SOURCE: "Gaetano Mosca's The Ruling Class," in Political Science Quarterly, Vol. 54, No. 3, September, 1939, pp. 442-7.

In the following essay, Cook reviews The Ruling Class, disputing the common interpretation of Mosca as a supporter of totalitarian rule.

The prime task of a reviewer is normally to discuss the contents and viewpoint of an author's work. In the present instance, however, it is perhaps not less important, as a preliminary thereto, to insist on what the work is not, particularly in view of the title given to this translation and edition [The Ruling Class (Elementi di Scienza Politica)], the nationality of the author, and a quotation on the jacket from Charles A. Beard to the effect that the book is important for an understanding of "the modern trends toward Fascism, Communism and other types of 'strong government'." For there seems a real danger that the unwary may infer that this...