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© 1998-2006 by Ronald Keith Bolender 1
SOC4044 Sociological Theory:
Charles Wright Mills
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© 1998-2006 by Ronald Keith Bolender 2
Charles Wright Mills
1916-1962Born in Waco, TexasMiddle-ClassRoman Catholic
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© 1998-2006 by Ronald Keith Bolender 3
Charles Wright MillsCharacter and Social Structure
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© 1998-2006 by Ronald Keith Bolender 4
Charles Wright MillsSociological Imagination
Sociological ImaginationThe sociological imagination enables us to
grasp history and biography and the relations between the two within society.
No social study that does not come back to the problems of biography, of history and of intersections within a society has completed its intellectual journey.
Mills (1959:6)
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Charles Wright MillsSociological Imagination
Personal Troubles versus Public Issues
Troubles occur within the character of the individual and within the range of his immediate relations with others; they have to do with his self and with those limited areas of social life of which he is directly and personally aware. . . A trouble is a private matter: values cherished by an individual are felt by him to be threatened.
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© 1998-2006 by Ronald Keith Bolender 6
Charles Wright MillsSociological Imagination
Issues have to do with matters that transcend these local environments of the individual and the range of his inner life. . . An issue is a public matter: some value cherished by publics is felt to be threatened. Often there is a debate about what that value really is and about what it is that really threatens it.
Mills (1959:8)
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Charles Wright MillsThe Power-Elite
In 1956, Mills published a book entitled The Power Elite in which he traced the social class backgrounds of leaders in business, government, and other major
spheres of influence and authority. It is not necessary to prove a conspiracy among these people or even to
show that they are in contact with one another, in order to suggest that the decisions made in one power sector reinforce those made in others. As
products of similar class locations and socialization experiences, these leaders will think alike, share a vision of what is fair and good, and act in ways that
maintain the existing stratification system.
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Charles Wright MillsThe Power-Elite
The empirical tests of Mill’s thesis have centered on identifying a “national
upper class” whose members own most of the nation’s wealth, manage its corporations and banks, run the
universities and foundations, control the mass media, and staff the highest
levels of government and the courts (Schwartz 1987; Domhoff, 1990).
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Charles Wright MillsThe Power-Elite
It is worth noting in this regard that contrary to the “log cabin” myth, all but five of our presidents were from the upper or upper-middle classes, including Abraham Lincoln (Pressen
1984; Baltzell and Schneiderman 1988).
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© 1998-2006 by Ronald Keith Bolender 10
Charles Wright MillsThe Power-Elite
The emphasis of recent research has been less on the content of
socialization than on the structural links among the members of this elite: from schools and clubs to marriages and jobs. These are interlocks that
extend beyond the world of business to involve politics, education, and
control over information.
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Charles Wright MillsThe Power-Elite
The Power-EliteGovernmentBusinessMilitaryJudiciaryFoundationsMedia
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© 1998-2006 by Ronald Keith Bolender 12
Charles Wright MillsThe Power-Elite
This phenomenon is most obvious in presidential appointments
(Riddlesberger and King 1989) and in the actual movement of people from on sphere to another, as when corporate officers become cabinet members, or when heads of regulatory agencies leave government for jobs in the
industries they previously regulated.
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Charles Wright MillsThe Power-Elite
Another source of support for the power-elite vision of the world lies in the vast resources of the major American
foundations. Foundations are tax-exempt organizations built on endowments from very wealthy families. Funds
from the interest on the endowments are used to finance various educational and charitable causes chosen by the trustees and managers of the foundations. As members of the elite strata, shaped by similar schooling and social
networks, the men, primarily WASP, who run major foundations are not likely to lend
their support to people or organizations whose goal is to overthrow the existing system or to challenge American
interest abroad.
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© 1998-2006 by Ronald Keith Bolender 14
Charles Wright MillsThe Power-Elite
Levels Unified power-elite Diversified and balanced plurality of
interest groups Mass of unorganized people who have
no power over the elite
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Charles Wright MillsThe Power-Elite
Changes Increasing concentration of power
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Charles Wright MillsThe Power-Elite
Operation One group determines all major policies Manipulation of people at the bottom by
group at the top
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Charles Wright MillsThe Power-Elite
Bases Coincidence of interests among major
institutions (economic, military, governmental)
Social similarities and psychological affinities among those who direct major institutions
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Charles Wright MillsThe Power-Elite
Consequences Enhancement of interests of
corporations, armed forces, and executive branch of government
Decline of politics as public debate Decline of responsible and accountable
power--loss of democracy