Sociological Imagination Essay

The ‘sociological imagination’ is designed by C. Wright Mills as a creative and comprehensive way of viewing the world in order to better things that are happening within it and how this affects us. (Mills 19we). One of the most central ideas to Mill’s application of the imagination is the connection between the biography of the individual and the history of the society they live in. Viewing the two as related offers the sociologist the ‘bigger picture,’ as the life of an individual can shape their society and likewise, ‘he is made by society and by its historical push and shove.’ (Mills,19:6) He states that no social study is complete unless this connection been considered and explored. Mills describes how a ‘personal trouble’ affecting the

Three years ago my father died of very advanced lung cancer, which, after going to the doctor for over a year with definitive symptoms, had only been diagnosed 6 weeks earlier. My seventeen year old self could only comprehend the situation within the boundaries of my own milieu; however the sociological imagination encourages us to look beyond this. The state of the economy and the subsequence cuts to public services not only resulted in late diagnosis and a series of other mistakes which affected my family, they also affect wider society. The recent financial cuts to the NHS, together with increasing demands, has resulted in the loss of many important services, such as the walk-in clinics, which has resulted in more pressure on A&E (Patients Association). A recent survey by the Patients Association showed that 79% of people asked said they would be concerned about depending on NHS out-of-hours services in an emergency (Patients Association). As a country, Britain is very lucky to have a welfare state and social security, and the utilitarian social reforms are a proud part of our history. As one of the many public services now under threat from reduced funding and understaffing, it is hard not to view the current state of society and the government with disillusionment. Mills believed ‘it is this condition of uneasiness and indifference itself that is the signal feature