C. Wright Mills
Also known as Charles Wright Mills
American sociologist (1916 to 1962) who wrote The Power Elite and The Sociological Imagination.
At a glance
Main ideas
The power elite, Engaged intellectuals, The New Left …
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From Max Weber, White Collar, The Power Elite …
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Christopher Lasch, Herbert Marcuse and 2 others
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Also on this page: Key facts · Links · Sources · Related pages
- Mills was a Columbia sociologist who argued that intellectuals should engage in public and political life.
- His books examined the American middle class, the power elite and the sociological imagination.
- He popularised the term "New Left" in the United States in a 1960 open letter.
- He died of a heart attack at 45.
Why it matters
- His idea of a power elite and his call to link private troubles to public issues remain central to sociology and to the American left.
Key facts
- Born
- 28 Aug 1916, Waco, Texas1
- Died
- 20 Mar 1962, West Nyack, New York, of a heart attack, aged 451
- Education
- University of Texas at Austin; PhD in sociology, University of Wisconsin–Madison (1942)1
- Career
- University of Maryland from 1942 to 1945; Columbia University from 1946 until his death1
- Fulbright
- Lecturer at the University of Copenhagen from 1956 to 19571
- Recognition
- The Sociological Imagination was named by the International Sociological Association in 1998 the second most important sociological book of the 20th century1
Main ideas
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The power elite2
Military, corporate and political leaders share interests and decide for ordinary citizens.
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Engaged intellectuals1
Social scientists should state the ways out of the crises of their time.
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The New Left1
His 1960 "Letter to the New Left" popularised the term in the US.
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A "Wobbly"1
He described himself spiritually and politically as a Wobbly: the opposite of a bureaucrat.
Books to start with
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Connections
Links
Sources
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