Sociological Imagination By C Wright Mills

The concept of the sociological imagination was first conceived in 1970 by a sociologist by the name of C Wright Mills. Mills concept of a sociological imagination highlights the interdependent relationship between the individual and society. According to Willis, it is important to consider four key factors, namely, the historical, cultural, structural, and critical factors, when conducting a sociological analysis. This essay will explain and analyse how Mill’s idea of a sociological imagination can be applied to indigenous health and life expectancy, and it will demonstrate how public ‘issues’ are the cause of what are typically perceived to be private ‘troubles’ (Germov, 2009).
An article published in “The Conversation” in June 2012 talks about the inequalities that Indigenous Australian’s experience in comparison to non-indigenous Australian’s. The data and information used in the analysis of this article was collected from the 2011 Australian census. The article reports that Indigenous Australian’s are relatively worse-off than non-Indigenous Australian’s in a number of key areas, such as: Education; and income and employment. The article concludes that whilst the inequality gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australian’s is narrowing, nevertheless, Indigenous Australian’s are still at a significant
disadvantage compared to non-Indigenous Australian’s (Biddle, 2012).
Figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show that gaps in Indigenous life expectancy, disability, and suicide rates have slightly narrowed over recent decades, however, the latest figures show that Indigenous Australian’s are still significantly disadvantaged.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Indigenous life expectancy is approximately ten years lower, and the median age of Indigenous Australian’s is Sixteen years lower. Furthermore, Indigenous Australian’s are twice as likely to commit suicide and to be living with a severe disability, and a significantly higher proportion of Indigenous Australian’s live in rural and remote
areas.
Life expectancy and personal health of Indigenous Australian’s is significantly worse than it is for non-indigenous Australian’s due to a number of reasons, such as: Lower levels of educational attainment, thus less awareness and understanding of health conditions; Poor lifestyle factors and choices affecting their health and quality of life; Poorer access to the internet and mobile phones; Lower levels of income and employment, thus less consumer power and financial freedom; Negative portrayal of Indigenous culture in the media, namely focusing on crime, welfare dependency, and substance abuse, in turn leading to an indifference in non-Indigenous circles to offer help to improve Indigenous health and inequalities; Finally, higher proportions living in rural and remote areas where access to health services and facilities is extremely limited, if not non-existent (Biddle 2012, Stoneham 2014, & Barclay 2014).
The lack of social structures and organisations in place in rural and remote communities means that individuals cannot access health services and appropriate medical facilities (Barclay, 2014). Thus, if an individual cannot access medical treatment and therapy for their health condition, then it is likely that their health condition will deteriorate to the point where their quality of life is severely diminished, and in extreme cases, may potentially die from an otherwise preventable and treatable illness or health condition.
Thus, by employing Mill’s concept of the sociological imagination to analyse health issues it is clear to see that individual health issues, or personal ‘troubles’, have profound social root causes and are deeply influenced and shaped by public ‘issues’.