A sociological perspective of social problems
A social problem is a condition that is deemed to have negative effects on individuals and the social world. Sociologists have used various theories to come up with a sociological perspective of social problems including unemployment (Loseke, 2017). This paper will explore the theory of social construction and sociological imagination and their application to unemployment as a social problem in Australia.
Social construct theory
Social construct theory examines how societies develop joint and unique understanding. This means an individual's understanding shapes other people's understanding. Therefore, people in a society develop an understanding of a perspective through life experiences and interactions with other individuals in the society (Galbin, 2014). When something is socially constructed it means that its existence is as a result of the contingent aspects of the social beings. A social construct is built on the basis of societal values, interests, and needs.
Sociological imagination
Sociological imagination is a term that was coined by Wright Mills to mean that individual problems are a cause of structural processes. Mills asserts that through our sociological imagination we are able to differentiate individual troubles and public problems (Scott & Nilsen, 2013). Sociological imagination creates a connection between our daily lives and experiences to the larger society. According to Mills, Personal problems or troubles are issues that affect a person in that the affected character and the society blame the individual's moral and personal failings. On the other hand, public problems are those issues that stem from the social structure and culture of a society and they affect many people in the society.
Unemployment as a public issue in Australia
Over the past years, Australia has suffered unemployment more so the youths who lack employment or face underemployment (Carvalho, 2015). This has been attributed to various structural factors. Using Mills' concept of sociological imagination, unemployment in Australia can be termed as a public issue (Scott & Nilsen, 2013). If only a few people lacked jobs, we could explain their unemployment as a personal problem and support it for different reasons. Some of the reasons could be laziness and maybe lack of good work habits. For the case of Australia, unemployment is as a result of lack of the required skills by people to fit in the Australian modern economy. Instead of companies training the unskilled locals, they are utilizing the labour of the skilled who are imported through the 457 visa program. Therefore, to resolve this problem, it is crucial to consider the political and economic institutions and not the mere individuals lacking jobs.
The social construct perspective of social problems
Using the social construct perspective, social problems are not predetermined. This means social problems become real when the society collaboratively perceive or define it as problematic. Regarding the high unemployment rate in Australia, it could not be seen as a problem if few people were unemployed due to what could be perceived personal causes. However, since it affects a large number of people, the society feels it is a major problem that should be solved. This may be because of the adverse effects associated with unemployment including poverty (Carvalho, 2015). Consequently, the powerful groups have insisted on how unemployment is a social problem such as politicians, the media, and religious leaders hence influencing the government and people's conceptions regarding the issue. This has resulted in seeking for long-term solutions to end unemployment in Australia.
Conclusion
Conclusively, sociological theoretical perspectives are important in understanding social problems in the society since in most cases problems are viewed as public problems and not personal issues. This results in quick resolution of the problems to avoid the negative effects associated with the social problems.
Bibliography
Carvalho, P., 2015. Youth unemployment in Australia. Policy: A Journal of Public Policy and Ideas, 31(4), p.36.
Galbin, A., 2014. An introduction to social constructionism. Social Research Reports, 26, p.82.
Loseke, D., 2017. Thinking about social problems: An introduction to constructionist perspectives. Routledge.
Scott, J. and Nilsen, A. eds., 2013. C. Wright Mills and the sociological imagination: Contemporary Perspectives. Edward Elgar Publishing.
