It is an honour to join with other historians from the community of Pareto scholars to celebrate the publication of Fiorenzo Mornati’s three-volume Vilfredo Pareto: An Intellectual Biography. There is much of value in this biography. Indeed, even the most seasoned Pareto scholars were delighted by the treasure trove of new information made accessible through the publication of the first volume. I congratulate Fiorenzo Mornati on both the publication of the three volumes and the perseverance he has shown over decades to bring his precious project to realisation. I also compliment Pascal Bridel for the foresight and good judgement to celebrate this achievement in the present issue of the Revue européenne des sciences sociales and for doing so in such an interesting and engaging manner.
The third volume of this biography considers the period from 1898, when Pareto started working on his influential approach to choice theory in economics, until his death in 1923. Within that period, Pareto’s reflections on sociology progressively developed until they culminated in the publication of the Trattato di Sociologia Generale in 1916. Perhaps surprisingly, Fiorenzo Mornati has not spilt much ink in the discussion of that work. In reflecting on the relative emphasis on topics covered across the three volumes, however, it appears he has given priority to the aspects of Pareto’s intellectual life that can be given new and deeper insights from letters and correspondence more generally as well as institutional records…