--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The economy - once a great scatter of…" description: "\"The economy - once a great scatter of small productive units in autonomous balance, has become dominated by two or three hundred giant corporations, ad..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/782/c-wright-mills-9475_autonomous_the-economy-once-a-great-scatter-of-smal_1484196.jpg" --- # The economy - once a great scatter of small productive… ![“The economy - once a great scatter of small productive units in autonomous balance, has become dominated by two or three hundred giant corporations, administratively and politically interrelated... The political order, once a decentralized set of several dozen states with a weak spinal cord, has…” quote by C. Wright Mills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/782/c-wright-mills-9475_autonomous_the-economy-once-a-great-scatter-of-smal_1484196.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/782/c-wright-mills-9475_autonomous_the-economy-once-a-great-scatter-of-smal_1484196.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/782/c-wright-mills-9475_autonomous_the-economy-once-a-great-scatter-of-smal_1484196.jpg) > “The economy - once a great scatter of small productive units in autonomous balance, has become dominated by two or three hundred giant corporations, administratively and politically interrelated... The political order, once a decentralized set of several dozen states with a weak spinal cord, has become a centralized executive establishment which has taken up into itself many powers previously scattered... The military order, once a slim establishment in a context of distrust fed by state militia, has become the largest and most expensive feature of government.” [C. Wright Mills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-wright-mills/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage critiques the concentration of economic, political, and military power into a few large entities, eroding decentralized balance and autonomy. **In simple terms:** Power is now concentrated in few large corporations and governments. Key Takeaway Promote decentralization and local autonomy. Themes power centralization decentralization politics Mood critical analytical Type political economic When to use this quote - small business support - local governance - policy reform - citizen activism Key Concepts political economy elite theory Questions to Reflect On - What mechanisms can rebalance power? - How can citizens influence large institutions? A Different Perspective It may understate benefits of scale and coordination. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Administratively Politically](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/administratively-politically-5416820/) [Autonomous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/autonomous/) [Balance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/balance/) [Centralized](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/centralized-997347/) [Centralized Executive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/centralized-executive-5416819/) [Cords](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cords/) [Corporations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/corporations/) [Corporations Administratively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/corporations-administratively-5416821/) [Distrust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/distrust/) [Dozen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dozen/) [Economy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economy/) [Establishment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/establishment/) [Executives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/executives/) [Expensive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expensive/) [Features](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/features/) [Feds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feds/) [Giants](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giants/) [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [Hundred](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hundred/) [Military](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/military/) [Militia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/militia/) [Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order/) [Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political/) [Political Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political-order-1525902/) [Productive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/productive/) [Slim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slim/) [Spinal cord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spinal-cord/) [States](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/states/) [Taken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taken/) [Three](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/three/) [Two](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two/) [Units](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/units/) [Weak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weak/) ## Related quotes > [“Armed groups first degrade a political order, and then transform it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/armed-groups-first-degrade-a-political-order-and-then-transform-it/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [All political order presupposes a pre-political order, a sense that people belong together. And then, of course, they might seek a contract that embodies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-scruton/all-political-order-presupposes-a-pre-political-order-a-sense-that/) [Roger Scruton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-scruton/) > [The agony of international relations is the need to try to practice politics without the basic conditions for political order.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-crick/the-agony-of-international-relations-is-the-need-to-try-to-practice/) [Bernard Crick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-crick/) > [Put no faith in salvation through the political order.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/put-no-faith-in-salvation-through-the-political-order/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [“The most durable kind of change is that which is people-driven. In each of our transitions - from colonialism to independence, to development and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sbyudhoyono/the-most-durable-kind-of-change-is-that-which-is-people-driven-in/) [SBYudhoyono](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sbyudhoyono/) > [I think that it’s premature to call Libya a democracy because political order is still so fragile there and the command by the state…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-diamond/i-think-that-it-s-premature-to-call-libya-a-democracy-because/) [Larry Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-diamond/) > [I wasnt political in order to be political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-wasnt-political-in-order-to-be-political/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Since the Enlightenment, the political order is an order of freedom. The political structures are no longer given, previous to man's freedom, but are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustavo-gutierrez/since-the-enlightenment-the-political-order-is-an-order-of-freedom/) [Gustavo Gutiérrez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustavo-gutierrez/) > [Ultimately, political order does not generate itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-scruton/ultimately-political-order-does-not-generate-itself/) [Roger Scruton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-scruton/) > [Politics now is fractured. The rising tide of nationalism and populism threatens to consume our politics. Whether it is Trump or Putin abroad, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-swinson/politics-now-is-fractured-the-rising-tide-of-nationalism-and-populism/) [Jo Swinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-swinson/) > [“What is the Third Estate? Everything. What has it been hitherto in the political order? Nothing. What does it desire to be? Something.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmanuel-joseph-siey-s/what-is-the-third-estate-everything-what-has-it-been-hitherto-in-the/) [Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmanuel-joseph-siey-s/) > [“The true state will be oriented against both capitalism and communism. At its center will stand a principle of authority and a transcendent symbol…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julius-evola/the-true-state-will-be-oriented-against-both-capitalism-and-communism/) [Julius Evola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julius-evola/) > [“Political order, in short, requires cultural unity, something that politics itself can never provide.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-scruton/political-order-in-short-requires-cultural-unity-something-that/) [Roger Scruton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-scruton/) > [“When we take an active interest in matters of doubtful relevance at moments that are chosen by tyrants and spooks, we participate in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/when-we-take-an-active-interest-in-matters-of-doubtful-relevance-at/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [The world has become so complex that the idea of a power in which everything comes together and can be controlled in a centralized…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ulrich-beck/the-world-has-become-so-complex-that-the-idea-of-a-power-in-which/) [Ulrich Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ulrich-beck/) ## More by C. Wright Mills > [As a social and as a personal force, religion has become a dependent variable. It does not originate; it reacts. It does not denounce;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-wright-mills/as-a-social-and-as-a-personal-force-religion-has-become-a-dependent/) [C. Wright Mills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-wright-mills/) > [Every revolution has its counterrevolution - that is a sign the revolution is for real](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-wright-mills/every-revolution-has-its-counterrevolution-that-is-a-sign-the/) [C. Wright Mills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-wright-mills/) > [For the first time in American history, men in authority are talking about an 'emergency' without a foreseeable end... such men as these are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-wright-mills/for-the-first-time-in-american-history-men-in-authority-are-talking/) [C. Wright Mills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-wright-mills/) > [Prestige is the shadow of money and power. Where these are, there it is. Like the national market for soap or automobiles and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-wright-mills/prestige-is-the-shadow-of-money-and-power-where-these-are-there-it-is/) [C. Wright Mills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-wright-mills/) > [America is a nation with no truly national city, no Paris, no Rome, no London, no city which is at once the social center,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-wright-mills/america-is-a-nation-with-no-truly-national-city-no-paris-no-rome-no/) [C. Wright Mills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-wright-mills/) > [What we experience in various and specific milieux, I have noted, is often caused by structural changes. Accordingly, to understand the changes of many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-wright-mills/what-we-experience-in-various-and-specific-milieux-i-have-noted-is/) [C. Wright Mills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-wright-mills/) > [The nearest the modern general or admiral comes to a small-arms encounter of any sort is at a duck hunt in the company of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-wright-mills/the-nearest-the-modern-general-or-admiral-comes-to-a-small-arms/) [C. Wright Mills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-wright-mills/) > [IBM Plus Reality Plus Humanism = Sociology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-wright-mills/ibm-plus-reality-plus-humanism-sociology/) [C. Wright Mills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-wright-mills/) > [You can never really understand an individual unless you also understand the society,historical time period in which they live,personal troubles, and social issues](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-wright-mills/you-can-never-really-understand-an-individual-unless-you-also/) [C. Wright Mills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-wright-mills/) > [Fate has to do with events in history that are the summary and unintended results of innumerable decisions of innumerable men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-wright-mills/fate-has-to-do-with-events-in-history-that-are-the-summary-and/) [C. Wright Mills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-wright-mills/) > [Whatever sociology may be, it is the result of constantly asking the question, what is the meaning of this?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-wright-mills/whatever-sociology-may-be-it-is-the-result-of-constantly-asking-the/) [C. Wright Mills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-wright-mills/) > [The mass production of distraction is now as much a part of the American way of life as the mass production of automobiles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-wright-mills/the-mass-production-of-distraction-is-now-as-much-a-part-of-the/) [C. Wright Mills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-wright-mills/) > [If we accept the Greek's definition of the idiot as an altogether private man, then we must conclude that many American citizens are now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-wright-mills/if-we-accept-the-greek-s-definition-of-the-idiot-as-an-altogether/) [C. Wright Mills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-wright-mills/) > [Seldom aware of the intricate connection between the patterns of their own lives and the course of world history, ordinary people do not usually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-wright-mills/seldom-aware-of-the-intricate-connection-between-the-patterns-of/) [C. Wright Mills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-wright-mills/) > [Neither the life of an individual nor the history of a society can be understood without understanding both.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-wright-mills/neither-the-life-of-an-individual-nor-the-history-of-a-society-can-be/) [C. Wright Mills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-wright-mills/) [Explore all 70 C. Wright Mills quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-wright-mills/) ## More Autonomous quotes > [While much of modern behavioral and social science treats individuals as autonomous agents, it is absolutely clear that the way we think and act…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-r-nelson/while-much-of-modern-behavioral-and-social-science-treats-individuals/) [Richard R. Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-r-nelson/) > [Autonomous vehicles, because they'll be able to operate at a lower cost, will be able to pull more consumers into the Lyft network. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-zimmer/autonomous-vehicles-because-they-ll-be-able-to-operate-at-a-lower/) [John Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-zimmer/) > [Melbourne, where I grew up, is one of the street art capitals of the world. Something about discovering freshly painted walls always fills me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-mitchell/melbourne-where-i-grew-up-is-one-of-the-street-art-capitals-of-the/) [Penelope Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-mitchell/) > [“Last Wednesday Vince Cable, the UK business secretary, invited British cities to express their interest in being used as testing grounds for driverless cars.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/last-wednesday-vince-cable-the-uk-business-secretary-invited-british/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Before a leader can be accepted, let alone succeed, autonomous professionals must agree to be influenced by that person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-maister/before-a-leader-can-be-accepted-let-alone-succeed-autonomous/) [David Maister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-maister/) > [The challenge in scoring a sequel is, how do you not get bored? The only way around that one is to go, "Okay, let's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-zimmer/the-challenge-in-scoring-a-sequel-is-how-do-you-not-get-bored-the/) [Hans Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-zimmer/) > [“Autonomous people assert themselves against the status quo. They don't accept the prevailing opinion just because it's the one given to them. Nothing creative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-brito/autonomous-people-assert-themselves-against-the-status-quo-they-don-t/) [Maria Brito](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-brito/) > [People in my organization were very outspoken about what we should be doing with the Department of Defense. One of them is work on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-dean/people-in-my-organization-were-very-outspoken-about-what-we-should-be/) [Jeff Dean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-dean/) > [My personal fascination with the power of the crowd has been growing: Exactly what can a 'crowd' accomplish? We know crowds can raise billions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-diamandis/my-personal-fascination-with-the-power-of-the-crowd-has-been-growing/) [Peter Diamandis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-diamandis/) > [The autonomous car is definitely coming, and when that stage comes, this ride-share business becomes even more important.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masayoshi-son/the-autonomous-car-is-definitely-coming-and-when-that-stage-comes/) [Masayoshi Son](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masayoshi-son/) > [A song has a life of its own. It's an autonomous thing, separate from your own experience, almost. And the mere repetition of it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-vincent/a-song-has-a-life-of-its-own-it-s-an-autonomous-thing-separate-from/) [St. Vincent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-vincent/) > [We only want autonomous collaborators that are incentivized to make or break their own income.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-salatin/we-only-want-autonomous-collaborators-that-are-incentivized-to-make/) [Joel Salatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-salatin/) > [We don't know what the trajectory of autonomous or linked vehicles will be, and we don't have a clear understanding on what that means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-wheeler/we-don-t-know-what-the-trajectory-of-autonomous-or-linked-vehicles/) [Ted Wheeler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-wheeler/) > [If the ongoing struggles waged by young people are to matter, demonstrations and protests must give way to more sustainable organizations that develop alternative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/if-the-ongoing-struggles-waged-by-young-people-are-to-matter/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [The modern world needs people with a complex identity who are intellectually autonomous and prepared to cope with uncertainty; who are able to tolerate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-j-havighurst/the-modern-world-needs-people-with-a-complex-identity-who-are/) [Robert J. Havighurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-j-havighurst/) [Browse all 187 Autonomous quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/autonomous/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The economy - once a great scatter of small productive units in autonomous balance, has become dominated by two or three hundred giant corporations, administratively and politically interrelated... The political order, once a decentralized set of several dozen states with a weak spinal cord, has become a centralized executive establishment which has taken up into itself many powers previously scattered... The military order, once a slim establishment in a context of distrust fed by state militia, has become the largest and most expensive feature of government.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "C. 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