Risk society

Question 1

Introduction

Answer 1

The world is a dangerous place that we need to protect our selves from
We do this via risk society
which is th way in which the world organises itself to respond to risk.

Question 2

History of Risk society and its development

Answer 2

Middle Ages- There was no notion of risk society and life itself was seen as hazardous because dangerous experiences were seen as being given by God or the supernatural and therefore attempts to try and prevent them was seen as a sin

Western Explorers
They were the first to introduce the idea of risk in a society and this idea to them symbolized a world that people sought to normalize and control

17/18th centuary: the idea of probablism was used which laid claims for the probability of something (that needed risk management) happening

19th centuary
Statistics were developed which formed the basis of these probabilistic models which can be projected beyond the present by predicting the future from past trends

Today
We no longer live in fate as people in Middle Ages did but we use the stats developed in the 19th century to take precautions of future possible risks in everyday life
as Gidden said we started looking at what we did to nature rather than what nature did to us

Question 3

Differentiation of Dangers and Risks:

Answer 3

The transition to modernity introduced a conceptual differentiation between dangers, risks, and manufactured uncertainties.

DANGERS
such as sickness, wars, and epidemics, were perceived as threats often attributed to divine will.

RISKS
were understood as uncertainties that could be quantified, managed, and insured, primarily associated with industrialization and progress.

MANUFACTURED UNCERTAINTIES
characterized by their dependence on human decisions, their creation within society, and
their incalculable and uncontrollable nature.

Question 4

Giddens definition risks ito threats (dangers)

Answer 4

Gibbens-A society which is extremely preoccupied with the future and safety which generates notions of risk and looks at risk as specific calculable certainties.

Threats are endangerments and insecurities belonging to human existence from the beginning Including sickness, short life expectancies, wars, epidemics,
starvation etc

Therefore External risks according to Giddens, are uncontrollable by man and are defined by nature

Question 5

Definitions of risk by Beck

Answer 5

According to Beck, risks, in modern society, represent the anticipation of
potential catastrophes. Risks are events that have not yet materialized but become
significant when anticipated. This anticipation carries political and social consequences and
can reshape the world

Question 6

Catastrophe and threats

Answer 6

Catastrophe is defined as a disaster
an event causing great damage and suffering

Question 7

Giddens on manufactured risks

Answer 7

Giddens stated notion of responsibility closely linked to risk
As new technologies invade the core of our lives & more of what we experience comes under scientific spotlight, there is an increasing insecurity in the world as we are involved in systems we do not understand
Thus: risk society we increasingly live on a technology frontier that no one completely understands and generates variety of possible futures

Question 8

Beck on manufactured uncertainties

Answer 8

Dependant on human decisions &
created by society itself.
▪ Cannot be externalised as it exists in society, is experienced by every individual as it is inflicted collectively, & is no longer
privately insurable (ex. climate change)

Question 9

Beck: perceptions of globalised manufactured risks & uncertainties
characterised by 3 features in modern society.

Answer 9

Delocalisation-omnipresent and uncontained effects of a catastrophe where an unfavourable spillover affects uninsured areas

Incalculable: a resistance of quantitative assessment interpreting risk metrics and actuarial calculations as hypothetical,
the consequences in principle are incalculable

Non-compensability- when the destruction is so much that financial restoration will not even be enough

Question 10

New concepts needed in modern society

Answer 10

• Actuarial thinking: this is actual scientific and statistical calculations
• Actuarial criminology: it is a myth to believe that the government has complete control over the citizens
• They try to prove control by over-regulating law
  abiding citizens eg. Speeding fine

Question 11

Overview of what risk society entails

Answer 11

Beck stated risk society is accumulation of risks – ecological, terrorist,
military, financial, biomedical & informational – that has overwhelming
presence in world today

Question 12

➢ Argues three possible reactions to risk:

Answer 12

denial, apathy & transformation.
Denial is part of modern culture;
apathy gives way to anarchic strain (lawlessness) in postmodernism
transformation is how risks
affect/change perceptions, living condition/ institutions in modern
societies/

Question 13

States that do not have methods of visualisation, symbolic forms or mass media

Answer 13

Risks within these states are seen as nothing
Because the anticipation of a risk or disaster may produce the compulsion to act
The construction of a “real” anticipation of a catastrophe can be a political force to transforming the world

Question 14

Significance of a catastrophic potential risk

what we can take from this regarding the definition of risk

Answer 14

Gives rise to reflexive orientation
which is when new technologies are used to increase scientific scrutiny and public criticism

Therefore, risk refers to a future that is made knowable by measurement even if knowledge remains speculative.

Question 15

Significance of quantitative knowledge

Answer 15

Forms the basis of rational decisions and calculations
and danger may no longer be determined by faith or affective perceptions

the same way we are actively exposed to danger should be the same way we actively take on risks

Question 16

Beck’s argument on the distribution of risk resulting from knowledge rather than wealth

Answer 16

Even though wealthier people have access to resources that help them to avert risks, this aversion would not have been possible without the mere knowledge that there is a risk that exists and that could lead to that danger

Therefore a person doesn’t necessarily need to be wealthy to avoid a risk, just the knowledge

Back this up with the “boomerang effect”:
even those who produced or
profited from certain risks, will eventually be affected by them
Therefore the elements of class inequalities are not factors to being able avoid risks

Question 17

Beck’s second point of argument : Modern risk society affects all countries and all social classes because of globalisation.

Effects of the spread of this modern risk

Answer 17

Argues we are witnessing the beginning of modernity rather than the
end.
▪ Entails modernity beyond its industrial design.
▪ Social ties & connection must be established, maintained & renewed by individuals themselves

Moral panic is also created, defined as a wild spread fear (often
irrational) that something is a threat to the values, safety, & interest of a
community or society at large

Question 18

Gibben’s agreement with Beck’s argument

Answer 18

States that society nowadays is defined by risk and the risk that pre-occupies this society

he argues that Manufactured risk in a society can be calculated through the level of risk that is being produced or still being produced

Question 19

How do we calculate this risk?

how is this illustrated?

Answer 19

We do this by increasingly critiquing modern society practices the more we see the production of these risks which will result in a state of reflexive modernisation (this is what we want)

which is Illustrated by concepts of sustainability & precautionary principle
focussing on preventative measures to decrease levels of risk.

Question 20

Difference between Giddens and Beck’s arguments ito older and new classes

Answer 20

Gibbens argues that older class structures maintain a stronger role is risk society while Beck basically argued that Middle Ages didnt believe in risk society and instead believed that any efforts made against avoiding risks was seen as a sin

This is defined in relation to the difference in the access to forms of independence, self-actualization and empowerment between both classes

Question 21

Wimmer and Quant interviewing Beck on reflexive modernisation

Answer 21

REFLEXIVE MODERNISATION are the man made side effects if modernity that question modernity itself, creating a new age where people must come to terms with the consequences of their actions and growing societal uncertainties

this raises SECOND MODERNITY , where society becomes concerned with the handling of risks rather than the power of wealth

RM makes this possibel through mass media

Question 22

Implications (connection) between external and manufactured risks

Answer 22

1. There must be a relation between catastrophe and a specific geographical location of an individual
2. Modern insurance which is usually only used to cover manufactured risks has been extended to cover external risks such as flood, fires etc
   Method is that both insurer and insured have 50% to gain
3. Probabilism
   No knowledge of an occurrence of an event is ever certain, but may lay claim to the pobability of something happening by using creative narratives to incorporate past events to try and explain future uncertainties by making them more experienceable and biologically and politically understandable

Question 23

social construction of risks

Answer 23

1. Anticipation and Preparedness: Manufactured uncertainty and world risk society
   emphasize the importance of anticipating and preparing for external risks, such as
   earthquakes and droughts, focusing on proactive measures, early warning systems, and
   infrastructure resilience.
2. Shared Perceptions and Response: These concepts encourage the construction of shared
   perceptions about the potential impact of natural disasters, enabling coordinated responses
   and global cooperation in addressing these external risks.
3. Role of Visualization: Techniques of visualization play a critical role in assessing
   vulnerability and planning for potential natural disasters, making the invisible aspects of
   risks understandable and significant for society.

Question 24

Relation between catastrophic potential and industrial produce
What does the possibility of a catastrophe occurring due to increased industrial production imply?

Answer 24

It means that theyre becoming normalized and becoming part of society, individual experiences and how people define themselves

Question 25

Giddens on effect of 9-11 on risk society

Facts

Effects

Answer 25

It was predicted but the fragmentation of info that could’ve lead to risk society and lack of organisation capabilities resulted in response being blocked

This repopularised scenario planning and threat assessment as hands-on future methodologies

Question 26

Application of risk model to SA

Answer 26

Crime-lots of people in the community are aware of it and fear it and so take precautionary measures to try and prevent it

HIV/Aids-Important risk
Its affecting a lot of poorer communities who have a high risk of contracting it
this is due to poor education and preventative measures

Service Delivery- leads to violence resulting in injuries which often lead to massive damages that lead to natural disaster (evidence of man-made risk leading to an external risk or even a catastrophe)

moral panics in SA- include economic crisis, HIV/AIDS phenomenon,
strikes, unemployment and racism fuelling moral panic between blacks,
whites and immigrants and availability of jobs.

Reflexiveness in SA -more complex than risk society suggests and there is instead a need to apply risk society beyond narrow confones of WW1 to explore the geographies of reflexivess

Question 27

Risk management

Answer 27

how to identify risks & how to manage them =
working around risk to create most effective protection or solution.

Question 28

Conclusion

Answer 28

There is no denying that SA is a risk society with many challenges to
overcome.
➢ Unfortunately, in South Africa, media plays big role in SA as a risk society.
▪ Often racism is fuelled, events are exaggerated, and negative
events are portrayed as everyday occurrence that one needs to
take precautions against.
➢ South Africa is still a long way from managing and preventing many risks
in our society.
▪ We can however increase better cooperation between NGO’s to
put pressure on society and to raise funds to improve SA’s
manmade risks.
▪ This can create awareness and recover the country to a better
state – where all parts work together to create a better society.
▪ Providing risk education could enable SA citizens to gain the skills
and knowledge on keeping safe – as well as reduce worry & stress
felt by those who fear danger and threats (thus reduce moral
panic)
▪ Our leaders need to practice political will and set a good example
for its citizens & other leaders