Vilfredo Pareto

History is a graveyard of aristocracies.

The circulation of elites is a fundamental law of society.

Give me a fruitful error any time, full of seeds, bursting with its own corrections. You can keep your sterile truth for yourself.

The greater part of human actions have their origin not in logical reasoning but in sentiment.

The distribution of income and wealth is not random; it follows a regular pattern.

The Pareto principle states that, for many events, roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes.

The study of society must be based on facts, not on sentiments or ideologies.

Human beings are not rational calculators; they are driven by non-logical actions.

The residues are the manifestations of sentiments, instincts, and other non-logical forces.

Derivations are the logical or pseudo-logical explanations that people invent to justify their non-logical actions.

Social equilibrium is a dynamic state, constantly changing due to the interplay of residues and derivations.

The ruling class is always a minority, but it is constantly renewed through the circulation of elites.

The masses are largely passive and follow the lead of the elites.

Social utility is not a sum of individual utilities, but a complex function of various factors.

The concept of 'ophelimity' refers to the subjective satisfaction derived from a good or service.

Economics should be a positive science, dealing with what is, not with what ought to be.

The study of human behavior requires a scientific approach, free from moral judgments.

The state is an instrument of the ruling class, used to maintain its power and privileges.

Socialism is a myth, a derivation used to justify the aspirations of a new elite.

The only way to understand society is to observe it objectively, like a natural scientist.