Modern society is exposed to a lot of risks in various sectors of social life, scientific, economic, environmental and so on. We do not even suspect this, daily doing our usual work. No, of course, we are aware of the risks that are constantly heard, such as the risks of global warming, the economic crisis. But sometimes there is not enough breadth of views to understand how life in the 21st century has become more dangerous than the life of mankind in past centuries.
Why a modern society can be called a risk society, and in general, where the very concept of a risk society came from, can be found by looking at the works of Ulrich Beck, professor of sociology, political philosopher.
W. Beck - the first to talk about risk in society
This man died recently, on January 1, 2015, having lived seventy years, most of which were devoted to sociology.
It was he who introduced the concept of “risk society”, analyzing and rethinking the nature of modernism, which flooded all of Europe and other countries of the world in the twentieth century. Now this concept combines a lot more - the impact of modernization on society, on the being and consciousness of people. Why can a modern society be called a risk society? The fact is that all the benefits received by mankind through modernization are at the same time sources of dangers (problems with the environment, the degree of employment of the population, problems in family structures and relationships in social groups).
Almost any concept of a risk society is based on the factor of detraditionalization.
What is the essence of this factor?
It consists in what is happening in society, and at a fairly rapid pace, the rejection of the traditional forms of the social order, the social structure is changing . The value and role of value-normative and social-class systems that provide social protection are changing, which, in turn, causes individuals and entire groups to feel insecure, uncertainty and fear for the future from unpredictability.
The risk in modern society follows a person from the moment of his birth, especially in the domestic open spaces. The lack of ubiquitous full-fledged medicine can cause problems in bearing a child and his birth. Miserable financial support from the country (compare the amount of benefits and prices in stores) for child care in the first years of life forces mothers to work in three jobs. Weak provision of pre-school and school-type institutions, low specialization of personnel, poor level of control over education, its backwardness compared with the level of development in the world are a direct risk of spending half of my life in vain, without taking anything useful out of ten years of schooling. What to say about children who were left without parents, and their fate remains in the hands of the state? And this is only the stage of childhood. And many years to come - how next?
Why modern society can be called a risk society in terms of entry into adulthood
You could more or less safely go through all the previous stages, and now at the end of school you have a choice - what to do next? That is, a person who is only 16 years old must decide who he will become in the future. He must evaluate the labor market, understand what profession is in demand and allow him to provide for himself in the future, assess his intellectual and financial abilities regarding promising specialties and the ability to study them, and then monitor the existing higher education institutions that can provide him with the proper level of knowledge. We remind you that we are talking about a sixteen-year-old teenager.
You will say: “Parents should do this”
Yes, that's what happens in ninety percent of cases. But before determining their child to study at a higher institution, most parents assess not knowledge and skills, not abilities and talents, not inclinations and wishes of the child, but their financial ability to provide education, accommodation and food for a future student. Well, if this coincides with the features and knowledge that a teenager owns, and a higher institution will reveal its potential in it. But let's be honest. Many of us studied at the institute, university. How many people in your group really received knowledge, and how much - a “crust”? How many of your group of graduates got a job in their specialty and are happy with what they are doing? A teenager in a risk society is a casket to which you need to pick up a key. If you do not open it in time, the castle may rust, and the contents may deteriorate, and will not be presented to the world.
Risk in modern society is a pervasive phenomenon.
The risk of losing one's job, the risk of losing one's health as a result of environmental pollution, the risk of staying on the sidelines of progress - what else?
Technology and industry are developing at an astonishing pace, but the risks that arise as a result of this often affect the unprotected and uninformed sections of society. Remember: 15-20 years ago, not everyone could afford a phone, but now virtually every citizen of a developed country has it. But what is it used for? Its direct purpose - communication at a distance - is only a small part. Young people use it for photos, videos, for accessing the Internet, where they spend time on social networks.
Why can a modern society be called a risk society? Because we ordinary people use technology as a toy. We spend a lot of time in online games or in any others that are released with enviable regularity. We spend powerful potential, and each person possesses it, for stupidity, or we exchange it for everyday life, covering it with the word "stability".
“I have a job for which I get paid”
Is this money enough? Are you satisfied with the working conditions? Do you have time for development, learning something new? Are you sure that in two, three years you will still have this work, which to some extent provides your living?
The main risk in modern society is that we ourselves, the inhabitants of our planet, are perhaps the only ones in this world that have enormous potential and resources, possessing technologies and rapidly developing them, do not think about the consequences and spend our lives in vain.