Pareto, Economics and Society

by Michael McLure

"Vilfredo Pareto was one of the great systems theorists of the twentieth century. His systems embraced theories of economics, psychology, sociology and politics. In this important work, Michael McLure takes as his subject of study the rapport between Pareto's economic and sociological approaches to theory, and consequently illuminates the role of economics in public policy development." "A central theme of this book is the overarching role of the 'mechanical analogy' in all of Pareto's work. Important aspects and implications of Pareto's work considered by the author include: relations between pure economic theory and general sociology; the problem of collective economic welfare; the juxtaposition of Pareto's political sociology to Buchanan's public choice/constitutional economics; pareto and methodology; and implications for public policy and government." "Emerging from this investigation is a new, multidisciplinary research framework for economists, sociologists and political scienti