Charles Wright Mills , one of the greatest contemporary sociologists, in his first major research “ White Collar Workers ”, extensively applies his concept of “ sociological imagination ”.
What is sociological imagination?
The sociological imagination, as he claims, “It allows its possessor to see and evaluate the broader context of historical events and their impact on the inner life and external behavior of a whole range of human categories. It transforms public indifference into interest in public issues.". "White collar workers" is a wonderful testimony to Mills's empirical work skills, but to understand who white-collar workers are, it is necessary to describe the social structure of which they are part. Just as the author outlines in his book, focusing on American society. The old middle class was composed of small business owners and the most important element was the fact that a part of the population could use its own tools to carry out economic activity. This was a world that had a linear development and was predominantly a society that strictly maintained its own equilibriumAmerican farmers were victims of the rise of American capitalism, and the crisis worsened their situation: the entire agricultural income collapsed. During the 30s, new mechanisms also began to damage the agricultural world. One of the most disastrous consequences was the technological revolutionAt the beginning of the last century, there was a rise in independent entrepreneurs belonging to the new middle class. It is among these workers that we find salaried white-collar workers.
A new middle class
“ They are masters of commercial, professional, and technical relationships. The only thing they don't do is live in factories. They help transform someone else's work into profit for a third party. They are the inspectors, provide technical and personal services, and teach others the specialties they themselves practice .” For the white-collar worker, work is a sacrifice to build a life and hope for a better future. The concept of the “ new middle class ” is closely linked to that of employment and the “new division of labor,” which gives rise to different levels of specialization and functions, especially within the industrial-type division of labor. American society allows the individual to have an income, prestige, power, learn a new specialization, and use it. Unlike the small entrepreneur, a member of the old middle class, who aimed to found a company and expand it, the new entrepreneur winds his way between one bureaucracy and another, or within already established bureaucracies.
Doctors, lawyers and professors
The most important figure in the white collar sector is certainly the medical professionBy specializing, medicine has made the hospital the "strategic factor" in medical care and the practice of the profession. Today, technical and scientific developments contribute most to this field. Other prominent figures include: lawyers and teachersWhite-collar workers, even if they manage to have their own authority, are not the source of it. In fact, in this regard, the figure of the leader which Mills defines as “he who centralizes power and increases collaborators“At low levels we find the figure of the foreman, "someone who is willing to sell his personality to promote discipline and loyalty to the company“. In the new society, selling is an omnipresent activity, especially in every institution and relationship. From the small emporium, we find today specialized shops and department stores, which have replaced the family: they feed, dress and entertain. The creativity of the salesman is centralized and the personality market and the search for the most appropriate way to treat people. Offices replace free markets. Machinery's work is centralized, work is divided into many small operations, and old ties are eliminated until everything becomes like a factory.
Emanuela Leone
