THE OPPRESSED MIDDLE: Politics of Middle Management

by Earl Shorris ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 1, 1980

This is one odd book--something like the world of Louis Auchincloss, as seen through the eyes of Hannah Arendt, as told to Gaff Sheehy--whose basic premise is the analogy of corporate management to the totalitarian state. Harper's editor Shorris begins by describing the principal social characteristics of modern industry and moves to a short course in the philosophy of totalitarianism, analyzing the contributions of Plato, Machiavelli, Rousseau, Marx, and industrial psychologists. More impressive than Shorris' digest of the literature, however, is his facility for identifying totalitarian elements of corporate management. If, as Shorris argues, the sine qua non of totalitarianism is that men ""accept an external definition of Happiness,"" the corporate analogy makes some sense; and Shorris reinforces his thesis with 40 ""scenes from corporate life."" Several of these vignettes stand up as starkly effective short stories on their own, quite apart from their ""political"" content, and many reveal intriguing parallels. In corporate management, like totalitarian regimes, most friendships are ""friendships of utility""; the real locus of power often rests in an impenetrable maze (which induces constant fear or complete obedience); men are atomized and rootless (the ""floating"" sensation generated by geographical transfers produces ""a kind of nihilism""); dismissals occur suddenly; and secrets abound. A sorry mess, says Shorris, for which the only cure is thinking: ""in such moments men learn that they are ends, not means, for both thinking and the thinker are invulnerable to powers that seek to use them."" Heavy going in the analytical chapters, but absorbing in its use of real-life examples to illustrate a troubling insight.

Pub Date: Feb. 1, 1980

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Anchor/Doubleday

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1980

Categories: NONFICTION