- We fear what we can't manage
In order to expand the thematical scope of this blog I hereby present a few statements made by the famous sociologist Zygmunt Bauman in his speech about "Moral Challenges of Liquid-Modern Life" given at the University of Oslo two days ago. Needless to say, I don't intend to develop nor reproduce Mr. Bauman's argument. The purpose of this post is rather to broadcast a few thoughts, briefly and crudely, which in turn may spur further thinking among this blog's readers.
Interestingly, Mr. Bauman suggested that the dividing line between natural disasters and man-made catastrophes is getting more and more blurred. The magnitude of the former is usually increased by human behavior. For example, the tsunami wouldn't have caused such devastation if multitudes of people hadn't settled so exposed to the sea and crammed themselves together so densely. Consciously or not, this pattern of settlement is the result of a risk calculation. A similar example is found in New Orleans. Here the population was warned in advance about the pending disaster, but several people stayed in the city. Their reasons to stay were manifold: 1) They didn't believe in Katrina's severity; 2) They couldn't afford to flee the city; 3) The authorities failed to execute and coordinate the evacuation of the poor. And so forth. Furthermore, scientists claim that the increasing magnitude and frequency of natural disasters such as floods, drought and hurricanes are due to pollution caused by man.
On the other hand, man-made catastrophes are looking more like natural disasters for two reasons. Firstly, the magnitude of such catastrophes may be similar to the devastation caused by natural disasters. Take 9/11 for an example. Or the holocaust during the WWII. Secondly, man-made catastrophes may spin out of control, i.e. we are not able to prevent nor handle them. The insurgency in Iraq is one example, the suicide bombings in Israel, Madrid and London are others.
Mr. Bauman summed up: "We fear what we can't manage, and what we cannot manage (or handle) we call incomprehension". Hence our obsession with the threat from terrorism.
Interestingly, Mr. Bauman suggested that the dividing line between natural disasters and man-made catastrophes is getting more and more blurred. The magnitude of the former is usually increased by human behavior. For example, the tsunami wouldn't have caused such devastation if multitudes of people hadn't settled so exposed to the sea and crammed themselves together so densely. Consciously or not, this pattern of settlement is the result of a risk calculation. A similar example is found in New Orleans. Here the population was warned in advance about the pending disaster, but several people stayed in the city. Their reasons to stay were manifold: 1) They didn't believe in Katrina's severity; 2) They couldn't afford to flee the city; 3) The authorities failed to execute and coordinate the evacuation of the poor. And so forth. Furthermore, scientists claim that the increasing magnitude and frequency of natural disasters such as floods, drought and hurricanes are due to pollution caused by man.
On the other hand, man-made catastrophes are looking more like natural disasters for two reasons. Firstly, the magnitude of such catastrophes may be similar to the devastation caused by natural disasters. Take 9/11 for an example. Or the holocaust during the WWII. Secondly, man-made catastrophes may spin out of control, i.e. we are not able to prevent nor handle them. The insurgency in Iraq is one example, the suicide bombings in Israel, Madrid and London are others.
Mr. Bauman summed up: "We fear what we can't manage, and what we cannot manage (or handle) we call incomprehension". Hence our obsession with the threat from terrorism.
posted by Einar at 10:39 am
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