The Politics of Risk Society

Abstract

Ulrich Beck summarizes in this article his interpretation of modern society, which must be considered, according to him, as a risk society. This type of society, which seems to take an ever-faster hold in our contemporary world, stems from what several authors have considered the end of nature and tradition. The risks of the current stage of modern society no longer result from fate, but from decisions taken within a wide array of options, where science, politics, industry, markets, and capital play leading roles. We no longer worry about what the ruthless forces of nature might do to us, but about what we humans might be doing to nature, and about how the damage inflicted on the natural world becomes damage on ourselves. Current risks result from the end of tradition and its certainties: the less we trust in the traditional security system, the more risks we must deal with in our everyday lives.

Beck explores current society as a product of ecological and social risks, the effects of which threaten its very viability, not only in the long run, but also in more immediate temporal settings.