Political Parties: A Sociological Study of the Oligarchic Tendencies of Modern Bureaucracy

'''Michels, Robert. Political Parties: A Sociological Study of the Oligarchic Tendencies of Modern Bureaucracy.''' 1915. Eden Paul and Cedar Paul, trans. New York: Free P, 1962, 1966. London: Collier-Macmillan, 1962.

From his study of the bureaucratization of the German Social Democratic Party and other European socialist parties (the most democratic parties in Europe), RM inferred the "iron law of oligarchy." That is, all large organizations, however democratic in ideology, tend to fall under the control of a small group of knowledgeable, experienced, and energetic people who hold and seek to retain power. RM uses without apology mechanical metaphors for political phenomena in the bureaucratized state.