The Critical Theory of World Risk Society: A Retrospective Analysis

Abstract

In terms of the evolution of sociological theory, it is difficult to overstate the impact of Risk Society: Towards a New Modernity. Aside from achieving voluminous sales and mass citations, the book is one of few academic monographs that can lay claim to transforming the ways in which people understand the world and their own experiences within it. The major hypothesis of author Ulrich Beck is that a fundamental shift has occurred in capitalist economies from a focus on the material production of goods to avoidance of "bads." Crucially, while social science thinkers had previously sought to understand the foundational dynamics of society with recourse to established categories-such as class, gender, economy, and power-Beck postulated that the key contours of the modern age were best understood through the prism of risk. Despite revolving around the concept of risk, Beck's work has not influenced the field of risk research as heavily as one might expect. In line with the ambitions of this special issue, this article contextualizes and situates the contribution made by Beck and connects his thesis to the broader evolution of risk theory over the last four decades. In documenting both catalytic effects and elisions, an appeal is made for reconsideration of the utility of the risk society perspective for future work in risk studies.

A valoração ecossistêmica da área afetada pela barragem 1 da Vale S.A – Brumadinho/MG

“…Segundo Mythen (2018), o impacto acadêmico e as contribuições para o desenho de políticas públicas da tese da sociedade de risco não devem ser considerados concluídos, havendo campo para novas pesquisas. Destarte, buscou-se apresentar os dois principais eixos do presente trabalho, aliando as ideias da sociedade de risco de Ulrick Beck com o decrescimento de Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen.…”

Risk Society and Science Education

“…Before being translated to English in 1992, his book sold over sixty thousand copies in Germany. Since then, it has been translated into more than 35 languages (Mythen 2018). He connected institutional change and its daily micro-political challenges in fields such health, economy, and environment (Sørensen 2018).…”

Through a Glass Darkly: How Natural Science and Technical Communities Looked at Social Science Advances in Understanding Risk

“…Social science experts may claim that technical experts see social science as something anybody could do: they believe that understanding human behavior is just a matter of common sense. They are impatient with grand theories (Mythen, 2020): Ulrich Beck's The Risk Society (Beck, 2009) can be found on only a few U.S. natural scientist or engineer's book shelves. Conversely technical experts may argue that social scientists are dismissive of some core tenets of science and they sometimes seem to deny the existence of a “real” world; they seem to be interested only in generalities rather than solving practical problems; they like to use incomprehensible academic jargon.…”