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THE IDEAL OF CRAFTSMANSHIP - C. Wright Mills (1916-1962)

Summary:

C. Wright Mills was a social-conflict theorist who argued that a simple few individuals within the political, military and corporate realms actually held the majority of power within the United States and that these few individuals made decisions that resounded throughout all American lives.

The major focus of Mills's work was the subjects of social inequality, the power of elites and their control of society, the shrinking middle class, the relationship between individuals and society, and the importance of historical perspective as a key part of sociological thinking.

Through this essay, the essayist defines craftsmanship and provides six- features associated with craftsmanship:

  1. According to the writer, craftsman works for pleasure. He gives whole attention to the quality of the product. To create, he forms the image of the product first in the mind. Then, he produces the product spontaneously. For him, creating art is primary, whereas money or reputation or salvation is a secondary matter.
  2. If his work is not accepted legally, he is seen as happy psychologically. In other words, if the producer does not legally achieve the product, he owns it psychologically. He can own art because his skill and sweat are mixed in it. The craftsman has a complete picture of the product even before giving it a complete shape. It means from the part he can sense the whole of his work. If the making tools are dull, or improper, however, he goes on making the art. If he completed the work with much resistance, he would be happier.
  3. The workman goes on to create his own plan. While making it, he can also modify it with his own will. So, he is the master of all activities. He himself must solve problems or difficulties.
  4. While creating or producing, a craftsman can develop and foster his skills. It is not only the self-development but the cumulative (increasing) development of his skills. In such conditions, his mind gets exercise as a result, he becomes creative and active.
  5. In craftsmanship, there is no difference between work and play or work and culture. The actor gets pleasure from acting in a play. If work can give pleasure, it is also like a play. According to Gentile, work and culture are not separable. In crafting, consumption and production are blended together.
  6. Craftsman thinks to give freshness and originality even in their leisure time. If he does not think about the product in his leisure time his rest is only animal rest. So, the craftsman is far from animal rest. According to Henry James, to give freshness, craftsmen should meditate upon the producing material. According to Tilgher, peace and calm flow from done work through a quiet and thoughtful mind.

Bibliography

Mills, C. W. (2021 ). The Ideal of Craftsmanship. In S. Lohani, Visions: A Thematic Anthology (pp. 94-99). Kathmandu: Vidhyarthi Pustak Bhandar.


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