Here is the synopsis of our sample research paper on Risk Society. Have the paper e-mailed to you 24/7/365.
Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 9 page paper. What is the risk society? What is the world risk society? What makes the risks in the existing society different than the risks in previous societies? These are some of the questions addressed in this essay. Beck offered the concept of the risk society in the mid-1980s, and described it as a society in which advancements have led to unintended consequences that pose certain risks. The catalyst for the present risk society is industrial overproduction. Giddens took a different path. This essay explains and discusses what is meant by the terms 'risk society' and 'world risk society,' what brought it on and how it is conceptualized by social theorists. The writer also includes opinions regarding the validity of the statement. Bibliography lists 10 sources.
Page Count:
9 pages (~225 words per page)
File: MM12_PGrsksoc.rtf
Buy This Term Paper »
Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
with different kinds of risks and those risks are manufactured and managed. Ulrich Beck is credited with bringing this new concept into conscious awareness and, thus, initiating new dialog among
sociologists and others across the globe. Beck defines risk as a systematic way of dealing with the hazards and insecurities that modernization has brought with it (1992). One of the
major differences between risk in society today and risk in societies of the past is that today, the risk is the result of human decisions, rather than of natural disasters
and other chance events (Beck, 1992). The we Beck is referring to is all of western civilization but it also extends to other cultures. Everyone in the world is affected
by this new stage in history. The concept of risk societies refers to the way in which western societies deal with risks (School voor Journalistiek, 2002). In todays society, people
are confronted with new risks that are collective, invisible and irreversible (School voor Journalistiek, 2002). Abstract systems are controlling our lives and small disruptions are capable of creating chaos (School
voor Journalistiek, 2002). Beck explained risk in this way: "By risks I mean above all radio-activity, which completely evades human perceptive abilities, but also toxins and pollutants in the air,
the water and foodstuffs . . . . They induce systematic and often irreversible harm, generally remain invisible, . . . . They can thus be changed, magnified, dramatized or
minimized within knowledge, and to that extent are particularly open to social definition or construction. Hence the mass media and the scientific and legal professions in charge of defining risk,
become key social and political positions" (Beck, 1992). The new society, referred to as the new modernization is different than the industrial society (Beck, 1992). The industrial society was
...