Mills' concepts of troubles and issues related to population and society in contemporary social life - Essay Example

Mill’s concept of ‘troubles’ and ‘issues’ The rapid growth in population in the developed countries of the world, on account of immigration (legal and illegal) is one of the burning contemporary social issues. Though the concept of immigration is not new- however, in the recent past years, immigration has become a social issue. According to Mills, “A trouble is, thus, a private matter: values cherished by an individual are felt by him to be threatened (ibid.: 396).In contrast, issues have to do with matters that transcend these local environments of the individual and the limited range of his life (Mills 1967: 396; Mills 1959: 8) (infed)Immigrants may be driven by their personal troubles to go to foreign countries for employment or residence purposes.

As more and more immigrants trickle in any society, the existing members of that society initially face private troubles, which ultimately take the form of social issues like unemployment, inaccessibility or insufficiency of basic health facilities or over-burdening the host society in so many other ways. Law and order situation is also likely to be affected as crime rate begins to increase. According to a news report published in Hudson New York, on 21st September 2011, regarding the impact of immigration in the UK: “Since the election, however, immigration has risen 21%.

No less significant, while 400,000 new jobs have been created in the UK, 87% - that is to say, nearly nine out of ten – have gone to immigrants. The proportion is even higher than under the previous New Labour Government. It is perhaps no surprise, then, that Britain saw the highest rise in unemployment claims in two years this May, 2011.” (Milar) Thus, the native citizens of the UK are facing far greater social issues than the immigrants. In this regard, the immigrants are benefiting from this situation; while the native people are suffering.

This might result in hate crimes, or violence or ethnical discrimination against the immigrants that would deteriorate the society as a whole.Millar, A. (2011, September 21). Has the UKs new conservative party ceased to exist? New York Hudson. Retrieved from http://www.hudson-ny.org/2433/uk-new-conservative-party(n.d) INFED. C. Wright Mills: power, craftsmanship, and private troubles and public issues. Retrieved from http://www.infed.org/thinkers/wright_mills.htm