Thinking about cultural configurations: Michels’ legacy

ABSTRACT

Michels’ legacy is subject to innumerable interpretations and seemingly endless controversies specially in present times witnessing his rediscovery. The scientific starting point of this article is Michels’ Essay ‘Intorno al problema dei rapporti tra economia e politica’ which was published in his book on ‘Problemi di Sociologia Applicata’ in 1919. Our approach emphasize the innovative and evolutionary aspects of Michels’ thinking on the determinants of historical becoming. Michels argues critically that all expressions of human activity cannot be exclusively determined by extrinsic motivations and economic factors, but can also be equally influenced by intrinsic motivations and cultural factors. This has implications not only on the changes to be made to the historical method, but also on the criticism to be made to the neoclassical notion of economic science and to the elaboration of a wider notion of sociological science.

KEYWORDS:

• Connective sociology
• old institutional economics
• civil economics
• elitism
• history of sociology

Disclosure statement

The authors report there are no competing interests to declare.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Raffaele Federici

Raffaele Federici is Associate Professor in Sociology of Cultural and Communication Processes at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering of University of Perugia. He is Professor of Sociology of Arts at Accademia di Belle Arti of Perugia.

Cristina Montesi

Cristina Montesi is Researcher and Aggregate Professor in Economic Policy at the Department of Economics of University of Perugia (Italy).