World Risk Society and Constructing Cosmopolitan Realities: A Bourdieusian Critique of Risk Society

Area of Science:

• Social Theory
• Sociology of Modernity
• Risk Analysis

Background:

• Ulrich Beck's risk society theory posits a new social ontology for an era of uncertainty and crises.
• The theory incorporates cosmopolitanism as its epistemology and methodology.
• A tension exists between the indeterminate ontology and the prescriptive epistemology.

Purpose of the Study:

• To address the incompatibility within Ulrich Beck's risk society theory.
• To critically examine the ontological and epistemological dimensions of risk society.
• To propose a resolution for the theory's inherent contradictions.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of Ulrich Beck's risk society theory and cosmopolitan outlook.
• Critique of Beck's epistemological framework.
• Juxtaposition of risk society theory with Pierre Bourdieu's theory of action and fields.

Main Results:

• Identified a fundamental contradiction between the indeterminate ontology and prescriptive epistemology in Beck's theory.
• Highlighted the limitations of Beck's epistemological apparatus in accessing the empirical.
• Demonstrated how Bourdieu's concepts can complement Beck's framework.

Conclusions:

• The incompatibility within risk society theory can be resolved by integrating insights from Bourdieu's sociology.
• Completing the ontology of risk society requires overcoming its epistemological challenges.
• The revised framework offers a more robust understanding of modernity and global crises.