Supplementary reading Text 1

1. Scan the text and find answers to the questions below.

Political Elites and Leaders

Confucius was the first who divided the society into the noble men (the ruling elite) and common people.

Plato based the concept of the ruling elite, its selection, and its role in the society. According to his theory, "the nature of the ruling elite was determined by its high morals and allegiance to duty and law, while the class of artisans and farmers only cared about enjoyment and pleasure". That fact, in its turn, gave the ruling elite a right to rule (manage) common people. Later such representatives of the Italian school of political sociology as N. Machiavelli, G. Mosca and V. Pareto further developed the theory of elites.

In Machiavelli's view, "neither a single person, nor a group of people can exercise power in the society. As a result of it, there is formed an organized minority, that ruled, only because it is organized.... the power of a leader is rooted in his support by the ordinary people.... their interests are too petty, they contradict the common interests of the nation". Thus, according to Machiavelli "the role of the ordinary people in the society is secondary, and they practically play no role in it".

Gaetano Mosca (1854-1941) put forward two major trends in the development of the ruling class: the wish of the representatives of this class to make their duties and privileges hereditary, and the desire of the new forces to replace the old ones. Depending on the principle of transfer of power, he focused on the autocratic and liberal management. In the first case, the power was transferred down, while in the second case, it was delegated to the top.

Vilfred Pareto pursued quite different views on the issue of the formation and foundation of the theory of elites. He spoke about the rotation of elites, their constant change. In analyzing the society and politics, Pareto makes the conclusion, that "the elite distinguishes with its superiority, and it can be classified as the "ruling elite" directly participating in decision-making and management, and the numerous class of the subordinate masses...; to hold power, the elite must be ready even to use force".

Robert Michels (1876-1936) based the division of the society into the passive majority, and the ruling minority. Thus, he shared the view that "the masses of people are politically indifferent and incompetent, they must be lead by strong personalities (leaders) and be thankful to them". Later Michels became an active supporter of fascism in Italy and Germany.

In contrast to the ancient historians, who considered kings, monarchs and heroes as the unique creators of history, N. Machiavelli worked out practical advice for rulers. He believed that political leaders united the society as a whole, and "to keep up order, they could disregard morals".

As compared to the other theories on the role of leaders, Marxism considers leaders to be the locomotives of history.

2. Answer the following questions.

1) Who was the first to have divided the society into the noble men and common people?

2) What motives gave the ruling elite a right to rule common people?

3) By what specific features are characterized the ruling elite and common people accordingo to Plato?

4) What roles are performed by the ordinary people and the ruling elite?

5) What two major trends in the development of the ruling class were put forward by Gaetano Mosca?

6) What conclusion did Pareto make about the superiority of the ruling elite and the subordinate masses?

7) What is the role of leaders in history according to Michels?

8) What view is shared by Marxism on the role of leaders in history?

Text 2

1. Scan the text and deduce its major ideas.