Critical Essay on Write Mills's Writings

Introduction

One theme that is present in all these readings and answers the "why" question is the aspect of exploitation. The author showcases the power dynamics and interests of three groups in the society today that all feed on opportunities and exploit the situations surrounding them. The result is a lack of progress and concentration of power among a few members of the society at the expense of the rest.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

C Wright Mills wrote The New Men of Power to address the dynamics and structures of power in today's society. Labor union leaders are powerful people who can determine the whole concept of employment rights. The author wanted to showcase the opportunistic power of labor union leaders. Mills intended for his work to communicate the cunning nature of labor union leaders and lead members of the society to make conclusions about their lack of effect towards the lives of those at the very bottom. They seem to have lost their interest to bargain the best conditions for their employees and people in the contemporary society and many look at them as being in cohorts with the oppressors. Mills says, "The only organizations capable of stopping the main drift towards war and slump to illustrate the impacts of labor unions (Mills, 1948: 230)." The leaders are not products of the money elite but belong to a group of powerful elites who control everything within the capitalist economy that would otherwise dictate the terms of the workers. By highlighting all of this, the author leads the reader to ponder on why the labor union leaders do not effect as much change as they could. The rationale and purpose for this writing is to come to the conclusion that the labor union leader is just as greedy as everyone else. They use the power to continue labor movements in order to keep benefiting from them as opposed to creating actual opportunities for change.

In White Collar, Mills intends to criticize the emergence of the middle class as a target for capitalist ideologies. One can take note of white collar people as the lazy ones who do not take charge of anything. They are not part of the change process in any way, which is attributive to their lacking in value to the progress of the society (Mills, 1951: 12). Additionally, the white collar individuals are too comfortable and complacent. They do not challenge anything or anyone and lack the independence that formulates the identity of the United States. Mills, therefore, wrote a critique on the white collar man whose sole purpose is to advance the interests of others (Mills, 2002: 14). It is a critique that lacks any ounce of respect and illustrates that the middle class is the reason for the stagnation of the society. Its only value is to advance the interests of a capitalist society. The position may explain why the middle class has been stagnant for such a long time.

In The Power Elite, Mills wants to communicate how a few people in the society influence the decision-making process of everyone else. The society consists of the 1% that has the actual power in all facets of life and determines the wellbeing of everyone else in the society. Again, the author provides a critique of the organization of the American society to ensure that future generations use the power they have through aspects like technology and globalization to change power dynamics.

What he Discovered

C Write Mills has several points about each of these groups that reflect the role they play in the society as people know it today. For instance, the labor leaders have power in this capitalist economy. They can strategize, create rebellions, and lead millions of workers towards a revolt that changes everything in their lives. They have the power of the masses but seem incapable of leading them to change. The reason for this is that the leaders are in cohorts with the exploiters. To them, workers are a lifeline for survival that they use to further advance their power. They cannot create change because they depend on this dysfunction caused by capitalist states to survive. They need these organizations to remain as important as they are today. For instance, Mills says, "........allow their unions to evolve into institutions which integrated the industrial worker into a political economy that is changing from laissez-faire to monopoly and to state capitalism (Mills 2001: 237). The statement highlights that the labor union leaders do not help the people at the bottom and continue the system of capitalism and its exploitation that is the lifeline of their power in the society.

The white collar group represents those who are behind the reason for the success of capitalism. The group is relatively well-off and is the marketing dream of every corporation. The capitalists have turned this group into a target for salesmanship and personalize products to appeal to their tastes (Mills, 1951: 32). The white collar person fits into a box created by the capitalist elite who then uses this to formulate personalities that would further advance the goals of capitalism. Hence, Mills found this group to be a puppet whose complacent nature can be exploited for the purpose of profit generation. It consists of the managers, employees in corporate offices and salespeople. The individuals in this group are merely meant to follow bureaucratic principles that exploit their position. They do not facilitate any positive changes towards the growth of the society.

The last group consists of the elite are in the military, top government positions, and wealthy economic gap in the society. In the political structure, they consist of individuals elected or appointed into the highest offices in the land. In the economic category, they are the CEOs who have multimillion companies and control a big position of the economy. The military elite have all the know-how in this aspect while the educational one went to prestigious institutions like Yale and Harvard. Unfortunately, with all the power that these groups yield comes scandals and their involvement in white-collar crime (Mills, 2001: 40). They are in corruption scandals as they strive to maintain their position in the society. Even though the structure has changed and is now more diverse than was the case before, it remains predominantly white and male. The few minorities do not have the capability of advancing any changes in the society.

How He Explained Every Group Structure

As explained above, Mills explained the group structure in terms of their greed and subsequent exploitation. They use others and some are used to ensure the state of the society remains as it is so that they continue benefiting from the same. The structures intertwine with one another in a series of power dynamics that are opposed to ensure their continuity and influence over the society. For instance, the structure of the power elite controls everything in the society. It consists of greedy and controlling people who have immorality of the highest levels (Mills, 2000: 43). The control leads to the emergence of aspects like corruption as they are usually caught in criminal activities because of greed and the need for more power. The same issues reverberate around the union leaders who merely use those at the bottom to advance their position while the white collar individuals and middle classes remain the puppets of those at the very top. The white collar people are the lazy ones lacking in autonomy and independence. The group structures, therefore, revolve around the same aspect of exploitation and the concentration of power to a few people.

Lessons

I learnt that everyone in the society fits into a certain group or box that contributes to the state of things as they are. More importantly, I learnt about my own complacent nature. I am part of the status quo of white collar people who do nothing for the society and depend on the bureaucratic system for survival. I did not think of my own satisfaction as limiting societal progress. I also never thought of myself as an object of control that fits into a box. Hence, the writings opened my eyes to how much power my own content nature extends to those who own me. I also learnt that labor unions do not advocate for the needs of those at the bottom of the hierarchy. I used to think of labor unions as the most important facet in the society for the common man. However, Mills has made me think about why these unions never seem to end the problems of these workers. Workers have unionized since time immemorial and nothing seems to change. I now understand that these union leaders have their own interests that come first. I also understand that the society will always be divided into classes. As Marx asserted in his theory of classicism, the society belongs to the bourgeoisie who control everything at the expense of the proletariats.

Agreement or Disagreement

I agree with the sentiments of the author because I am yet to see any changes in the society. I am convinced of the power structures now more than ever, seeing as how the political elite control policies in today's society. I think that the people at the top possess the authentic power to create changes for the bottom man. However, they are too engrossed in their own power dynamics and the need to acquire money and status to care about social, political and economic issues affecting the society. The power structures are the reason for aspects like unequal distribution of resources and the continuing nature of income inequality. I agree with the fact that the power structures discussed by Mills are the only ones that have the potential to impact the society in any meaningful ways. However, this impact is non-existent because the structures all concentrate on the acquisition of more power and money.

References

Mills, C. W. (2001). The new men of power: America's labor leaders. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press

Mills, C. W. (1951). White collar: The American middle classes(Vol. 3). Oxford University Press on Demand.

Mills, C. W. (2000). The power elite (Vol. 20). Oxford University Press.