ABSTRACT
Pareto’s theoretical contribution was focused on his research in economics, political philosophy and sociology. His main aim was to study human rationality and to apply it to specific issues such as economic behavior, the dynamics of social groups and the political analysis of power and consensus. He went beyond his primary task by including an analysis of human irrationality as a fundamental element in order to understand social and political phenomena. The tension between rationality and irrationality was especially crucial when he considered the notion of individual freedom within the political context of his time, when the traditional liberal system was under attack by a new emerging form of political power grounded on democratic processes which led the mass to emerge. This paper traces Pareto’s intellectual journey as an economist, a sociologist and a political thinker by considering the tension between rationality and irrationality in relation with freedom. It claims a robust consistency in the development of Pareto’s system and tries to highlight that Pareto had no political sympathy for the emergence of fascism, which he scrutinized by adopting his political realism.
