In short, there are structural formations which lie behind global epiphenomena such as the Cold War and East-West relations. And as a result of structure and its complexity, it can leave many people feeling trapped and helpless, given that it takes a lot to understand and grasp all of the complexity. It takes both boldness and strength of character and mind to know and to submit to the truth. To borrow from C. Wright Mills:
“The very shaping of history now outpaces the ability of men to orient themselves in accordance with cherished values. And which values? Even when they do not panic, men often sense that older ways of feeling and thinking have collapsed and that newer beginnings are ambiguous to the point of moral stasis. Is it any wonder that ordinary men feel they cannot cope with the larger worlds with which they are so suddenly confronted? That they cannot understand the meaning of their epoch for their own lives? That – in defense of selfhood – they become morally insensible, trying to remain altogether private men? Is it any wonder that they come to be possessed by a sense of the trap?”
To know either your own biography or world history, you have to know both, as Mills argued. But most people do not know either one. They do not have the quality of mind to know both. Hence, the complications and problems we face both individually and collectively. To borrow from Mills yet again:
“It is not only information that they need – in this Age of Fact, information often dominates their attention and overwhelms their capacities to assimilate it. It is not only the skills of reason that they need – although their struggles to acquire these often exhaust their limited moral energy. What they need, and what they feel they need, is a quality of mind that will help them to use information and to develop reason in order to achieve lucid summations of what is going on in this world and of what may be happening within themselves.”
This quality of mind whereby we can make sense of both ourselves and our surroundings is what Mills called the “sociological imagination.” He wrote: “The sociological imagination enables us to grasp history and biography and the relations between the two within society.” He added: “That is its task and its promise.”
This quality of mind or “sociological imagination” becomes achievable and attainable when we come to realize that the limits of what we consider as “human nature” are much broader than what we assume or think. The historical and social process is a process of change, and change is understood when change is viewed as having “cultural meaning.” And the historical and social process encompasses both personal milieu and public structure, as Mills noted. Milieu is personal, while structure is public. But as Mills noted, there is a deep connection between both which is often overlooked or ignored or misunderstood. There is an “overlap” and interpenetration between the personal milieu on one hand and the public structure on the other hand which cannot be ignored or overlooked. There are “the personal troubles of milieu” on one hand and “the public issues of social structure” on the other hand. But both are nevertheless interconnected and linked to one another. There is an undeniable relation between both. In sum, and to borrow from Mills yet again:
“What we experience in various and specific milieux…is often caused by structural changes. Accordingly, to understand the changes of many personal milieux we are required to look beyond them. And the number and variety of such structural changes increase as the institutions within which we live become more embracing and more intricately connected with one another. To be aware of the idea of social structure and to use it with sensibility is to be capable of tracing such linkages among a great variety of milieux. To be able to do that is to possess the sociological imagination.”
The question is, how many of us actually have what it takes to acquire the sociological imagination and to exceed and go beyond the self-imposed limitations which would otherwise deprive us of it so that we can understand both ourselves and our surroundings?
Adam A. Azim 