Product Description

In this major theoretical statement, the author offers a new and provocative interpretation of the institutional transformations associated with modernity. We do not as yet, he argues, live in a post–modern world. Rather the distinctive characteristics of our major social institutions in the closing period of the twentieth century express the emergence of a period of ′high modernity,′ in which prior trends are radicalised rather than undermined. A post–modern social universe may eventually come into being, but this as yet lies ′on the other side′ of the forms of social and cultural organization which currently dominate world history.

In developing an account of the nature of modernity, Giddens concentrates upon analyzing the intersections between trust and risk, and security and danger, in the modern world. Both the trust mechanisms associated with modernity and the distinctive ′risk profile′ it produces, he argues, are distinctively different from those characteristic of pre–modern social orders.

This book build upon the author′s previous theoretical writings, and will be of fundamental interest to anyone concerned with Gidden′s overall project. However, the work covers issues which the author has not previously analyzed and extends the scope of his work into areas of pressing practical concern. This book will be essential reading for second year undergraduates and above in sociology, politics, philosophy, and cultural studies.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #121831 in Books
• Published on: 1991-04-18
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 200 pages

From the Back Cover
In this major theoretical statement, the author offers a new and provocative interpretation of the institutional transformations associated with modernity. We do not as yet, he argues, live in a post–modern world. Rather the distinctive characteristics of our major social institutions in the closing period of the twentieth century express the emergence of a period of ′high modernity,′ in which prior trends are radicalised rather than undermined. A post–modern social universe may eventually come into being, but this as yet lies ′on the other side′ of the forms of social and cultural organization which currently dominate world history.

In developing an account of the nature of modernity, Giddens concentrates upon analyzing the intersections between trust and risk, and security and danger, in the modern world. Both the trust mechanisms associated with modernity and the distinctive ′risk profile′ it produces, he argues, are distinctively different from those characteristic of pre–modern social orders.

This book build upon the author′s previous theoretical writings, and will be of fundamental interest to anyone concerned with Gidden′s overall project. However, the work covers issues which the author has not previously analyzed and extends the scope of his work into areas of pressing practical concern. This book will be essential reading for second year undergraduates and above in sociology, politics, philosophy, and cultural studies.

About the Author
Anthony Giddens is a Fellow of King′s College and Professor of Sociology at the University of Cambridge. Other books to his credit include The Constitution of Society (1984, Polity Press) and The Nation–State and Violence (1985, Polity Press).

Customer Reviews

Modernity has never left us
In this book, Giddens takes an institutional based review of modernity, asserting that modernity has never left us.

The book is easy to follow, and he makes some convincing arguments; showing how ideas of such theorists as Durkheim and Marx can be complementary.

Recommonded for all sociology students.