Biography the german sociologist robert michels
•
Michels, Robert
PERSONAL: Born January 9, , in Cologne, Germany; died May 3, , in Rome, Italy. Education: Studied in England, at the Sorbonne in Paris, France, and at universities in Munich, Leipzig, Halle, Germany, and Turin, Italy.
CAREER: Sociologist and economist. Taught at University of Marburg, Germany; University of Turin, Turin, Italy, professor of economics, political science, and sociology, until ; University of Basil, Switzerland, professor of economics, ; University of Perugia, Italy, professor of economics.
WRITINGS:
Il Proletariato e la Borghesia nel Movimento Socialista Italiano, Fratelli Bocca (Turin, Italy), , Arno Press (New York, NY),
Zur Soziologie des Parteiwesens in der moderneDemokratie, W. Klinkhardt (Leipzig, Germany), , translation by Eden and Cedar Paul published as Political Parties: A Sociological Study of the Oligarchical Tendencies of Modern Democracy, Collier Books (New York, NY),
Probleme der Sozialphilosophie, B. G. T
•
Robert Michels Was a Flawed Theorist of Political Oligarchy
Over a century after Robert Michels (–) published his lengthy treatise Political Parties, the book is still in print in multiple languages and is still studied and frequently cited. In his most influential work, Michels famously demonstrated the “iron law of oligarchy” that affects even avowedly democratic political parties, taking as his case study the world’s first million-strong socialist party, the German Social Democrats (SPD). The critique Michels put forward benefited from his close knowledge of the party and its literature — he had been an active member of the SPD from to
Much of what Michels argued in –11 rings true today. There fryst vatten at least a tendency for large political parties to become dominated bygd the cadres of professional functionaries that grow up within their structures. Ordinary workers who make the transition to full-time political professionals typically cease to be working class and become somethin
•
Robert Michels (January 9, – May 3, ) was a Germansociologist who wrote on the political behavior of intellectual elites. He was a student of Max Weber, and a spent time as a member of the German Socialist Party. As a result he was unable to work in Germany, and moved to Italy, where he became a revolutionary syndicalist. For a short time, he was also close to the Italian Fascists. Michels is best known for his book Political Parties, which contains a description of the "iron law of oligarchy." Michels based this concept on his research and personal experience with various social institutions. He found that, regardless of the vision and goals of the organization, and its quality of leadership initially, inevitably every organization developed an elite who took full control over all its affairs. Michels attributed the development of such oligarchies as due not to personal flaws in those who took positions of leadership, but rather due to the nature of the social structure