Monday, October 15, 2012

conspiracies

According to Beck, in a risk society solidarity from anxiety arises and becomes a political force. (49) He then asks the question of how that binding force of anxiety operates. I couldn't help but think of conspiracy theories as a form for that solidarity. Conspiracy theories seem to be a way to place blame, or to provide some "rational" explanation for tragedies or what might seem like injustice. Beck asks what forms of action communities will organize in dealing with those anxieties. Might we understand conspiracy theories to function as such? How can we understand conspiracy theories in light of Beck's discussion of modernization risks? Are they a way of making risk even more invisible?

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