Social Investigations: Evaluation of Becks Claims - Essay Example

 Social Investigations: Evaluation of Becks Claims Defining Risks The proper definition of the word risks can be given as the possibility or the probability of suffering a loss or harm when under certain circumstances. This definition of risks may satisfy the immediate need to define risks but as with every thing, there are different types of risks associated with different kinds of environments. The question then arises, is risks created or are they inherent in our system or our way of life? The answer is both a negative and an affirmative because there are certain kinds of risks that no one has control over and will occur naturally even if nothing has been tampered with, but there are certain risks that are associated with tampering the environment and the system that we live in and this is precisely what us humans are doing at this point in time and have continued to do so for a long time now. The risks that no one has control over and occur naturally are known as ‘external risks’ but risks that have been created by the way of tampering with the environment are known as ‘manufactured risks’ the defining feature of manufactured risks is that the level of risks can be evaluated to a certain extent and because these risks are manufactured they can in a way also be controlled, limited and managed by the manufacturers. With the changing society and the ever growing advancements in technology the risks that are being created are changing with the process of modernization every day. These risks that are being faced in contemporary times have certainly changed the way we think and have hence had an affect on the modernization process. This leads us to the development of an innovative term called the ‘risk society’, this term was coined by the German sociologists Ulrich Beck, and this term evaluates the role that is being played by the mass media in revealing risks associated with different human activities and the modern day growth. The issues of scientific and political interests in managing these risks have also been given considerable thought and discussed in length and this is precisely what this paper aims to do, evaluate the claim of Ulrich Beck. Evaluation Initially beck claims that this industrial age marks a turning point for the human race because at first the risks that were faced by the whole human race were natural ones and these disasters molded the fate of these people but in today’s age it is the decisions that people take, decisions that involve risks as a factor. To this part of the text most would agree but things are not so smooth in the latter part when it gets a bit confusing and difficult to make out what the author is trying to imply or what the basic target is. First of all the claim that beck makes that we are now subject to risks from the manufactured dimension rather than the natural dimension can to be some extent looked upon because at this point in time when we face AIDS, the human race can still claim that we still face hazards that are naturally produced and do not fall under the category of manufactured risks. Beck goes on to claim that there are now newer risks that human beings are subjected to such as the ‘pollutants in food stuff’ but that makes most of the readers wonder that is this claim really warranted because it is a time where we are safe against naturally occurring toxins in processed food due to the advancement of technology and hence this claim is also very ambiguous as the reader doesn’t find it very suitable because now every one has greater choice and balanced food diets are the way of life because of industrialization. The claim that industrial pollution is putting the environment at risk because naturally so much of pollutant cannot be produced but it can be said that a particular volcano in Philippines spewed out an amount of a particular matter that is equivalent to the amount of the whole world’s industrial production of that particular matter. In the beginning beck agrees that risks are undertaken so that certain gains can be made from these risks but there is no mention of these gains or benefits, this exclusion of such an important factor leaves the readers totally bewildered and the reader is forced to think that this book is incomplete because risk taking results into certain benefits and certain costs, it is when and only the benefits outweigh the costs is the activity undertaken. The whole concept of cost-benefit analysis in the field of economics is based on such a concept and certainly with such an important factor missing there is a huge void in the in the book and even a larger lack of trust develops on behalf of the reader as to the claims that are being made and would be made later in the book. Beck also talk about the ‘toxic waste’ threat where the love canal incident in the United States of America can be cited as a support document because the dumping of chemical waste in an area that later developed into a residential one caused certain damages to the people living in that area, these damages ranged from high risks of cancer to breathing problems. The love canal incident then caused a change in the United States constitution but this one incident does not mark the generality of the industrial world because in the industrial world life expectancy is moving in an upwards direction and the author has failed to take this account, another rather convenient thing to omit. The risks that beck defines if reduced to a certain level or to acceptable levels have been able to benefit people, antibiotics for example are toxic by nature but in this modern era it has been identified what acceptable levels of risks may be and how to use them to the advantage of the human race and this has yet again been discounted. Beck can also be criticized because he has been able to identify certain disasters that occurred due to technological mishaps or the human error factor but things that should have been included are totally missing from the text for example there is just a passing mention of car accidents that are becoming an increasing cause of deaths and can certainly qualify as man made or manufactured risks because naturally we did not face any such threats. Another such example is of tobacco usage, this is increasingly becoming the major cause of cancer and other lung related diseases and it is a problem for every country on the face of this planet because it is a habit that is addictive to say the least. This too, has been omitted where as it was the perfect candidate for manufactured risks category. Beck has identified reflexive industrialization as a result of the risks that the society faces today but it should also be taken into account that this is the need of the hour to have a reflexive industrial society because reflexivessnes brings to us what no industry can give us back, it gives us a sense of securing today with a tight grip on tomorrow as well because there is a way of sustainable development that has emerged. Sustainable development is where the resources are used with having tomorrow in mind and this is one of Becks major victory that he has been able to identify this change in the pattern of development. Conclusion The link that is drawn between the industrial society, the modern day risks and the inevitable role of politics in deciding what risks will be taken and what ought not to be taken is a fairly strong one. Though the link may be strong, the arguments are not. Beck has not been able to clearly identify his point of view and his target is another cause of concern for the reader because the targets are not clearly laid out and this makes the theory look a little ambiguous because it looks like the work of some one who has written this in a hurry with out giving issues much of a thought. This is reflected when the author fails to take into account certain statistical measures that is very commonly known such as the life expectancy in the industrialized world and hence the arguments that are made are to some extent rendered irrelevant. Credit, though should be given fully for developing and creating these links and for being able to have identified substantial growth as an emerging pattern in the manufacturing industry, lastly I would just like to comment in the light of the criticisms that I have made, the claims that are made in this book are not believable, because technological mishaps are not a every day factor, if you count technological mishaps there would be a very few of them but these should not be used as a basis for marking out risks. Bibliography 1. Norgaard, K. M. and Haugestad, A. (2004, Aug) Norway as a Post Risk Society? Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association, Hilton San Francisco & Renaissance Parc 55 Hotel, San Francisco, CA, Online Retrieved 2006-10-05 from http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p110119_index.html 2. Wishnick, E. A. (2006, Mar) China as a Risk Society Paper presented at the annual meeting of the International Studies Association, Town & Country Resort and Convention Center, San Diego, California, USA Online Retrieved 2006-10-05 from http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p100370_index.html 3. Law and Society Association. Insurability in the risk society. Retrieved July 6, 2007, from Website: http://convention.allacademic.com/lsa2004/view_paper_info.html?pub_id=850&part_id1=901007 Read More