Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 15.djvu/298

 284 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY

La m^thode sociologique appliqu6e aux faits economiques. — Since ex- perimentation in social matters is impossible, close observation and registration of facts are necessary. The opportunity for this is best in connection with eco- nomic phenomena. These must be interpreted according to their causes rooted in the phenomena of life. A proper perspective of human action as a whole, includ- ing the genesis of institutions and customs, the social relations of the individual at the present, and the economic conditions of subsistence in which society finds itself, alone is sufficient for a proper, a sociologic, interpretation of economic facts. — Paul Fauconnet, Revue de synthase historique, April, 1908. L. L. B.

The Oligarchic Tendencies of Association. — The present study proposes a contribution to the problem of democracy which, though much discussed, can in no way be considered as solved. The strictest form of oligarchy, namely, absolute monarchy, established on divine right, is based on the individual will of the ruler, has supernatural justification, and exists independently of and superior to human judgment. In opposition to the principle of monarchy stands that of democracy, which concedes to every citizen equal civic rights and theoretically also the possi- bility of social success, by denying all privileges of birth before the law and let- ing the struggle for superiority in human society be determined by individual efficiency alone. In national life today, instead of standing in absolute antithesis, these two abstract principles really touch at many points. As a reaction from the democracy cult of the socialistic schools a group of conservative thinkers, repre- sented in Italy by Gaetano Mosca, assert of every form of human society the in- herent necessity of a politically dominant class, a ruling minority. They postulate the theory that the perpetual struggles between aristocracy and democracy, which history records, have consisted merely in conflicts between an old minority fighting for survival and a new minority ambitious for power and seeking to fuse with or overthrow the old. Today, moreover, democracy being the watchword, every faction speaks and contends in the name of the people and common welfare. They reinforce their respective claims by ethical sanctions. Every government must obtain for its actual authority the support of an ethical generality. Among the anti-democratic tendencies making for the differentiation and persistence of a political ruling class must be noted first, the principle of the inheritance of political power which is a constant factor ; and secondly, the political indifference of the majority and its dependence on leadership, which increases with the complexity of political organization and the specialization of administrative functions. A bureaucracy, necessitated by the organization of government, is a powerful constituent force for maintaining the ascendency of the ruling class. The impulse to self-preservation forces the modern state to enlist the support of the greatest possible number of interested individuals, and it achieves this end by attracting to itself a numerous army of dependent officials constantly recruited from a vast intellectual proletariat. Under pretense of representing general interests the state usurps the most diverse functions and extends in- creasingly its sphere of influence.

The oligarchic tendency lies in the nature of organization itself. Originally the leader is merely the executive organ of the will of the many. The demo- cratic principle guarantees to the greatest possible number influence and partici- pation in the administration of their interests ; but the technical specialization, the necessary consequence of extensive organization, creates the necessity for "business-like management," and transfers from the masses to the leader all their powers of control. It definitely effects the division of every party into a leading minority and a led majority. Every organization as such favors the growth of oligarchy. Parliamentary representation is only constructively popular co- operation in government, and is in reality an oligarchic phenomenon. Elective leadership in time comes to be regarded by the leader as his right, and renders all democracy in the situation illusory. Oligarchic tendencies in states do not essentially differ from those in proletarian organizations, where they would be least looked for ; they have in fact developed farthest and most disastrously in the case of the American laboring classes. First, the skilled, better-paid elements among the workers themselves show a disposition to segregate themselves from