Introduction

Abstract

We, the editors, have structured this monograph around the dividing line that separates the aristocracy from the masses. We aim to conduct a nine-chapter study of the influences exerted by various political tendencies (from conservatism and fascism to Marxism) on the work of leading historians in Germany, Great Britain, the United States, France and Italy, a journey that culminated at the end of the 20th century with the debate surrounding the characterisation of Rome as a democracy. However, instead of aristocracy and masses, in the Ortega sense, we have preferred to distinguish between the “political class” and the “apolitical classes”.

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)