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Jaylen Rodgers
Sociology 400 Final Paper

Introduction
The two most prolific and accomplished sociologists I have studied so far in my undergraduate
career are Karl Marx and C. Wright Mills. Marx is by a hair my favorite of the two because of
his constructive yet unforgiving criticisms of capitalism, though Mills has provided some of the
most insightful sociological observations I have read in his work The Sociological Imagination.
One thing I am sure about is that both theorists clearly understand that the capitalist economy we
have in place in America is one that incubates inequality due to the massive wealth-distribution
gap and institutionalized oppression of minority groups. This inequality can be observed in
several different areas including but not limited to; race, class, education, sexual orientation, age,
and now even how a person looks or dresses thanks to consumerism!
My paper will draw on the sociological theories of both Karl Marx and C. Wright Mills to
illustrate how modern class issues are exacerbated by the widening gap between social classes.
The public issue I will focus on the most is the growing movement for decriminalization and
policy reform for drugs like cannabis and certain psychoactive substances, and also the benefits
such changes could have on our society. Current drug policies including the one here in North
Carolina are quite harsh and target minorities disproportionately compared to whites, and as a
result incarceration rates for people of color are the skyrocketing (Gamire 31). These oppressive
laws are kept in place by the elite despite new research and science that shows these prohibited
substances may actually be able to help people . I will also explore how the social structures and
predictions discussed by both theorists are clearly being validated today by our growing class

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gap and increasing racial tension, which both sociologists theorized would result from such
largely deregulated capitalist greed (Mills 79, Marx 09).

C. Wright Mills
Mills was a visionary; a deeply pragmatic man who wanted to see things for how they
were in practice and reality rather than strictly theoretically. A revered professor of sociology at
Columbia University, Mills was highly interested in the relationship between greater society,
individual social power and experiences along with social inequalities. Mills work has many
influences from other famous sociologists including John Dewey, George Herbert Mead and of
course pieces of Marxist and Weberian theories, especially when discussing social structure and
who possesses real distributive power in capitalist societies. Mills published his highly
influential Power Elite in his 1956, and this moniker for the top 1% of our population is still
commonly used in many sociological circles today. He describes the American power elite as
being made up of top corporate, military, and economic leaders, who tend to share a common
world views and interests. Mills note that these people commonly possess a "class identity,"
recognizing themselves as separate and superior to the rest of society. He believed this elite
domination came about as the institutionalized outcome of great distributive power which comes
from the way capitalism is structured (Mills 1953). Mills found that this enormously wealthy
and connected elite population control the very industries and infrastructure that millions of
people depend on for wages, goods, and safety! They have the power to control the workforce by
firing and hiring employees as well as the choice of where they want to invest their precious
capital, which many entities including our federal government are desperately in need of . Mills
also saw our small and relatively weak central government entirely populated by elite politicians

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as another major obstacle to equality for the masses, since a situation is created where little to no
alternative policy theories exist to challenge the current one (Mills 1953). Mills realized that the
individual rights and freedoms promised to all Americans in the Bill of Rights did not add up to
distributive and effective power for the masses, and a society where critical thinking is
discouraged and everyone mindlessly pursues overpriced capitalist goods while struggling to
surviving on the pitiful wages this same group of connected individuals pay them. This outlook
for the future disturbed Mills greatly and he encouraged the students and young minds of the
New Left movement to use their sociological imaginations to solve social inequality and fight
back against elite dominance while also educating followers on who really controls the power in
our country. If this was not accomplished, Mills theorized society would become a mass of one
dimensional conformists with no individual identities, surviving off the crumbs of salary
thrown at them by the gluttonous Power Elite (Mills 1956). I wonder how Mills would have
reacted if he were alive in to see conditions in the present day.
Marx
The embodiment of everything capitalists and McCarthyists despise, Karl Marx is
credited as the founder of conflict theory whose philosophy teaches that social change and major
societal shifts are started by conflict and class struggle between opposing powers rather than
moral or religious reasons. Marx was the ultimate socialist/communist, and him and C. Wright
Mills were both able to recognize the power structure in capitalist countries favor individualism
and greed rather than sacrificing personal power for the greater good (Mills 79, Marx 09 .
Economic domination of capital and resources is the ultimate goal of capitalism; not social
peace and stability.

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Karl Marx referred to workers and producers of the non wealthy lower class collectively
as the proletariat, who are dependent on a class of owners of the means of production he
termed the bourgeois for their survival (Marx 2009). C. Wright Mills work on the Power Elite
undoubtedly drew some amount of influence from ideas Marx expressed in his magnum opus,
Das Kapital. The modern bourgeois class started to form along with the industrial revolution, as
the development of groundbreaking technology like the automobile, railroads, and electricity
changed the way of life for many Americans (Shapiro). The development of these new
industries coincided with large numbers of people relocating to urban cities for a better way of
life, and eventually the factories and mass production lines that revolutionized labor in 20th
century came to life. Businessmen like Andrew Carnegie, Henry Ford, and John D. Rockefeller
gained enormous amounts wealth and fame from their work in these industries as the public
(along with government) became increasingly dependent on the services their corporations
provided. Thus an elite class with unparalleled influence was cemented, and the vast
commercial empires these men created are still active and strong profitable today. As of today,
the elite top 5% of our population control 95% of the wealth and resources, and the federal
government isnt even part of a large chunk of that. Indeed, this capitalist system of free trade
and federal deregulation has allowed our government and many of our lawmakers to become
dependent on the funding of elite executives of multinational corporations, whose yearly revenue
is sometimes more than the GDP of small countries.
Eventually, the power that comes with owning valuable capital and resources allowed
these corporate machines an unprecedented level of influence that ultimately surpassed our
federal governments long ago. Sociologists of today automatically recognize the threat to social
order this situation presents as the state is the only authority which should be allowed to use

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violence and weaponry against people legitimately, and any outside influence on this power is
both immoral and illegitimate (Mills 1956). Marx and Mills were also aware of the dangers of
private interests in the free and open market, and both men predicted that individuals with
enormous amounts of capital would eventually start to exercise illegal influence over the public
(Mills 79, Marx 09 . As our government began to rely on corporate services and financial
assistance, an unequal structure began to embed itself in our culture. American blue collar
workers are slowly became alienated from the fruits of their labor due to a widespread lack of
employee organization primarily caused by the elite discouraging and lobbying against unions.
Also, increasing outsourcing of American jobs to foreign countries for cheaper labor has been
horrible for our huge middle class, but fantastic for the small number of elite businessmen who
will no doubt end up with huge pockets at the expense of equality in our country.
Mills and Marx agree that capitalist values that emphasize wealth accumulation over
morality have allowed some private individuals and corporations to become so powerful the state
cannot effectively regulate them, and sometimes the federal government even has to depend on
them for funding! From my reading of selections from their respective writings Das Kapital and
The Power Elite, I noticed Marx and Mills share a similar belief that the political interests of the
non-wealthy majority cannot be represented effectively in the presence of this illegitimate power.
The poor working class along with minorities not yet completely healed from slavery are
disproportionately punished and incarcerated by predatory laws targeted at them to maintain elite
dominance
The Oppressed
People of color are shown to be disproportionately arrested for minor offenses compared
to whites, and many areas would care not to lose the revenue made from court fees and sentence

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deferral programs pushed on these groups. A 2013 study conducted by the American Civil
Liberties Union showed that while African Americans make up 22% of the population here in
North Carolina, they accounted for 50% of marijuana related arrests despite the fact that whites
and blacks use cannabis at similar rates (ACLU 2013). These prisoners are predominantly lower
class minorities who all too often resort to selling marijuana and other narcotics to make a living.
The charges that got them there will follow them the rest of their lives and will severely decrease
any chance of economic advancement in the outside world, as failing background checks will
limit their chances of finding a job that pays enough to support them and their families in tough
economic times. This is why many drug offenders often go back to selling narcotics, as it is the
only way they can find to make a comfortable living.
Increasing competition for the shrinking number of capitalists leftovers by large
populations allows capitalists employers and executives to implement things like drug testing
and increasingly unforgiving background checks as ways to weed out (get it?) undesirables from
their work force . Drug possession, misconduct and other lower level misdemeanors are
frequently committed by all races and social classes, but people in the middle or bottom of the
social food chain with little to no resources are still harshly and unfairly punished compared to
those at the top. A young, non-wealthy person such as myself who gets a drug possession
charge on their record will certainly have a harder time finding a job, renting out an apartment,
getting a loan, or anything else that subjects them to background checks.
In the Sociological Imagination. C. Wright Mills wrote that these attempts at moral
regulations are rarely effective in determining a persons character in most cases and leads one
to focus on an individual commitment to a moral order without examining the nature of that
order I interpret this as meaning that industry standards such as drug free workplace and

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employee retail competence tests advocated for by the power elite are really not effective in
guaranteeing a safe and competent workplace, and instead they serve the purpose of reinforcing
inequality by screening out otherwise good candidates for a job. Another source of inequality
discussed by Mills and Marx is the distrust and ill sentiment in minority communities toward the
police. Every police force is supposed to protect every citizen equally under the law, yet we
have seen officers continually over-police minority communities to rack up easy petty drug and
misdemeanor crimes through illegal searches and general harassment (Garmire).

According to

the Bureau of Justice Statistics, one in three black men can expect to go to prison in their
lifetime (BJS) way more than any other ethnic group in our country. Concurrently, these same
policemen that harassas and profile black citizens constantly under police the same communities
when they genuinely need them, for example responding slowly when somebody is attacked and
then not even investigating the case afterwards since they dont consider it worth the time
(Garmire). I am not arguing that all police forces act in this manner, but as we have seen
recently in Chicago and Ferguson police misconduct is a real problem and another reason there is
so much inequality in our country.
These occupational and legal disadvantages degrade the lifestyle of lower class people
disproportionately, as they would not be as likely to have alternative opportunities or means of
advancement compared to a person from a wealthy bourgeois background (Shapiro). While it is
certainly reasonable to desire the best workforce possible for your business, drug testing
protocols often punish the relatively harmless marijuana the same as much harder narcotics like
heroin and cocaine. The fact that any kind of minor drug use or other offense is this damaging to
a lower class person's chance of social mobility is severely unjust in a society where all types of
people and social classes commit the same crimes buts still have the opportunity to advance.

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The War on Drugs

Our country spends billions funding law enforcement efforts for our War on Drugs,

and even more housing and feeding prisoners serving time for nonviolent drug offenses
(NORML 2014). This national campaign is both unpopular and ineffective as Americans
continue to find a way to enjoy their substances regardless, along with the fact that many people
see the continued legal sale of alcohol and tobacco as hypocritical and defeating the purpose of
the supposed cause: preserving our nations health. On the contrary, Marx would agree that the
ulterior focus of such campaigns is oppression of the lower class and minorities with predatory
drug laws, and financial exploitation of wealthy bourgeois children who can afford to pay the
fines and lawyers.
There are certainly a large amount of people in our nation who would love to see the
decriminalization of narcotics like as marijuana reformed, even if just for medicinal purposes.
An AP poll shows that more than seventy percent of Americans support doctors being able to
prescribe medical marijuana for certain conditions, and even more believe the revenue it can
generate from taxes can help our nations economy (Campbell 2015). This tide of favorable
public opinion toward drug law reforms has even reached North Carolina, where a bill was
introduced to allow medicinal use of cannabis, but was swiftly defeated. Marxist theorist may
explain the legalization movement not taking off here like it has in other states is due to
traditional powers embedded in here, specifically big tobacco and religion. Organizations that
support cannabis legalization dont have anything close to the amount of money and outreach
these institutions possess. Religion is a large part of most peoples lives in the bible belt and I
doubt that will change anytime soon. While the bible doesnt specifically condemn marijuana;
older and more conservative religious leaders who possess a large amount of social power in our

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smaller rural communities are still heavily opposed to the drug. The tough fact at this point in
time is that the most powerful traditional institutions in our state are both very conservative and
against drug reform.
Sociologically speaking, most traditional conservative and religious groups tend to
oppose marijuana legalization based on shared traditional values including avoiding mind
altering substances. However, major capitalists economic players such as pharmaceutical
corporations and the private prison industry oppose drug policy reform for ulterior reasons which
I believe are best illustrated by Marxist principles. Such powerful capitalist entities stand to
benefit more from the continued criminalization of pot and other controlled substances as
opposed to legalization as Marx explains they are ultimately more concerned with the
accumulation of capital rather than the improvement of social conditions (1883). Cannabis in
particular is a major threat to their precious profits as the plant has been clinically proven to be
effective in helping people suffering from symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
and other mental woes, as well as alleviating the negative effects of radiation in cancer patients
undergoing chemotherapy ( Berlatsky 2012). The low cost and wide availability of cannabisderived treatments would be a disaster for pharmaceutical firms as resourceful people could
grow it in their homes inconspicuously and potentially pass it along to others.
The Future
Twenty-three states so far have legalized medicinal cannabis use. Alaska, Colorado,
Oregon and Washington, and Washington D.C. now allow recreational consumption of cannabis.
Now, several jurisdictions in North Carolina have passed laws decriminalizing the possession of
small amounts of marijuana, meaning they have made punishment equivalent to a minor traffic
violation (Norml 2014). My recent undergraduate studies of Sociology have influenced my

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thought process and mindset more than I ever could have imagined. The sociological lens I view
the world with now both fascinate and depress me, but I have learned in life you must take the
good with the bad. Indeed, the Eastern Yin-Yang duality is a concept that can be used to
understand why our country has come so far and achieved such extraordinary accomplishments
but fails miserably sometimes at a simple task: treating everyone the same. The social gap and
inequality in America is unfortunately something that is forever embedded in the roots as our
nation, as the exploitation of African labor through enslavement by white colonists was
indubitably an essential part of how our country became what it is today. Institutionalized
racism perpetrated against African Americans has persisted well up to the present day, even
though conditions for them and other lower class minorities have definitely improved relative to
last century, but for how long I am not sure.

Works Cited
NORML.org - Working to Reform Marijuana Laws. (n.d.). Retrieved December 16, 2015, from
http://norml.org/
Berlatsky, N. (2012). Marijuana. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press.
Garmire, B., & Rubin, J. (1972). The police & the community. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins
University Press.
Shapiro, T., Meschede, T., & Osoro, S. (2014). The Widening Racial Wealth Gap. The Assets
Perspective.
Mills, C. (1963). Power, politics, and people; the collected essays of C. Wright Mills. New York:
Oxford University Press.

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Mills, C. (1959). The sociological imagination. New York: Oxford University Press.
Marx, K., & Marx, K. (2009). Das kapital a critique of political economy. Washington, D.C.:
Regnery Pub. ;.
Mills, C. (1956). The power elite. New York: Oxford University Press.
Legalizing Marijuana. (n.d.). Retrieved December 16, 2015, from
http://interactives.ap.org/2015/marijuana/
American Civil Liberties Union. (n.d.). Retrieved December 16, 2015, from
https://www.aclu.org/