Introduction

Pareto was a philosopher in the best sense of the word. Most of the time he was searching for the essence of things. But hecause he was also a practical man who sincerely wanted to create a better and happier world for humanity, he himself was often the victim of that 'generous impatience' with which he used to label contemporary economists, and

often let political considerations colour the most promising ideas he discovered. As a result of this impatience, both his economics and sociology suffered from inconsistencies which at times unfortunately hindered his ideas from reaching their ultimate conclusion. Had Pareto devoted his mind exclusively to the promotion of economics, rather than of sociology, politics and ethics as well, he would probably have been unsurpassed and unmatched by any other economist.