modernity

• Modernity (1950 to 1980)

  1. Nation State - key political unit, geographical area ruled by powerful centralised state, important source of identity for citizens, one culture + language
  2. capitalism - private ownership of means of production, unequal wealth distribution 'organised capitalism' nation state needed to maintain modern industry - Fordist principles of mass production
  3. rationality - science + technology dominate ways of thinking, science replaced religion as main explanation of events
  4. individualism - more personal freedom + break from tradition of ascribed status, inequality remains
• globalisation

  interconnectedness of global societies and culture

  • technological changes - created time space compression, closing distances between people, creating a "risk society" (Beck) - threats to our wellbeing come from human-made technology
  • economic changes - economic activity takes place within a set of global networks, increase weightless or electronic economy, money never sleeps (global 24-hour financial transactions), increase in TNCs (mainly western based)
• globalisation

  • political changes - less power of nation state, Kenichi Ohmae (1994) we now live in a 'borderless world', TNCs and consumers have more economic power than national governments, disorganised capitalism
  • changes in culture and identity - role of information and communications technology (mass media), global culture
• evaluation

  idea of reflexivity suggests we can reflect and then are free to act - doesn't consider structural factors e.g. the poor exposed to more environmental risks

  Mike Ruston 1994 - capitalism and pursuit of profit is the main source of risk not technology

  Paul Hirst 1993 - rejects Beck's view that movements like environmentalism will bring about change as they are too fragmented to challenge capitalism, not everyone has the option to minimise the risk that they are faced with, the poor don't always have the means to do this