Robert Michels, demokrasi ve oligarşinin tunç kanunu

Abstract

The article below is the Turkish translation of the INTRODUCTION which Seymour Martin Lipset had written in 1961 for the famous work of Robert Michels titled Political Parties. Based on his observations in Europe and his keen analyses,Michels believed that the majority rule which should reign in democratic organizations like political parties, unions and cooperatives inevitably turns into minority rule and single- leader domination for various reasons.. This in-built tendency notwithstanding, both thinkers, and Lipset in particular, insist on expending constant efforts in order to approach the democratic ideals to the extent possible, as every divergence from democracy in the internal administration of such organizations is apt to engender adverse effects for the governance of the society or the labor movement.