C. Wright Mills: Work vs. Leisure Activity

Posted by admin on Friday, January 11, 2013

C. Wright Mills Money Quote saying making and spending are merely methods of using time – one to gain income, the other to let it go. C. Wright Mills said:
 

 

“Much work is merely a way to make money; much leisure is merely a way to spend it” — C. Wright Mills

 

 

In this quote, sociologist C. Wright Mills is making a commentary on work and leisure in modern society. He suggests that for many people, work is simply a means to an end of earning money to survive, rather than being a personally fulfilling endeavor.

Similarly, he implies that for many, leisure time is mainly spent consuming and spending the money earned from work, instead of engaging in truly enriching activities.

The quote conveys Mills’ view that both work and leisure for many have become detached from deeper meaning and purpose, and primarily serve the goal of economic productivity and consumption in a capitalist system.