Sociologies (Nov 2014)
Pareto, fondateur à (re)découvrir de la sociologie des finances publiques
Abstract
The Italian founders of fiscal sociology consider that the distinction between the governing and the governed occupies a central position (Machiavelli’s tradition). Pareto deserves a separate place, he who, even though he taught in Lausanne, is linked to this Italian tradition. The Traité de sociologie générale starts by criticizing the financial science in order to prove that public finance depends on non-logical actions performed in the service of the ruling elite. Pareto´s financial theory mobilizes relevant analyses for our societies, but is not very known, despite the popularity of this classical figure. It forms part of the complex research of a social equilibrium related to the circulation of elites. It accepts methodological “approximations” emphasizing the role of ideology, public action, economic cycle, clientelism and despoliation of certain social classes.
