Sociological imagination, a term introduced by sociologist C. Wright Mills in 1959, refers to the ability to recognize that an individual's private troubles are a product of the public issues, and that the individual have not full control of it. It can help to provide a better understanding about the current social problems facing our nation. One of the most frequent social problems is the high rate of unemployment in the United States. Some of them are beyond an individual's control, and they actually are a reflect the social context. Although Social Imagination does not encourage the idea that sometimes people do not have choices, they do have options and responsibilities. It can provide solutions to common problems. Unemployment is due to different social actions, historical and cultural factors that are common across the states.
In order to better understand the concept of Sociological Imagination one must understand the meaning of private troubles, and social issues separately and then find the close relationship between them. In this concept the notion of private troubles refers to the individual's personal life, experiences and human nature. On the other hand the social issues are a matter that is related with the person's social, cultural and historical life. For example, "Consider marriage. Inside a marriage a man and a woman may experience personal troubles, but when the divorce rate during the first four years of marriage is 850 out of every 1,000 attempts, this is an indication of a structural issue having to do with the institutions of marriage and the family and other institutions that bear upon them" ( Mills, 1959). This example serves to clearly understand the close relationship between private problems, those that are personal, and public affairs which by their repeated social connotation become something known and common to all.
The childhood is the most important part in a person's life.