ABSTRACT
The formula of mutual dependence is intended to oppose the formula, attributed to Marxism, of the dependence of the whole of society upon the economic or "interest" variable. Vilfredo Pareto would have accepted this formula, adding that precisely what constitutes history is the alteration ad infinitum between phases of skepticism—and often of civilization and intelligence as well—and phases of patriotic or religious faith. It is fluctuations of residues in the masses and the elite which determine the cycles of mutual dependence. In Pareto's eyes, European societies, or Western societies, had been governed by plutocratic elites, elites belonging to the family of foxes, elites excessively dominated by an instinct for combination and on their way to losing that capacity for violence indispensable to those who govern societies. According to Pareto, the Fascist and Communist elites doubtlessly represent the elites of the family of lions who seize power in decadent societies.
