`Reflexive modernization' and other mythical realities

Abstract

This article explores the theory of `reflexive modernization' which is primarily associated with the names of Anthony Giddens and Ulrich Beck. It examines the pressures under which the re-definition of modernity as `pure' reflexivity emerged and suggests that among these, poststructuralism has been the most fundamental. It also examines how the theory, by refashioning modernity, strives to maintain western identity over and above its other, the traditional, as well as to retain the privileges that this identity bestows. The article concludes by arguing that the theory constructs a mythical reality which, however, cannot be taken seriously even as a myth. Its narrators are unaware of what their story does but, unlike the narrators of native myths, they utterly contradict themselves by claiming to be guided by `wholesale' reflexivity.

Who Says “No to Modern Football?” Italian Supporters, Reflexivity, and Neo-Liberalism

“…Reflexivity is understood to be a social practice of a discursive nature (Ailon, 2011;Alexander, 1996;Argyrou, 2003) coupled with emotions (Burkitt, 2012;Holmes, 2010; D. S. King, 2006). This is particularly relevant in the case of football supporters due to the strong role played by iconic and symbolic representations of the struggle against modern football and due to supporters' emotional attachment to local clubs and communities.…”

“…Reflexivity is understood to be a social practice of a discursive nature (Ailon, 2011; Alexander, 1996; Argyrou, 2003) coupled with emotions (Burkitt, 2012; Holmes, 2010; D. S. King, 2006).…”

Vernacular Security: The Politics of Feeling Safe in Global, National and Local Worlds

“…In late modernity, this politics is associated with the notion of risk and freedom that produces the 'global' as an arena for a life politics of security (see Hier, 2003). But 'national' security or 'local' senses of certainty are similarly produced, and here I suggest that Giddens's concepts of 'tradition' versus 'modernity' are too homogenous to capture the interplay between 'global', national' and 'local' politics of security (see Argyrou, 2000).…”

Hegel, unhappy consciousness and endogenous cultural change

“…'Reflexivity', I argue, is most promising if we view it not only as a research strategy which helps us better understand cultural 'others' but also as an intellectual move informing us about our own (cf. Argyrou 2003). In particular, the 'romance with reflexivity' (Pels 2000: 2) is closely related historically to concerns among liberal individuals with attaining freedom.…”