SOCIOLOGIST

Robert Michels

1876 - 1936

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Robert Michels (German: [ˈmɪçəls]; 9 January 1876 – 3 May 1936) was a German-born Italian sociologist who contributed to elite theory by describing the political behavior of intellectual elites. He belonged to the Italian school of elitism. He is known best for his book Political Parties, published in 1911, which contains a description of the "iron law of oligarchy". He was a friend and disciple of Max Weber, Werner Sombart and Achille Loria. Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. Robert Michels is the 23rd most popular sociologist, the 1,244th most popular biography from Germany (down from 1,100th in 2019) and the 5th most popular German Sociologist.

Robert Michels is most famous for his theory of the iron law of oligarchy. Michels argued that all organizations, regardless of their stated goals, will eventually be dominated by a small group of people who will use their power to promote their own interests.

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Among SOCIOLOGISTS

Among sociologists, Robert Michels ranks 23 out of 79. Before him are Manuel Castells, Seymour Martin Lipset, Pitirim Sorokin, Alain Touraine, C. Wright Mills, and Paul Lazarsfeld. After him are Peter L. Berger, Saskia Sassen, Ziya Gökalp, Robert N. Bellah, Daniel Bell, and Thomas Luckmann.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1876, Robert Michels ranks 44. Before him are Sherwood Anderson, Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich of Russia, Ivan Cankar, Rodolphe Seeldrayers, Tatyana Afanasyeva, and Jean Webster. After him are Archduchess Maria Annunciata of Austria, Arthur Moeller van den Bruck, Natalie Clifford Barney, Ivan Bilibin, Ziya Gökalp, and Robert Guérin. Among people deceased in 1936, Robert Michels ranks 50. Before him are Julius Schreck, Wilhelm Gustloff, Max Schreck, Zahra Khanom Tadj es-Saltaneh, José Sanjurjo, and Bertha Pappenheim. After him are Duan Qirui, Anna Boch, Marcel Grossmann, Kikunae Ikeda, Gyula Gömbös, and Ahmet Tevfik Pasha.

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In Germany

Among people born in Germany, Robert Michels ranks 1,244 out of 7,253. Before him are Charles III Philip, Elector Palatine (1661), Anne Eleonore of Hesse-Darmstadt (1601), Paul Natorp (1854), Rudolf von Sebottendorf (1875), Manfred Rommel (1928), and Ludwig Reichenbach (1793). After him are William, Duke of Nassau (1792), Louis II, Grand Duke of Hesse (1777), Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate, Electress of Brandenburg (1597), Reinhard Genzel (1952), Bruno the Great (925), and Princess Elisabeth Marie of Bavaria (1874).

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Among SOCIOLOGISTS In Germany

Among sociologists born in Germany, Robert Michels ranks 5. Before him are Max Weber (1864), Theodor W. Adorno (1903), Georg Simmel (1858), and Niklas Luhmann (1927). After him are Juan José Linz (1926), Andre Gunder Frank (1929), Amitai Etzioni (1929), Lewis A. Coser (1913), Claus Offe (1940), and Louis Wirth (1897).

German born Sociologists

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