Beck and risk society Flashcards
What is a Risk Society according to Beck (1994)?
A phase of development of modern society in which risks elude the control and protective institutions of industrial society
What are the 4 types of risk that Beck identifies?
social
political
ecological
individual risks
What is a risk society primarily contrasted against?
pre-modern (traditional) and first modern societies (industrial)
What is risk?
Risk is a modern idea bound up with the notion of odds and probability
What are the key features of a risk society? (4)
- Global
- Irreversible Harm
- Based on casual interpretation
- Harder to identify
What is an explain global risk?
World is more connected - don’t just effect one country/nation
Give an example of a global risk.
radioactive poison doesn’t stay inside national boundaries
What is an explain irreversible harm?
may take decades to reduce or restore
Give an example of irreversible harm.
Chernobyl disaster in 1986 – a 20mile exclusion zone around the plant still remains, many people effected by cancer
What is an explain the idea that risk is based on casual interpretation?
- initially only exist in terms of the knowledge about them
- can be changed, dramatized or minimized within knowledge, and to that extent they are particularly open to social definition
Give an example of a risk is based on casual interpretation.
bird flu – panic was felt but actually a small risk
What is an explain how risks are harder to identify?
impacts of the risks are often unable to be seen
Give an example of a hard to identify risk.
you can’t see radioactive poison killing someone, may be unaware you are being effected by it
What is a criticism of beck?
Furedi (1991) aren’t all societies risk societies?
- All socities have natural disasters
How does Beck counter criticism?
The risks we encounter now are much different than the ones in the past because of advancements in modern society
