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It would seem that Pareto believed that only in perfectly open
societies, those with perfect social mobility, would elite position
correlate fully with superior capacity. Only under such conditions
would the governing elite, for example, consist of the people
most capable of governing. The actual social fact is that obstacles
such as inherited wealth, family connections, and the like prevent
the free circulation of individuals through the ranks of society,
so that those wearing an elite label and those possessing highest
capacity tend to diverge to greater or lesser degrees.
Given the likelihood of divergencies between ascribed elite position
and actual achievement and capacity, Pareto is a passionate advocate
of maximum social mobility and of careers open to all. He saw
the danger that elite positions that were once occupied by men
of real talent would in the course of time be preempted by men
devoid of such talent.
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