White Collar
by C. Wright Mills
Published by Oxford University Press, 1953
White Collar stands as one of the most influential sociological studies of post-World War II America. C. Wright Mills's penetrating analysis examines the emerging American middle class—office workers, salespeople, managers, and professionals—who were transforming the nation's economic and social landscape in the prosperous 1950s.
Mills argues that the new white-collar workers, despite their numerical growth and economic importance, were increasingly alienated from their work and lacked the independence and dignity of the old middle class of small entrepreneurs and independent professionals. He explores how work had become bureaucratized and routinized, turning workers into interchangeable parts in vast corporate and governmental machines.
The book's critique of corporate conformity, status anxiety, and the loss of meaningful work resonated powerfully with readers and influenced a generation of social critics. Mills examines everything from the psychology of salesmanship to the role of mass media in shaping middle-class consciousness, offering insights that remain relevant to understanding contemporary work culture. White Collar became a foundational text in sociology and influenced cultural critics, economists, and political theorists.
About C. Wright Mills: Mills (1916-1962) was one of America's most influential sociologists. His works, including The Power Elite (1956), combined rigorous sociology with accessible prose and radical political critique, making him a hero to New Left intellectuals.
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