Zygmunt Bauman

The global financial crisis has shattered the illusion that all was well with capitalism and forced us to confront the great challenges we face today with a new sense of urgency. Few are better placed to do this than Zygmunt Bauman, a social thinker whose writings on liquid modernity have pioneered a new way of seeing the world in which we live at the dawn of the 21st Century. Our liquid modern world is characterized by the transition from a society of producers to a society of consumers, the natural extension of which is the society of perpetual debtors. The ruling idea of the society of consumers is to prevent needs from being satisfied and to create demand; its natural extension is to enable consumers to consume more by borrowing. Debt was transformed into a crucial profit-earning asset of capitalism in liquid modern times. The present-day 'credit crunch' is not the outcome of the banks' failure but rather the fruit of their success in transforming the majority of men and women, young and old, into a race of debtors. They got what they were looking for: a society of debtors whose condition of being in debt was made self-perpetuating, with more debts being offered, and more undertaken, as the only way of escaping from the debts already incurred. Starting from this reflection on the current global financial crisis and prompted by the probing questions of his interlocutor, Citlali Rovirosa-Madrazo, Bauman examines in an historical perspective some of the most pressing moral and political issues of our time, from international terrorism and the rise of religious and secular fundamentalism to the decline of the nation-state and the threats posed by global warming, issues whose seriousness and urgency attest to the fact that we are living today not only on borrowed money but also on borrowed time.

Rather than contributing to the long-standing discussion about the characteristics of the society that socialism proposes to establish, this Routledge Revival, initially published in 1976, aims to explore the impact of the ‘living utopia’ of socialism on the development of modern society. It begins with an analysis of the role of utopia in general, and of the socialist utopia in particular; Bauman considers the opposition between ‘utopian’ and ‘scientific’ social thought; He presents socialism as the ‘counter-culture’ of capitalist society; The book finally examines the reasons for the failure of socialism in its application to the peasant revolution in Russia. It then explores some possible forms that the socialist utopia might take in the industrial societies of the late twentieth century. Professor Bauman writes for those who want to understand the logic of the historical fate of socialism in the present century, who are concerned about the validity and vitality of socialist ideas on the development of modern society, and who are interested, and perhaps confused, by the cultural and ideological conflicts of the last few decades.

First published in 1982, Professor Bauman’s discussion of the mechanism of class formation and institutionalisation of class conflict argues that our understanding of changes in social and political structure has been hindered by the freezing of concepts of class in the ice-age of industrial society. He investigates the impact of historical memory on the early transformation of rank into a class society, and on the current confusion in the analysis of the ‘crisis of late-industrial society’. The book traces the formation of a class society back to the patterns of ‘surveillance power’ and control, and shows how these patterns preceded and made possible the industrial system. Subsequently ‘economised’ into the industrial system, these same patterns of control have now proved to be inadequate under social conditions brought about by this economisation of the power conflict.

Zygmunt Bauman is one of the most admired social thinkers of our time. Once a Marxist sociologist, he has surrendered the narrowness of both Marxism and sociology, and dares to write in language that ordinary people can understand—about problems they feel ill equipped to solve. This book is no dry treatise but is instead what Bauman calls “a report from a battlefield,” part of the struggle to find new and adequate ways of thinking about the world in which we live. Rather than searching for solutions to what are perhaps the insoluble problems of the modern world, Bauman proposes that we reframe the way we think about these problems. In an era of routine travel, where most people circulate widely, the inherited beliefs that aid our thinking about the world have become an obstacle. Bauman seeks to liberate us from the thinking that renders us hopeless in the face of our own domineering governments and threats from unknown forces abroad. He shows us we can give up belief in a hierarchical arrangement of states and powers. He challenges members of the “knowledge class” to overcome their estrangement from the rest of society. Gracefully, provocatively, Bauman urges us to think in new ways about a newly flexible, newly challenging modern world. As Bauman notes, quoting Vaclav Havel, “hope is not a prognostication.” It is, rather, alongside courage and will, a mundane, common weapon that is too seldom used.

Sicherheit und Freiheit zählen zu den Grundbedürfnissen des Menschen. Gemeinschaft - schon das Wort konnotiert Wärme. Sie bietet Schutz, beschneidet aber zugleich unsere Individualität und unsere Freiheit. Man muß immer wieder versuchen, diese beiden gleichermaßen kostbaren Werte auszubalancieren, störungsfrei in Einklang kommen sie nie. In Gemeinschaften greift Zygmunt Bauman die Möglichkeiten und Gefahren auf, die sich aus diesem Dilemma ergeben. Mit essayistischer Brillanz diskutiert er einen Begriff, der in den Debatten über die Zukunft von Umwelt und Gesellschaft eine zentrale Stellung einnimmt.

Zygmunt Bauman har energiskt utforskat olika sidor av vårt samtida sociala ich kulturella liv, som han karaktäriserar som "flytande". Relationer, identiteter, och institutioner befinner sig i en ständig förvandling. Det skapas hela tiden nya möjlighter, men också nya faror. Här är det konsumtionslivet Bauman tar sig an. Konsumtion är i sig något flyktigt och våra dagars konsumtionssamhälle är ett tillstånd av evig otillfredsställelse, där den ena frestande nyheten jagar den andra i halsbrytande fart. Tiden får en, som Bauman säger, "pointillistisk" karaktär, den blir en punkt- eller ögonblickstid. Konsumtionssamhällets kultur är en "nukultur". Poängen med Bauman är inte att han levererar aha-upplevelser. Han trycker envist på något som vi innerst inne är medvetna om, men inte vill eller vågar erkänna: att vi långtifrån är så fria som vi inbillar oss... Med ockuperade sinnen sjunger vi ockupantens lov. /Nils Schwartz i Expressen Baumans analys av konsumtionslivet är klockren, stringent - och pessimistisk. /P O i Västerbottens-Kuriren Med Konsumtionsliv visar Bauman att han hör till en av de mest framsynta tänkarna i vår samtid. Boken är kort, skarp och kritisk. /Mikael R Karlsson I Borås Tidning

In our individualized society we are all artists of life – whether we know it or not, will it or not and like it or not, by decree of society if not by our own choice. In this society we are all expected, rightly or wrongly, to give our lives purpose and form by using our own skills and resources, even if we lack the tools and materials with which artists' studios need to be equipped for the artist's work to be conceived and executed. And we are praised or censured for the results – for what we have managed or failed to accomplish and for what we have achieved and lost. In our liquid modern society we are also taught to believe that the purpose of the art of life should be and can be happiness – though it's not clear what happiness is, the images of a happy state keep changing and the state of happiness remains most of the time something yet-to-be-reached. This new book by Zygmunt Bauman – one of the most original and influential social thinkers writing today – is not a book of designs for the art of life nor a 'how to' book: the construction of a design for life and the way it is pursued is and cannot but be an individual responsibility and individual accomplishment. It is instead a brilliant account of conditions under which our designs-for-life are chosen, of the constraints that might be imposed on their choice and of the interplay of design, accident and character that shape their implementation. Last but not least, it is a study of the ways in which our society – the liquid modern, individualized society of consumers – influences (but does not determine) the way we construct and narrate our life trajectories.

In our individualized society we are all artists of life – whether we know it or not, will it or not and like it or not, by decree of society if not by our own choice. In this society we are all expected, rightly or wrongly, to give our lives purpose and form by using our own skills and resources, even if we lack the tools and materials with which artists' studios need to be equipped for the artist's work to be conceived and executed. And we are praised or censured for the results – for what we have managed or failed to accomplish and for what we have achieved and lost. In our liquid modern society we are also taught to believe that the purpose of the art of life should be and can be happiness – though it's not clear what happiness is, the images of a happy state keep changing and the state of happiness remains most of the time something yet-to-be-reached. This new book by Zygmunt Bauman – one of the most original and influential social thinkers writing today – is not a book of designs for the art of life nor a 'how to' book: the construction of a design for life and the way it is pursued is and cannot but be an individual responsibility and individual accomplishment. It is instead a brilliant account of conditions under which our designs-for-life are chosen, of the constraints that might be imposed on their choice and of the interplay of design, accident and character that shape their implementation. Last but not least, it is a study of the ways in which our society – the liquid modern, individualized society of consumers – influences (but does not determine) the way we construct and narrate our life trajectories.

With the advent of liquid modernity, the society of producers is transformed into a society of consumers. In this new consumer society, individuals become simultaneously the promoters of commodities and the commodities they promote. They are, at one and the same time, the merchandise and the marketer, the goods and the travelling salespeople. They all inhabit the same social space that is customarily described by the term the market. The test they need to pass in order to acquire the social prizes they covet requires them to recast themselves as products capable of drawing attention to themselves. This subtle and pervasive transformation of consumers into commodities is the most important feature of the society of consumers. It is the hidden truth, the deepest and most closely guarded secret, of the consumer society in which we now live. In this new book Zygmunt Bauman examines the impact of consumerist attitudes and patterns of conduct on various apparently unconnected aspects of social life politics and democracy, social divisions and stratification, communities and partnerships, identity building, the production and use of knowledge, and value preferences. The invasion and colonization of the web of human relations by the worldviews and behavioural patterns inspired and shaped by commodity markets, and the sources of resentment, dissent and occasional resistance to the occupying forces, are the central themes of this brilliant new book by one of the worlds most original and insightful social thinkers.

Vi lever ikke lenger bare i moderniteten; vi lever i en flytende variant av den, hevder Zygmunt Bauman i denne klassikeren av en samtidsanalyse. Alt skifter; alt flyter. Vi skifter arbeid, bosted, partner; vi shopper omkring etter identiteter, forbruksvarer, opplevelser. Rommene vi beveger oss i, institusjonene og økonomien som samfunnet vårt bygger på, er i endring; hvilke konsekvenser har dette for den enkelte av oss? Flytende modernitet henspiller på at vi har beveget oss over i en ny fase av moderniteten. Mens den gamle ville erstatte den tradisjonelle samfunnsorden med en ny, fast orden, er den nye hinsides både orden og system. I stedet ser man konturene av et samfunn hvor alle dypere avhengighetsmønstre og grunnleggende interaksjonsformer er oppløst, et samfunn som har sin begrunnelse i det flytende og sin forpliktelse i det ikke-forpliktende. Få, om noen, kan gjøre Zygmunt Bauman rangen stridig hva diagnostisering av samtiden angår, men hva mere er: Han utfordrer og avdekker sammenhenger og konsekvenser som ikke uten videre er synlige for oss; foruten å vise den flytende modernitetens skyggesider, viser han her dens forføreriske kraft. Flytende modernitet ble utgitt første gang på norsk i 2001, året etter at den engelske originalutgaven utkom. Etterordet er skrevet av Nils Christie.

Hvordan var Holocaust mulig? Hvordan kunne denne moralske katastrofen skje? Med Moderniteten og Holocaust fra 1989, en bok som stadig kommer i nye opplag og som i dag foreligger på en rekke språk, leverte Zygmunt Bauman ikke bare et banebrytende arbeid innenfor Holocaust-forskningen; han leverte et av de aller viktigste samfunnskritiske verkene i det 20. århundret overhodet. Baumans hovedtese er at Holocaust ville vært utenkelig uten moderniteten. Folkemordet på de europeiske jødene kan ikke forstås som et utslag av antisemittisme hos det tyske folk eller psykologiske avvik hos gjerningsmennene, men som en logisk følge av opplysningstiden og det moderne prosjektet. Med moderniteten ble nytte, produksjon og orden overordnede mål, mens ansvaret for medmennesket ble et anliggende for det ansiktsløse byråkrati. Med Baumans dyptpløyende analyse ble det skapt et veiskille i forståelsen av utryddelsen, som dermed ikke kan betraktes som et unntak, men som kontinuitet. Boken roper dermed et varsko til oss alle: De trekkene ved samfunnet vårt som gjorde Holocaust mulig, er ikke forsvunnet; det som har hendt før, kan skje igjen, om vi ikke blir oss bevisst hvilke etiske konsekvenser moderniteten bærer i seg. Moderniteten og Holocaust ble utgitt første gang på norsk i 1997 og kom i nytt opplag allerede i 1998. Denne nye, reviderte utgaven er i tillegg utstyrt med et nytt etterord som Bauman selv skrev i 2000, der han blant annet ser Holocaust i lys av senere folkemord. Boken inneholder fra før et eget forord som ble skrevet i anledning den norske førsteutgaven, samt Arne Johan Vetlesens klargjørende etterord.

Forfatterne avdekker og utforsker de underliggende hypotesene og engasjementet som har påvirket Baumanns analyser av moderniteten, postmoderniteten og den flytende moderniteten. Boken spenner fra selvbiografiske refleksjoner via pekepinner til forståelsen av og fremtidsutsiktene for Baumans tenkning. Samtalene illustrerer det moralske innholdet i Baumans avvisning av påstanden om at verden ikke kan forandres, og de viser hvorfor samfunnsengasjement er en menneskelig nødvendighet. Har litteraturliste.

Globaliseringsprosessens kapitalekspansjon, som krysser alle sivile og nasjonale grenser og bryter ned all suverenitet på sin ferd, har skapt nye utfordringer for såvel det enkelte individ som for nasjonalstaten og for verdenssamfunnet. Zygmunt Bauman peker i sin banebrytende analyse fra 1998 på de menneskelige konsekvenser av globaliseringen, et tema som ikke er blitt mindre aktuelt på 2000-tallet. Bauman, som regnes som en av vår tids aller fremste samfunnsdiagnostikere, påviser her at det store skillet i dag går mellom dem som tilhører de nye kapitalsterke maktelitene - de som i likhet med pengemakten de representerer er mobile og ikke bundet av det enkelte lands grenser - og de som på den annen side blir sittende igjen, de stedbundne. En av Baumans teser er at den første gruppens frihet forutsetter den andre gruppens ufrihet, og slik er selve grunnlaget for det meningsbærende i samfunnet truet, hevder han. Samtidig har Bauman et positivt budskap: Med sitt skjerpede blikk for det medmenneskelige henleder han oppmerksomheten på verdien og betydningen av å være forankret i et dypere og mer gjensidig meningsfellesskap, et fellesskap hvor frihet fra også betyr ansvar for andre. Slik antyder han også hva en politisk fornyelse bør bygge på dersom vi ønsker å skape et samfunn med et mer menneskelig ansikt. Globaliseringen og dens menneskelige konsekvenser ble utgitt på engelsk første gang i 1998 og ble allerede samme år oversatt til norsk. Boken, som her foreligger i ny utgave, inneholder et eget forord som ble skrevet i anledning den norske førsteutgaven. Etterordet er ført i pennen av Asbjørn Aarnes.

Moderniteten skulle bli det stora språnget framåt, in i en värld befriad från ett blint och outgrundligt öde. Men än idag har vi inte kontroll över vad som händer i våra samhällen, lika lite som vi har kontroll över vad som händer på jorden. Kanske saknar vi till och med de verktyg som skulle kunna kontrollera krafterna som formar våra livsvillkor. I Flytande rädsla fortsätter Zygmunt Bauman den utforskning av modernitetens ambivalenser, av dess löften och hot, av dess framsteg och katastrofer, som gjort honom till en av vår tids mest uppmärksammade sociologiska skriftställare. Vi lever idag, hävdar han, i en rädslans tid. Både naturen och andra människor väcker farhågor. Rädslan närs av naturkatastrofer, miljöförstöring och förgiftad mat, av våldsbrott och terrorattacker. Men det finns också en tredje zon, en grå och ännu namnlös zon, varifrån hoten inte är alltigenom naturliga, inte alltigenom mänskliga, utan naturliga och mänskliga på en och samma gång, men inte riktigt någotdera. Den zon där kraftverk exploderar, bensinkranar sinar, börser kraschar, allsmäktiga företag försvinner tillsammans med jobb man trott vara solida som klippor, där jetplan med sina tusentals säkerhetsanordningar och hundratals passagerare kolliderar med varandra, där marknadsnycker gör de dyrbaraste och mest eftertraktade tillgångar värdelösa och där alla andra slags tänkbara eller otänkbara katastrofer drar ihop sig, redo att övermanna de försiktiga och oförsiktiga lika. Nya faror upptäcks och annonseras ut nästan dagligen – och hur många undflyr inte vår och experternas uppmärksamhet, medan de bereder sig att slå till utan förvarning? Rädslan, säger Baumann, är »en av de mest ödesdigra av de många demoner som bygger bo i vår tids öppna samhällen». Hur ska dessa samhällen hantera osäkerheten i nuet och om framtiden? Kan de återvinna en kontroll som tycks ha glidit dem ur händerna, kan de återvinna en självtillit liknande den som var förknippad med modernitetens löften? Zygmunt Bauman är professor emeritus i sociologi vid universiteten i Warszawa och Leeds.

With the advent of liquid modernity, the society of producers is transformed into a society of consumers. In this new consumer society, individuals become simultaneously the promoters of commodities and the commodities they promote. They are, at one and the same time, the merchandise and the marketer, the goods and the travelling salespeople. They all inhabit the same social space that is customarily described by the term the market. The test they need to pass in order to acquire the social prizes they covet requires them to recast themselves as products capable of drawing attention to themselves. This subtle and pervasive transformation of consumers into commodities is the most important feature of the society of consumers. It is the hidden truth, the deepest and most closely guarded secret, of the consumer society in which we now live. In this new book Zygmunt Bauman examines the impact of consumerist attitudes and patterns of conduct on various apparently unconnected aspects of social life politics and democracy, social divisions and stratification, communities and partnerships, identity building, the production and use of knowledge, and value preferences. The invasion and colonization of the web of human relations by the worldviews and behavioural patterns inspired and shaped by commodity markets, and the sources of resentment, dissent and occasional resistance to the occupying forces, are the central themes of this brilliant new book by one of the worlds most original and insightful social thinkers.

The passage from ‘solid’ to ‘liquid’ modernity has created a new and unprecedented setting for individual life pursuits, confronting individuals with a series of challenges never before encountered. Social forms and institutions no longer have enough time to solidify and cannot serve as frames of reference for human actions and long-term life plans, so individuals have to find other ways to organise their lives. They have to splice together an unending series of short-term projects and episodes that don’t add up to the kind of sequence to which concepts like ‘career’ and ‘progress’ could meaningfully be applied. Such fragmented lives require individuals to be flexible and adaptable – to be constantly ready and willing to change tactics at short notice, to abandon commitments and loyalties without regret and to pursue opportunities according to their current availability. In liquid modernity the individual must act, plan actions and calculate the likely gains and losses of acting (or failing to act) under conditions of endemic uncertainty. Zygmunt Bauman’s brilliant writings on liquid modernity have altered the way we think about the contemporary world. In this short book he explores the sources of the endemic uncertainty which shapes our lives today and, in so doing, he provides the reader with a brief and accessible introduction to his highly original account, developed at greater length in his previous books, of life in our liquid modern times.

"Vi savner fellesskap fordi vi savner trygghet, en kvalitet som er avgjørende for et lykkelig liv, men som den verden vi bor i, er stadig mindre i stand til å tilby og enda mindre villig til å love. Men fellesskapet er stadig like fraværende, det unndrar seg vårt grep eller går i oppløsning om og om igjen, fordi det som vår verden driver oss til å gjøre for å få oppfylt drømmene om et trygt liv, ikke fører oss nærmere oppfyllelsen av dem. Utryggheten øker i stedet for å minke, og følgelig fortsetter vi å drømme, prøve og feile." Zygmunt Bauman Hans bakgrunn er dramatisk, sier Per Bjørn Foros i innledningen. Det er Europas historie gjennom det tjuende århundre Bauman forteller, med et klarsyn som grenser til profetier, og med et tvisyn som innebærer ydmykhet. Nr. 37 i Cappelens upopulære skrifter.