Michels and the Modern

Abstract Robert Michels did not engage in a systematic, theoretical way with processes of modernization or the phenomenon of modernity, in the way that Weber did with his concepts of rationalization and the disenchantment of the world. However, underlying Michels’ writings is a strong sense that he is taking part in dynamic changes associated with modernity. What strikes a reader of Michels is, firstly, the frequency with which he uses the word ‘modern’ and its derivatives, and secondly, the overwhelmingly positive valuation with which he invests the term. A core element of Michels’ critique of the imperial German state was its retention of anachronistic and feudal elements into the twentieth century. Here, Michels’ formulations prefigure the terms of the later debate over the German Sonderweg (special path of development and flawed modernization). His revolt against the conservative order of imperial Germany also reflected elements of the generational youth revolt of the period around 1900.