Think About It 105: C WRIGHT MILLS

 

The knowledgeable man in the genuine public is able to turn his personal troubles into social issues, to see their relevance for his community and his community's relevance for them. He understands that what he thinks and feels as personal troubles are very often not only that but problems shared by others and indeed not subject to solution by any one individual but only by modifications of the structure of the groups in which he lives and sometimes the structure of the entire society.

      Men in masses are gripped by personal troubles, but they are not aware of their true meaning and source. Men in public confront issues, and they are aware of their terms. It is the task of the liberal institution, as of the liberally educated man, continually to translate troubles into issues and issues into the terms of their human meaning for the individual. In the absence of deep and wide political debate, schools for adults and adolescents could perhaps become hospitable frameworks for just such debate. In a community of publics the task of liberal education would be: to keep the public from being overwhelmed; to help produce the disciplined and informed mind that cannot be overwhelmed; to help develop the bold and sensible individual that cannot be sunk by the burdens of mass life. But educational practice has not made knowledge directly relevant to the human need of the troubled person of the twentieth century or to the social practices of the citizen. The citizen cannot now see the roots of his own biases and frustrations, nor think clearly about himself, nor for that matter about anything else. He does not see the frustration of idea, of intellect, by the present organization of society, and he is not able to meet the tasks now confronting 'the intelligent citizen'.

 

The Power Elite (1956)

 

 

 

 

 

Use the link below to read about the life and work of North American sociologist CHARLES WRIGHT MILLS (1916–1962):

https://www.sociologygroup.com/charles-wright-mills/

 

 

 

 

 

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Think About It 025: CHRISTINE ROSEN

If, in the twentieth century, 'character' gave way to 'personality'… then in the twenty-first century 'personality' exists only if it is broadcast, rated, praised and consumed by as many people as possible — put on display for strangers as well as intimates.  In addition, the overpraised American personality expects regularly to assess the worth of others, regardless of his qualifications for doing so:  instant polling, telephone surveys that follow even the most mundane business transaction, voting on television shows such as American Idol, ratings on websites such as Amazon.com and eBay that rank buyers, sellers, and even rate the raters all give the overpraised American a perpetual reminder of his own supposed control over the success of others.

'The Overpraised American: Christopher Lasch's "The Culture of Narcissism" Revisited'  [Policy Review #133, 1 October 2005.]


 

Use the link below to read the full 2005 article by North American scholar CHRISTINE ROSEN:

 

https://web.archive.org/web/20100719145235/http://www.hoover.org/publications/policy-review/article/8093 

 

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Think About It 002: C WRIGHT MILLS

The media provide much information and news about what is happening in the world, but they do not often enable the listener or the viewer truly to connect his daily life with these larger realities.  They do not connect the information they provide on public issues with the troubles felt by the individual.  They do not increase rational insight into tensions, either those in the individual or those of the society which are reflected in the individual.

The Power Elite (1956)



Use the links below to visit the website of North American sociologist, writer and political theorist C WRIGHT MILLS and read a short article explaining why the phenomena he so shrewdly examined in his groundbreaking study The Power Elite (1956) remain completely relevant in the twenty-first century:

 

http://www.cwrightmills.org/

http://sociology.about.com/od/Profiles/fl/Happy-Birthday-C-Wright-Mills.htm

 

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