Vilfredo Pareto

Economics Italian 1848 – 1923 101 quotes

Known for the Pareto principle (80/20 rule) and Pareto efficiency, a concept of optimal resource allocation.

Quotes by Vilfredo Pareto

The study of power is central to understanding social dynamics.

Trattato di Sociologia Generale 1916

The concept of 'equilibrium' is a useful tool for analyzing social systems.

Trattato di Sociologia Generale 1916

The pursuit of truth requires intellectual honesty and a willingness to challenge established beliefs.

Trattato di Sociologia Generale 1916

The role of ideology in shaping human behavior is profound.

Trattato di Sociologia Generale 1916

The study of economics should be grounded in empirical observation.

Cours d'économie politique 1896

The concept of 'welfare' is complex and cannot be reduced to a single measure.

Manuale di Economia Politica 1906

The study of social change requires an understanding of both continuity and discontinuity.

Trattato di Sociologia Generale 1916

The human desire for social recognition is a powerful force.

Trattato di Sociologia Generale 1916

The scientific study of society can help us to better understand and address social problems.

Trattato di Sociologia Generale 1916

The distribution of income is not a matter of justice, but a matter of fact.

Cours d'économie politique 1896

Give me the fruit that will win me a woman's love, and to you who are wiser I will give the fruit that will make you immortal.

Cours d'économie politique 1896

The history of the world is the history of the circulation of elites.

Trattato di sociologia generale 1916

In any series of elements to be controlled, a small number—in general, around 20 percent—will bring about 80 percent of the results.

Cours d'économie politique 1896

The fox changes his fur but not his habits.

Les systèmes socialistes 1902

Empirical observation is the only way to discover the laws of social phenomena.

Manual of Political Economy 1906

Social equilibrium is maintained by a balance of residues and derivations.

Trattato di sociologia generale 1916

The elite is always recruited from below, but it circulates slowly.

Trattato di sociologia generale 1916

Man is a social animal, but society is an artificial construct.

Letter to a colleague 1897

Economics is the mechanics of society.

Manual of Political Economy 1906

The rich get richer, not because they work harder, but because the system favors them.

Speech at the Italian Economic Society 1911