White Collar by C. Wright Mills — Read

The practice of a free intellectual life has in the course of this century undergone several transformations and come up against several rather distinct sets of circumstance. To follow these changes it is necessary to examine shifting models of thought and mood and to track down intangible influences. Throughout this century there has arisen a new kind of patronage system for free intellectuals, which at mid-century seems to have effected a loss of political will and even of moral hope.

An over-simplified history of free, political intellectuals in the United States falls into four broad phases, outlined according to their major areas of attention and their pivotal values.