Risk Society

CORE DEFINITION

Risk Society is an important theoretical concept in contemporary sociology, mainly proposed and developed by German sociologist Ulrich Beck and British sociologist Anthony Giddens in the late 1980s. The theory holds that modern industrial society has transformed into a new social form—the risk society—whose core feature is that human activities themselves have become the main source of risk. Unlike traditional societies that primarily faced external risks such as natural disasters and famines, the risk society is characterized by the proliferation of 'manufactured risks'. These risks originate from modernization itself, such as potential dangers arising from technological applications like nuclear technology, chemical industry, and genetic engineering. Such risks are global, long-term, and irreversible, transcending traditional geographical and class boundaries. The concept was introduced in Beck's 1986 book 'Risk Society: Towards a New Modernity' and became popular in academia in the 1990s. On one hand, it connects to broader intellectual currents of modernity; on the other, it resonates with public debates of the time, such as growing environmental concerns.