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The iron law of oligarchy is a political theory first developed by the German-born Italian sociologist Robert Michels in his 1911 book Political Parties. [1] It asserts that rule by an elite, or oligarchy, is inevitable as an "iron law" within any democratic organization as part of the "tactical and technical necessities" of the organization.
Robert Michels spelled out the iron law of oligarchy in the first decade of the 20th century in Political Parties, a brilliant comparative study of European socialist parties that drew extensively on his own experiences in the German Socialist Party.
1 | Page MICHELS’S IRON LAW OF OLIGARCHY Robert Michels ( 1876– 1936), was a young historian who had been unable to get a job in the German university system, despite the recommendation of Max Weber, because he was a member of the Social Democrats.
Feb 3, 2024 · Learn about the Iron Law of Oligarchy, a theory in sociology that explains the concentration of power in social organizations. Explore its definition, origins, implications, and examples. Discover how to resist and reform oligarchy within organizations to promote inclusivity and democracy.
May 21, 2020 · The greatest theorist of modern oligarchy is Robert Michels (1876–1936). It is he who, in his classic 1911 text On the Sociology of the Party System in Modern Democracy, coined the phrase the “iron law of oligarchy” (Michels, 1962, p. 356).
May 17, 2018 · Coined by the German sociologist Robert Michels in his 1911 monograph Political Parties, the Iron Law of Oligarchy refers to the inbuilt tendency of all complex social organizations to turn bureaucratic and highly undemocratic.
Jul 9, 2024 · A theory of trade unions and socialist political parties formulated by the sociologist, Robert Michels, in the early years of the twentieth century. It expresses a deeply pessimistic viewpoint that progressive social movements inevitably become undemocratic and dominated by a conservative élite.
