ExcerptI. External and Internal Risks Since Ulrich Beck's book Risk Society appeared in 1986, social scientists have been deeply aware of the sociological importance of the new threats that await us around the corner: nuclear accidents, global warming, environmental issues in general, famines, lack of water, natural catastrophes, and many other calamities. These are no longer threats from nature against which human societies can and should protect themselves; they are threats created by human societies themselves. They are sociologically important not (...) only because they are dangerous but also because they change the way modern societies work. In…. (shrink)