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C. WRIGHT MILLS.
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Discussion of his holistic sociological view. His application of Marxist theory to contemporary society. The power elite.... More...
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Paper Abstract:
Discussion of his holistic sociological view. His application of Marxist theory to contemporary society. The power elite.

Paper Introduction:
C. Wright Mills C. Wright Mills is one of the few sociologists of the twentieth century who wrote within the classical tradition of sociology (Elwell, 2000). As a professor of sociology at Columbia University, Mills wrote throughout the 1940s and 1950s, publishing in major newspapers and journals of opinion and in "little magazines" in equal measure (Summers, 2000). Two of his books, White Collar (1951) and The Power Elite (1956), sold very well even outside academia and were very influential upon the early New Left (Summers, 2000). Thus, even though Mills died in March 1962 at the age of 45, his ten books and nearly 200 articles, essays and reviews had already won him an international reputation. Mills's vision, as expressed in his work, demonstrates a holistic view of socio-cu

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Realist theory believed that the nation-state was the basicactor in international relations, without regard to the diverse culture,individuals and forces that might lie beneath the façade of a unifiednation-state. As a professor of sociology at Columbia University, Mills wrotethroughout the 194 s and 195 s, publishing in major newspapers and journalsof opinion and in "little magazines" in equal measure (Summers, 2 ). Wright Mills's HomePage. (October 9, 2 ). Millsdemonstrated his Marxist influences by arguing that class structure, as aneconomic arrangement, influences every individual's opportunities accordingto their positions in it (Mills, 1951, p. (1956). (Mills, 1959, pp. London: Secker &Warburg. 4). One of Mills's greatest contributions to sociological thought was hisapplication of Marxist theory to the forces he believed governedcontemporary society in the United States (Mills, 1959, p. 6). Twoof his books, White Collar (1951) and The Power Elite (1956), sold verywell even outside academia and were very influential upon the early NewLeft (Summers, 2 ). Mills believed thathuman beings could not be "isolated biological creature[s]" subject only tointernally-significant reflexes or instincts. 158). 158). And to understandsuch sociological relationships, we first needed to understand individualhuman development. New York: OxfordUniversity Press. White Collar: The American Middle Classes. He believed that while during most of humanhistory, historical change had not been visible to the people who wereinvolved in it, the tempo of change had become so rapid that we could nowobserve the interplay of events and decisions that form historical reality(Mills, 1956, pp. NewYork: Oxford University Press. Mills was writing during the Cold War between the United States andthe Soviet Union. Postmodernism arose afterWorld War II when literary theorists subverted accepted modes and thoughtsby revealing what they believed to be the essential futility and"meaninglessness" that lay under all human endeavor. 13). 13).Mills believes that the way and manner in which each of these hierarchieswas shaped and what relations it had with the others determined in largepart the relations of their rulers. However, althoughindividuals might not grasp the causes of their conduct, the social analystcannot ignore or deny them (Mills, 1951, p. New York: Oxford UniversityPress. In his own work, Millssought to answer all of these questions by resorting to a sociologicalimagination that took into account economic, international, literary andsocial theories. 134). 13). 158). He maintained that the historicaltransformations caused by such forces carried meanings not only forindividual ways of life, but for the very character, i.e., the limits andpossibilities, of the human being (Mills, 1959, p. Thus, even though Mills died in March 1962 at theage of 45, his ten books and nearly 2 articles, essays and reviews hadalready won him an international reputation. 24). C. He arguedthat the chief dangers human beings faced in contemporary society were the"unruly forces" of that very society. Howdoes it differ from other periods and what are its characteristic ways ofhistory making? Mills's vision, as expressed in his work, demonstrates a holistic viewof socio-cultural systems with strong influences from Karl Marx and other19th century theorists, as well as prevailing social theories such asrealism and postmodernism. Mills believed that to understand nation-statesas international actors we first needed to understand the sociologicalrelationships that formed each of those nation-states. Wright Mills is one of the few sociologists of the twentiethcentury who wrote within the classical tradition of sociology (Elwell,2 ). But although Mills accepted the realist doctrine, he alsotook into consideration the synergistic relationship between theindividuals that made up the nation-state and a nation-state made up ofindividuals. Thus, the unity of the power elite wasnot simply a reflection of the unity of institutions. xx). The unity of thepower elite rests in the similar psychology of its several members as wellas in the institutional hierarchies over which the political directorate,the corporate rich, and the grand military preside (Mills, 1956, p. Mills, in a similarmanner but for a different effect, sought to reveal the forces underlyingall historical periods to reveal the specific motivations and forcesgoverning individual actions. Today, many sociologists arguethat Mills's writings remain relevant and useful today in our efforts tounderstand social reality (Elwell, 2 ). 4). 294). The Causes of World War Three. References Elwell, F.W. Second, where does this societystand in human history and what are the mechanics of its evolution? The Sociological Imagination. Roger StateUniversity (Oklahoma). During this time, realist theory governed internationalrelations. The Power Elite. In WhiteCollar: The American Middle Classes, Mills argued that the first lesson ofmodern sociology was that the individual could not "understand his ownexperience or gauge his own fate without locating himself" within hishistorical period and the opportunities available to all the individuals inhis social layer during that historical period (1951, p. But we could not understand any of these factors fullyunless we understood each factor's relationship to the other. Mills, C.W. 294). Consequently, he was able to lookbeyond realist doctrine to argue that the dynamic relationship between anation and her citizens was replicated in the struggle between nations.And he concluded that intranational struggles about who would govern anation were replicated in international struggled about what "types ofhuman beings" would eventually prevail in regional struggles in the MiddleEast, India, China or the United State (Mills, 1959, p. And third, what varieties of men and women now prevail inthis society and in this period and what varieties are coming to prevail?How are such individuals selected and formed and what kinds of "humannature" are revealed in the conduct and character we observe in thissociety in this period? (1951). 31). 6-7). Mills, C. Mills's holistic sociological view was an attempt to explain theeffects of all aspects of human history upon the development of theindividual human psyche. This elite commands the major hierarchies andorganizations of modern society such as the big corporations, the stateapparatus, including the all-important military establishment and thesocial structure, through power, wealth and celebrity (Mills, 1956, pp. 13). Mills argues that thekind of moral and psychological beings men become is in large partdetermined by the values and experience and the institutional roles theyare allowed and expected to play (Mills, 1956, p. He believed that a "sociological imagination"allowed analysts to grasp history and biography and the relations betweenthe two within society (Mills, 1959, p. They are in positions to make decisionshaving major consequences and whether they do or do not make such decisionsis less important that the fact that they occupy such pivotal positions.Their failure to act, their failure to make decisions, is itself an actthat is often of greater consequences than the decisions they do make(Mills, 1956, p. Thus, heargued that to study all human relations, it was necessary to recognizehuman variety and apply sociological theories that took into account all ofhistorical reality (Mills, 1959, p. Consider, for example, Mills's explanation of the evolution,significance and interaction of what he identifies as the "power elite."Mills argues that the class of the power elite is composed of men whosepositions enable them to transcend the ordinary environments of ordinarymen and women (Mills, 1956, p. (1958). "The big discourse." The Nation,271, 1 , 43-5 . Wright Mills C. Mills'sargument in this area reflects a strong Marxist influence. Rather, theinstitutional trends that gave rise to the "development of a permanent warestablishment alongside a privately incorporated economy inside a virtualpolitical vacuum" formed the men at the top who were selected and formed bysuch institutional trends (Mills, 1958, p. W. 3-4). However, in so far as the elite flourishes as a social class or as aset of men at the command posts, it will select and form certain types ofpersonality and reject others (Mills, 1956, p. His aim was to define suchreality by forming a fully comparative understanding of the socialstructures that have existed and do now exist in world history.Specifically, he argued that such work required that social analysts avoid"the arbitrary specialization of academic departments" and instead drawupon the perspectives and ideas of any and all suitable studies of man asan historical actor (Mills, 1959, p. He contended that howeverlimited or broad the features of social reality examined by classicalsocial analysts, those who were imaginatively aware of the promise of theirwork consistently asked three sorts of questions. Thus, he maintained that as the history-making unit, thedynamic nation-state is also the unit "within which the variety of men andwomen are selected and formed, liberated and repressed -- it is the man-making unit" (Mills, 1959, p. How does one societydiffer from another and what are the meanings of any particular featuresfor its continuance and for its change? Rather, he argued mostemphatically in The Sociological Imagination that "man is a social and anhistorical actor who must be understood, if at all, in close and intricateinterplay with social and historical structures" (Mills, 1959, p. Online:http://www.faculty.rsu.edu/~felwell/Theorists/Mills/index.htm. 2 -21). (1959). Mills argued that the history of modern society and the evolution ofhuman nature could be understood as the story of the enlargement and thecentralization of the means of power (Mills, 1958, p. One could argue that Mills's "sociological imagination" is tosociology what postmodernism was to literature. Mills, C.W. Summers, J. C. First, what is thestructure of society as a whole and what are the relations, similaritiesand differences between its essential components? 158). 134). (2 ). In particular, Mills contended thatthe alienating methods of production, the "enveloping techniques ofpolitical domination," international anarchy and the pervasivetransformations of the nature of man and the conditions and aims of hislife were the most significant forces affecting human socio-culturaldevelopment (Mills, 1959, p. 9). 15). Thus, Mills demonstrates in all aspects of hissociological analysis that a cross-academic approach is necessary for acomplete understanding of sociological relationships and evolution. Mills, C.W. The significance of the power elite is not that they have the most,but that they have positions in the ruling institutions, which provide thenecessary bases of power, wealth and prestige as well as the opportunity toexercise power, acquire wealth and claim prestige (Mills 1956, p.

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