Overview of The Role of Social Imagination in Society

Humankind has developed a multitude of societies based on differing ideologies throughout the course of our inhabitance on Earth. This essay implicitly explores the role of imagination in the construction of these societies. According to Hargreaves, the social imaginary can be defined as ‘how, in any age, members of society make some unquestioned assumptions about the social and moral order in which they live’. He elaborates that it is this which ‘constitutes normality for them in their practices and in their relationships to each other’. It is essential to explore this concept of the social imaginary as it can be seen to directly influence the structure and agency of a society. This concept also raises a number of questions about the nature of the human mindset, and how this results in the imagination having played a hugely significant role in the construction of societies throughout history.

One contemporary piece of legislation which effectively maps a progression of ideologies is The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948). Produced shortly after the end of the Second World War, this document was the culmination of a range of political concepts and its introduction was necessitated by an accumulation of perceived human rights violations during the war. A crucial statement conveyed in this document is that ‘all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights’. While this may seem obvious to those of us born after the application of this legislation, this was instead a revolutionary ideology derived from several landmark historical concepts. From the original Magna Carta in England in 1215, to the American abolition of the slave trade in 1807 and the abolition of serfdom in Russia in 1861, history is littered with controversial innovations designed by numerous individuals intended to spread freedom, fairness and equality to those perceived not to have this. While this is one way to trace the trajectory of ideologies throughout history, Lopez describes the Human Rights Act as ‘a moral shorthand for determining what is acceptable, but more powerfully what is not acceptable in the treatment of individuals’. Here, he alludes to the theory that this trajectory can be traced not only through progressive human rights initiatives, but just as much through human rights violations. Indeed, the human mindset is often influenced by contemporary issues. The Magna Carta, for example, was drafted in response to a tyrannical ruler violating the civil liberties of his population. Much the same can be said for the abolition of the slave trade and of serfdom in the USA and Russia respectively. As Lopez notes, the human imagination is influenced by its experiences, and it is these experiences which develop the ideologies which evolve and construct the image of societies.

Jack Donnelly claims in his 2013 book Universal Human Rights in Theory and Practice that ‘the universal nature of these rights and freedoms is beyond question’, suggesting that while this document is a product of human imagination, it is fundamentally intertwined in the lives of every individual. Not only does this demonstrate the power of imagination in constructing a document that would become a pillar of modern society, it also alludes to the workings of the human mind, and how such a great change in society can be perceived simply from an idea being written on paper. This is elaborated upon by the D.O.H.R, who acknowledge that ‘virtually all states consider internationally recognised human rights to be a firmly established part of law and politics’. It is only because of the global accumulation of both progressive ideologies concerning human rights, and historical human rights violations that such legislation came to be, and, in a contemporary sense, this plays a vital role in the social imaginary as to what is perceived to be acceptable and unacceptable behaviour. It is not only the case that such legislation exists as a result of the human imagination, but its very fabric is upheld by enduring moral support for the ideologies which contributed towards its foundation.

Fundamentally, these historical developments, whether progressive or otherwise, are simply experiences. As referenced by Von Glasersfeld, society ‘has to be formed by each individual by means of generalisation from his or her own experiences’, implying that society is a collective image of singular perspectives which, when conglomerated together, formulate the pillars of society. This can be seen to be the case with regards to the Human Rights Act, where the connection between the date the legislation was introduced, and recent historiography is clear. Other prominent ideologies can also be traced to the ingenuity of an individual, or to a number of events which in tandem result in some form of social enlightenment. Von Glasersfeld elaborates on this, explaining that ‘socialisation arises from drives, interests, purposes and inclinations’, further developing the perspective that fundamental aspects of a society were once simply figments of a human imagination. The motivations behind developing these imaginings are not clear, as Von Glasersfeld notes, and can be more than social experiences. The catalyst for sweeping social change can be as seemingly irrelevant as an accumulation of experiences of one individual as in the case of Adolf Hitler, political intent as in the case of Joseph Stalin or even the inclination of an individual to vote in a certain manner as has been the case on numerous occasions throughout history. While it is impossible to break down every social pillar and trace its roots, it is evident there is some historiographical pattern behind each, and as such the contemporary social imaginary has been heavily influenced by both a variety of and combination of differing ideologies. It is these by-products of imagination which continually formulates society and influences social changes, and will continue to do so.

While it is simple to look back on such developments and view them as inherently established and indisputable truths, similar to how religious texts had been viewed for centuries, it is equally important to assess how contemporary ideologies could influence future developments, culminating in similar ‘universal’ truths. On a global level, the modern social imagination can be said to be neglecting ecological issues, an issue which, with hindsight, could be viewed similarly to human rights is currently. As referenced by Education, Sustainability and the Ecological Social Imaginary, ‘the environment cannot be seen as another issue, it is life itself’. Similar to how human rights are now seen as ‘universal’, ecological reform is viewed as an absolute truth in some quarters and may come to be accepted as such by future generations. Similar to the issue of human rights though, it will likely take these ideas to be passed as legislation for them to truly influence the human psyche. Modern human society is based on Capitalism, a product of the human imagination in its own right, and so presently natural resources are pillaged in the name of profit. While there are those such as Princen who already recognises the transcendence of such an issue, that the social imagination is currently limited to the contemporary dominant ideology of Capitalism effectively conveys the anthropocentricism of the social imaginary. Humans have committed to one strain of the social imaginary and as result have neglected ‘life itself’. Society has disconnected from its tendencies towards excessive consumption and exploitation, much like the perpetrators of the Second World War disconnected themselves from the human rights atrocities they carried out. In one instance, this then led to progressive legislation and a ground-breaking influence on the social imaginary. Time will tell if this will have the same impact with regards to ecological issues, but the pattern is clear.

Overall, it is evident that the present state of the social imaginary has been heavily influenced by an accumulation of experiences and continues to be influenced as such. This is best evidenced through The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was a document centuries in the making. This document is now one of the pillars of modern society, and the changes in the social imaginary since the inception of this legislation is clear to see. While this is one prominent example in modern society, such legislation can be traced through history in one form or another for centuries. Such a pattern is indicative of the development of ideologies over time, and this allows one to predict the trajectory of a new piece of legislation by identifying the early stages of this within the human conscience. Such social constructs typically begin as a product of the individual imagination. Once this has spread to influence the imaginings of wider society, or if some society-wide experience were to occur to bring such a concept into the social conscience, what began as a figment of imagination will soon become a pillar of contemporary society. As such, the role of imagination in constructing societies is not only indisputable, it is the formulation, implementation and maintenance of all societies.