SOCIOLOGICAL IMAGINATION

4.0 SOCIOLOGICAL IMAGINATION

Sociological imagination is a type of reasoning which establishes interrelationship/link between personal trouble and Public trouble. It is a way of viewing personal difficulties as partly being caused by the society’s structure.

To put it in more technical terms, it is a process of linking personal experiences with social institutions and one’s life history. In this process an individual relates impersonal and remote historical forces with the events of an individual’s life. In sociological imagination people look at their problems as social issues and try to link those problems/experiences with the working of the society. In other words, it a perspective which links personal circumstances (poverty, divorce, unemployment) to the possible social forces that can be said to be relevant for the causes for such conditions.

Individual personal difficulties overlap with public issues. Therefore, the causes and solutions of personal problems should not be left with individuals concerned alone but rather focus on the economic and political institutions for definition of such problems; for understanding its causes, and for a range of possible solutions.

Personal trouble: is a private problem affecting an individual and the people with whom he associates regularly/his or her immediate associates. The problem usually arises from the person’s traits or characteristics such as mood, personal character, or ability. Personal problems are usually solved by the individual himself by changing his character or changing his immediate relationship.

Social/Public issue: Problem or set of problems that affect a majority of people and whose causes are beyond individual person’s control because they stem from the crises in the larger social system. The solutions of public issues are obtained at the societal level.

A good example of sociological imagination is unemployment. If for example, one person is unemployed, the reasons for his unemployment can be attributed to his personal problems such as lack of skills, failure in college, etc. But suppose in a country of thirty million people, ten million are not employed.

The reasons cannot be attributed to those individuals alone but to the government as well. Maybe the government structure or policy is inhibiting them from being employed. The problem will become a public issue and will lead to policy issues designed to relieve private problems.

Other such problems include underemployment, cultural misunderstanding,  immigration, information explosion,  AIDS,  crime,  illegal drug abuse,  gender inequality,  family breakdown.

The primary aim of sociological imagination is to help an individual/people to develop the ability to participate in the events of social life and at the same time be keen enough to analyze broader meanings of what is taking place in the society or the world at large.

The term “Sociological imagination” was coined by an American Sociologist   Wright C. Mills in 1959.

Background of Mills:

Wright Charles Mills (1916-1962) was born on 28 August 1916 in Waco, Texas. His father was an insurance broker and his mother was a housewife; they were of Irish-English origin. Mills lived a relatively isolated life because of the nature of his family – frequent change of residence and his father was a man of trips; he seldom stayed at home.

He studied at Dallas Technical High School with the intention of becoming an engineer. After his graduation he entered Texas Agricultural & Mechanical College, military school in Texas. As a freshman, he published a letter to the student’s news paper, the Batallion, protested against the harassment the freshmen were receiving from their juniors, the upperclassmen.

 In 1935 he joined the University of Texas at Austin. Here Mills studied philosophy, sociology, cultural anthropology, social psychology and economics. While still an undergraduate student he was nominated to become a tutorial assistant of professor George Gentry in sociology.

In October, 1937, he married Dorothy Smith (Freya), a bright and personable young woman who was a member of  Young Men's and Women's Christian Association, an organization which advocated  social change like the education of Negro sharecroppers. They had one daughter, Pamela. Later, Mills became interested in sociological theory (he was influenced by the ideas of Marx), urban sociology, social psychology, economics and empirical research. He received his B.A in sociology and M.A in philosophy in 1939.

Thereafter, Mills joined the University of Wisconsin for his doctorate in sociology. He started writing articles in sociological journals. He completed his studies in 1914 and was appointed associate professor at the University of Maryland.

In 1947, he divorced Dorothy. He married Ruth, they had a daughter Kathryn in 1955. But Mills and Ruth divorsed in 1959. In the same year  Mills married Yaroslava Surmach, and in 1960 their son Nikolas was born.

During  this time Mills devoted his time to writing:

1.      New Men of Power (1948),

2.      White Collar (1951),

3.      The Power Elite (1956),

4.      The Causes of World War Three ( 1958),

5.      The Sociological Imagination ( 1959),

6.      Listen Yankee ( 1960).

Mills died of a heart attack on 20 March 1962.

“The Sociological Imagination” was his most influential book, especially in analyzing the social structure. It was in this book that Mills explained his pragmatic (solve issues practically) and sociological roots providing the techniques required for fulfilling what he called "the promise of sociology.“

“The sociological imagination enables us to grasp history and biography and the relations between the two within society. . .they are the questions inevitably raised by any mind possessing the sociological imagination. For that imagination is the capacity to shift from one perspective to another--from the political to the psychological; from examination of a single family to comparative assessment of the national budgets of the world; from the theological school to the military establishment; from considerations of an oil industry to studies of contemporary poetry. It is the capacity to range from the most impersonal and remote transformations to the most intimate features of the human self--and to see the relations between the two. Back of its use there is always the urge to know the social and historical meaning of the individual in the society and in the period in which he has his quality and his being (1959: 6-7).”

Mills suggests the use of imagination as important technique of  societal analysis. Through sociological imagination one is immersed in a deep commitment to one's problem, the definition of that problem(s) using abstract concepts so as to invoke links between personal difficulties and the society at large.

Mills was interested in the way personal problems are transformed into social issues. That is, how and when individuals define their troubles as due to larger forces beyond their own personal mistakes. According to Mills the key element of the sociological imagination is an ability to make a distinction between troubles and issues.

Mills' sociological imagination is centred on three aspects

1.      Structure of a particular society:  its difference from other types of social order; its essential components, and the meaning of its feature and  its process of change.

2.      The position of this society in history. That is, mechanisms of its forces of change, how it is affected by the historical period in which it moves.

3.      The relation of gender in this society.

Mills argued that people feel that their private lives are “traped” because they cannot understand the greater sociological patterns affecting their personal troubles. Unemployment, war, and marriage are types of private trouble whose causes have a societal dimension.

 Another example of the "sociological imagination" used by Mills himself and still present today is one's reaction to being unemployed. An individual may attribute his/her inability to find a job to his personal characteristics rather than the larger social forces at work such as the economy and job market. According to Mills Individuals who feel this way are "trapped" due to their narrowed vision of the problem of unemployment.

To solve this problem or feeling of being trapped, Mills suggested that people should engage in the process of trying to understand the interaction between individual lives and society.  Hence, he insisted: "neither the life of an individual nor the history of a society can be understood without understanding both“.

This understanding is what is called Sociological Imagination - that is, the 'quality of mind' which enables one to grasp "history and biography and the relations between the two within society".

Mills believed that "ordinary people do not possess the quality of mind essential to grasp the interplay of man and society, of biography and history, of self and world.”  Is this true?

It is commonly believed that Sociological imagination is much more needed today that it was even needed at the time of Mills. Hence the slogan  “Mills was a Moses who took social scientists to the promised land yet was unable to enter it himself.”

What are issues in our Tanzanian society lie between private trouble and public issues? Can we list them?

What is the attitude and ability of our people towards such problems: are they interested or concerned about them, do they possess a ‘quality of mind’ that Mills talks about  in order to address them? 

Is our people more focused on private issues and less on the social reality which creates them? Why?

How do we regard or view the disadvantaged or marginalized members of our society including, the poor, women, physically challenged (including Albino), mentally ill, etc.

What is the cause of their problems – God, ourselves, social inequalities, themselves? What shall we do to remove the reasons for their oppression– leave as it is, create social consciousness, become activists, change the government? How?

Mills’ insights on sociological imagination were expanded by other sociologists and created two important terminologies: Microsociology and Macrosociology.

Microsociology: It is an observation of behavior at the micro or small level when people are engaged in interaction in everyday life. It studies the smallest social units – Individuals, their thoughts and actions.

Macrosociology: It is a branch of sociology that studies the  broad social groups and organization including the state, social class, the economy, family, culture, and society.

Significance of sociological imagination:

1.      Sociological imagination empowers us to see how our opportunities, are shaped by the way in which behaviour is organized in society. Helps us to know that human dignity, pleasure, love, self-sacrifice, efforts are unlimited.

Those who possess this quality of mind (knowledge) will understand the forces shaping their lives as well as those of others. People shape society and society shapes them. They get the ability to distinguish between personal problem and public issue. For example, people living in poverty are enabled to understand that they are not alone, and should not blame themselves but criticize the social forces that have created their present conditions.

2.      Sociological imagination increases our chances to respond well/ appropriately to our opportunities and this depends on two factors: social relativity and transformative powers of history.

Social relativity: the view that ideas, beliefs, and behavior vary according to time and place. Many of our ideas and behavior do not originate from one individual but are products of the environment into which we were born. It helps us to see things can be otherwise/changed.

Transformative powers of history: the concept that most significant historical events have dramatic consequences on people’s opportunities and that see events in the context of time and place. Sociological imagination helps us to see that even personal experiences are shaped by time and place and by the transformative powers of history.

The concept of Global interdependence:

Closely associated with sociological imagination is the idea of Global interdependence: the state in which the lives of the people around the world are closely related in such a way that one country’s problems becomes part of a larger global situation/issue. Eg. Medical technology, Humanitarian assistance, Internet, Production process – Tvs, vehicles, raw materials.

What are current Global interdependence issues?

What type of responses is given?

Are they adequate?

Is Global interdependence selective?

How do third world countries respond to problems of developed countries?

What international agencies are directly linked with Global interdependence issues?

GLOBALIZATION:

Refers to the process of increasing the connectivity and interdependence of groups, institutions, organizations and nations of the world. People, groups, organizations and nations of the world are interdependent in economic, political, cultural, social perspectives. However, the word is often used to refer to economic phenomenon of the world (role of transnational corporations, global financial markets, world trade, etc.) It refers to the efforts of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and others to create a global free market for goods and services.

Factors /Driving forces contributing to Globalization:

Information and communication technology:

The contemporary world, especially the post world war II era, has witnessed the boom of transformation in communication technology. Eg. Replacement of analogue signals (through wires) by integrated systems which are less expensive. Introduction of Fibre-optical cables has accelerated the transmission of many channels at one time.

Secondly, communication in satellites has expanded international communication. Mobile phones and the internet, the global media have facilitated the flow of information.

Countries developed in these areas give its citizens a chance for global exposure at home, in the offices, school, etc.

Economic factors:

Globalization is facilitated by the integration of the world economy. The internet services have increased the transactions and exchange of economic services. Transnational corporations (companies that produce and market goods and services in more than one country eg. Coca-cola, Colgate, Palmolive, Kodak, Mitsubishi, Toyota, etc) are now spread all over the world.

Political changes:

The collapse of the Soviet Union communism led countries in the former Soiviet Union- eg. Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Hungury, Czech Republic to adopt Western style of economic and political systems. They are now part of the global community.

This ended the cold war where the countries of the first world stood aloof of countries of the sencond and third world.

Growth of Regional and international mechanism of government has also facilitated the process of globalization. International organizations such as the United Nations, European Union, African union bring national states together to discuss political issues.

Global civil societies such as Intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) eg. Civil aviation, and International Non-Governmental Organizations (INGOs) which work alongside governments in policy making and promote issues to international level eg. Green Peace, Amnesty International

GLOBAL DEBATE:

Globalization is  real. But its role is a subject of global debate. David Held(1999) conducted a survey on this controversy and discovered three schools of thought:

Skeptic school: For them globalization is not something new in the world (eg. Economic interdependence is not unprecedented). They quote the 19^th c statistics on world trade and investments. They argue that the only difference is modern intensity of interaction between nations.

For them the current world economy does not guarantee globalization because of economic trading blocks and tariffs. There is discrimination – countries of EU trade predominantly among themselves. And the same is true of countries of other regions of the world. There is, above all, increased marginalization of the South.

The Hyperglobalizers School: Globalization is real producing new global order by cross-border trade and production leading to borderless world in which market forces are more powerful than governments.

Therefore, individual countries no longer control their economies. Therefore there are: global capitalism, global governance, global civil societies.

Transformationalists: The world is being transformed, yet, but it still retains many of its old patterns eg. Governments still retain sovereignty and power in spite of global interdependence.

Global migration, information and influence contribute to diffusion of cultural influences – many cities now are multicultural.

Countries are restructuring for new forms of economic and social organizations that are non-territorial in biases.

Of the three, transformationists are near to the truth/correct. Skeptics underestimates world changes, hyperglobalizers overestimates global economic process. However, globalization is a challenging complex process.

Impact of globalization:

Individualism: Formerly, family, traditions and customs exercised strong influence on the lives of individuals. But under the conditions of globalization we are faced with individualism – people construct their own identities. Traditions and customs are pushed far by new global order.

Increased opportunities and Competitions: There are two schools of thought who are antagonistic on the issue of the role and effects of globalization: The pro-globalization and the Anti-globalization.

The former argue that globalization has brought opportunities for every individual in the world. Forexample, opportunities brought by Globalization to developing countries include: Greater access to developed country markets and technology, which leads to  improved productivity and higher living standard. Competition is natural in globalization in order to increase performance and efficiency. There are two major international organization which propagate this view: The World Trade Organization(WTO) and The World Economic Forum (WEF). The former is a pan-government entity consisting of 144 members formed to set rules of business to govern trade and capital flow in member states. WEF is a private foundation set as a networking forum for world business houses as well as for governments and non-profiting organizations.

The Anti-globalizes on the other hand argue that globalization is depriving the opportunities of poor people and weak business houses and organizations of the world to benefit from the world resources. Such people and companies have no capacity to compete with the more advanced countries and companies. Connecting them to the world is condemning them to death. A great majority of these developing countries remain removed from the process.

The increased economic interconnection has brought deep-seated political changes - poorer, 'peripheral', countries have become even more dependent on activities in 'central' economies such as the USA where capital and technical expertise tend to be located.

 There has also been a shift in power away from the nation state and toward multinational corporations. We also now witness the rise and globalization of the 'brand'. It isn't just that large corporations operate across many different countries - they have also developed and marketed their products. Brands like Coca Cola, Nike, Sony, and a host of others have become part of the fabric of vast numbers of people's lives, worldwide.

Besides, Globalization has brought many other challenges like growing inequality across and within nations, volatility in financial market and environmental deteriorations.

Anti-globalization organizations include: Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, Oxfarm, Countries of G77,

De-localization. Globalization has direct impact to individuals. Many of the activities that were performed by individuals previously involved face-to-face interaction,  are now conducted across great distances. There has been a significant de-localization in social and economic exchanges. A good example is Banking and retailing. These have adopted new technologies that involve people in less face-to-face interaction. Your contact at the bank is in a call centre many miles away; and when you buy goods on the internet the only person you might come into contact is, may be, the delivery driver. It is strange that even the computers taking our orders can be on a different continent; and the books can be located anywhere in the world.

The Shrinking power of national governments. The pinch of globalization is felt not only by individuals but also by national states. The major impact on these is the decline in the power of national governments to direct and influence their economies, economically, socially, culturally and politically. Shifts in economic activity in developed countries are felt in countries all over the globe regardless whether they are rich or poor. The emergence of institutions such as the World Bank, the European Union and the European Central Bank, involve new constraints and imperatives that can threaten the functioning of any government.

The most interesting part is the way globalization is shaping politics and policy formulation in the countries of the globe. Politics and policies are framed to adjust to the market forces and to favor the activities of rich nations of the world. Environments have been created to protect their properties and the International Criminal Court (ICC) is set to punish the transgressors.(eg. Kenya, Sudan, Iraq).

                                                  source; Mr Octavian Mahamba