The Risk Society: Another Perspective on Modernity

Sometimes insightful ideas drift in shadowed obscurity until history catches up with them and then they shine with illumination and relevance. Such are the ideas of the German author Ulrich Beck in his 1986 book, The Risk Society: Towards a New Modernity.

Beck's argues that one of the chief products of a modern industrial society is risk. In his words, "Risk may be defined as a systematic way of dealing with hazards and insecurities induced and introduced by modernization itself." This can be contrasted with earlier times in which our principal hazards came from the external sources of nature rather than those created by our own actions and decisions.

Of course, we have always been subjected to risks: earthquakes, diseases, extreme weather and food failures. As we continue to industrialized, however, and as we continue to populate the planet in truly astounding numbers, the responsibility for adversities shifts to us. War has always been our own doing but we have recently added chemical toxins, disease dispersal, nuclear annihilation, ozone depletion, species extinction, ecological destruction, escaped genetically modified organisms, and now global warming, a looming monster that brings unprecedented climate change, rising seas, desertification and more other Hydra heads than we can count. If these risks are the cost of wresting control of our lives from the vagaries of nature's risks, then one must wonder if progress has a long-term future.

Beck's book notes several characteristics of our self-created risks, summarized nicely by Prince Rupert's Charles Justice in his April 8th column, Earth Justice. Firstly, risks arise from advances in technology. Secondly, they are increasingly global in impact — a survival strategy that is contrary to the advantages of diversification and isolation. Thirdly, these risks are created by technology and monitored by science that are usually beyond the grasp of most people — causing people to feel victimized by the consequences. And fourthly, modernity has turned our planet into a kind of laboratory in which the risks are mostly "unknowable and incalculable" until the experiment is completed.

The environmental damage caused by such risks is becoming progressively obvious. Not so obvious, however, is the effect on our collective psyche. Some people are aware enough of our destructive impact on the planet's community of life that they have become cynical about humanity. This reduction in our estimation of ourselves erodes our confidence. As our innocent optimism evaporates, we are begin to manifest signs of guilt — individually and collectively — about our degradation of ecosystems. We are already expressing doubt about our ability to make the decisions which will safeguard the security of our children and future generations. Indeed, persistent anxieties are starting to surface about the viability of our lifestyles, and we are even sensing an erosion of trust in our ability to ensure the viability of our civilization itself.

We are now in the uncomfortable process of defining ourselves by the risks we are creating. And this comes with profound theological implications. By assuming the existential burden of responsibility for ourselves and our world, we can no longer legitimately blame a god for our own victimization. Atheism is the logical extension of this trend, and it has recently become a subject of feverish public discussion. The tenets of traditional religions are being challenged. Belief systems are being renovated. And in defense, some religions are entrenching and radicalizing. The risks we have created are reflecting our character back to ourselves and we are forced to review who we are.

This redefining of who we are and what we do is a maturing process, an uncomfortable gaze into the mirror of history that reveals as never before our strengths and our failings. We have come a long and uncomfortable way from Hamlet's famous lines: "What a piece of work is a man! How noble in reason! How infinite in faculty! In form and moving how express and admirable! In action how like an angel! In apprehension how like a god! The beauty of the world! The paragon of the animals!"

The words now ring with a new irony. Yes, we have done wonderful, enthralling and hugely beneficial things. But we have also done atrocious things. And on our journey along the path of progress, the haunting shadows of risks seem to be close on our heels. And the faster we run, the closer they seem to get.

Risks, however, must not make us cynical about ourselves, for the lack of confidence that grows cynicism is a destructive force that disheartens a people and corrodes their civilization. Rather than cynicism, we need a cautious optimism to muster our energies, a keen realism to assess our situation, a cool pragmatism to plot our strategies, and an unflinching bravery to do what must be done.

Risks test. But they can also reward. "What doesn't destroy us," the old aphorism informs, "makes us stronger." We seem to be approaching that place in history when our risks are about to catch our ambitions. And in the resulting skirmish, our ingenuity, resourcefulness and foresight will be tested as never before.