Sociological imagination is a concept that looks at how everyday world operates in order to make sense in the individual life. According to C. Wright Mills, ‘the quest for sociological understanding’ involves being conscious of the social processes. A person’s life is affected by his interaction with the society, and this interaction can explain certain events and decisions in life. In general there is a relationship between private and public issues.
I will look further on the issue of unemployment because I believe it is one of the greatest problems in the current society. When we apply sociological imagination in the issue of unemployment, we can understand the situation better. A jobless person will think that he cannot find work because he has a problem. That person will think that his character or skills are lacking. However, there are millions of unemployed people in the society. This shows that unemployment is a social problem. Stereotypes that individuals develop when dealing with unemployment should be discarded because it is a public issue.
Unemployment can be understood in the social, political and historical context of the society. The societal patterns affect individual lives and they are correlated. In the case of unemployment, the individual has to study the patterns in the society before blaming themselves. Since unemployment is a public issue, policy makers are looking for ways to solve the crisis.
Unemployment as a broad issue has various impacts. Studies show that unemployment has even caused mental disorders for many individuals. Unemployment has made people opt to criminal activities in order to fulfill their financial obligations. As a societal issue unemployment weakens labor unions and increases crime rate.
The impact of unemployment in an individual life is profound, but its impact in the society is also seen. Unemployment will bring a string of social and economic problems in the society. Individuals should not get carried away in their tiny world because the issues they face affect most people in the society.
References
Mills, C. W. (1999). The sociological imagination. Oxford University Press
Mills, C. Wright, "C. Wright Mills. “Homepage,” edited by Frank W. Elwell, 2001
Mooney, L. A & Knox, D. (2009). Understanding social problems. Wadsworth /Cengage Learning. 6th Edition
