismo sovietico. Europa 1900–1945), pp. 305–319. * Genett, Timm: ''Der Fremde im Kriege – Zur politischen Theorie und Biographie von Robert Michels 1876–1936''. 2008. * Genett, Timm (Hrsg.): ''Robert Michels: Soziale Bewegungen zwischen Dynamik und Erstarrung. Essays zur Arbeiter-, Frauen- und nationalen Bewegung''. 2008. * Genett, Timm: "Antiquierter Klassiker? Zum ideengeschichtlichen Status von Robert Michels‘ „Soziologie des Parteiwesens“", in: Bluhm, Fischer, Lllanque (Hg.): ''Ideenpolitik'', Berlin 2011, S.383–296. * Genett, Timm: "Demokratische Sozialpädagogik in der Krise der Aufklärung – zur Ambivalenz eines Klassikers der Elitetheorie", in: Bluhm, Krause (Hg.): ''Robert Michels‘ Soziologie des Parteiwesens'', Wiesbaden 2012, S. 69–85. * Genett, Timm: "Lettere di Ladislaus Gumplowicz a Roberto Michels (1902-1907)", in: ''Annali della Fondazione Luigi Einaudi'', Vol. XXXI, Torino 1997, S. 417–473. * Genett, Timm: "Lettere di Roberto Michels e di Julius Springer (1913-1915)", in: ''Annali della Fondazione Luigi Einaudi'', Vol. XXX, Torino 1996, S. 533–555. * ''Robert Michels‘ Soziologie des Parteiwesens,'' hrsg v. Harald Bluhm und Skadi Krause, Wiesbaden 2012

External links

Biography of Robert Michels
at BookRags.com
Political Parties
a

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of ''

''.
Robert Michels – Oligarchy
taken from Oscar Grusky and George A. Miller, ''The Sociology of Organizations: Basic Studies'' ( Free Press, 1970, pp. 25–43). Reprints from ''Political Parties''.
Roberto Michels - Oligarchy
comparison with Weber.
Books and Articles on: Robert Michels
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Michels, Robert 1876 births 1936 deaths Elite theory German syndicalists German socialists German sociologists Italian socialists Writers from Cologne People from the Rhine Province Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg alumni Leipzig University alumni Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich alumni University of Marburg faculty University of Perugia faculty Italian fascists German male writers Union democracy