Radical Ambition: C. Wright Mills, the Left, and American Social Thought

291 Pages·2009·3.76 MB·English

by  Daniel Geary

Radical Ambition
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The publisher gratefully acknowledges the generous support
of the Ahmanson Foundation Humanities Endowment Fund of
the University of California Press Foundation.
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Radical Ambition
C. Wright Mills, the Left,
and American Social Thought
Daniel Geary
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS
Berkeley . Los Angeles . London
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University of California Press
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University of California Press, Ltd.
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© 2009 by The Regents of the University of
California
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Geary, Daniel.
Radical ambition / C. Wright Mills, the Left, and
American Social Thought / Daniel Geary.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn 978-0-520-25836-5 (cloth : alk. paper)
1. Mills, C. Wright (Charles Wright), 1916–

1962. 2. Sociology—United States—History—20th

century. I. Title.
hm479.m55g43 2009
301.092—dc22 2008035577
Manufactured in the United States of America
18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 09
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
This book is printed on Natures Book, which
contains 30% post-consumer waste and meets the
minimum requirements of ansi/niso z39.48–1992
(r 1997) (Permanence of Paper).
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For Jennie
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Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction: Maverick on a Motorcycle?
The Thought and Times of C. Wright Mills 1
1. Student Ambitions: The Education of a Social Scientist 14
2. What Is Happening in the World Today:
Weberian Sociology and Radical Political Analysis 45
3. The Union of the Power and the Intellect:
The Labor Movement and Bureau-Driven Social Research 74
4. The New Little Men: ‘White Collar’ 106
5. The Politics of Truth: ‘The Power Elite’ and
‘The Sociological Imagination’ 143
6. Worldly Ambitions: The Emergence of a Global New Left 179
Epilogue: The Legacy of C. Wright Mills 216
Notes 221
Index 263
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Acknowledgments
Writing a book is in many ways a lonely endeavor, but I was fortunate
to receive the assistance of many people. Most young scholars are lucky
to have the support of a single great mentor. I was blessed with four. As
my dissertation advisor, David Hollinger guided this book from start to
finish. At crucial junctures during this project, he offered wise advice
and helped sharpen the book’s methods and arguments. Perhaps more
important, this book is deeply indebted to the approach to intellectual
history that I learned from him. My work on Mills began with an under-
graduate thesis completed in 1997 at the University of Virginia under
the direction of Nelson Lichtenstein. Reading over my thesis recently, I
saw that I thanked Nelson for his “intellectual and political guidance.”
That gratitude remains today. During the past decade Nelson provided
continued encouragement and criticism, and our many conversations
about Mills over the years helped shape this work. Time and again,
Howard Brick offered me invaluable feedback on the manuscript. I
am very grateful for his challenging comments, which inspired many
a revision, and to his understanding of twentieth-century American
social thought, which proved a crucial influence on my own. Finally,
my distinguished colleague during my three years at the University of
Nottingham, Richard King, was a vital source of encouragement and
criticism as I transformed my dissertation into this book.
I also greatly appreciate the many friends and colleagues who com-
mented on this project as it developed and who read drafts and offered
ix