Between internationalism and ‘will to power’: Paretian theory beyond political realism

Abstract

The essay deals with the analysis of the international scene developed by Pareto in his Transformation of Democracy, with particular regard to the consequences of the First World War and the fragile balance following the peace treaties. More specifically, Pareto interpreted the recently ended conflict as a consequence of the imperialist policy pursued by the major European powers. He also saw two opposing universalistic platforms collide: that of the democratic President of the United States Wilson and that propagated by the Bolsheviks. Hence the lucid and unconventional view carried forward in The Transformation, on the one hand emphasizing the importance of force in relations between nations in accordance with the perspective of political realism, on the other hand tending to overstep political realism itself by denouncing the persistence of hatred among peoples and the consequent danger of a new world conflict.