Quotes by Ulrich Beck

About Ulrich Beck:

Ulrich Beck was a well known German sociologist, and one of the most cited social scientists in the world during his lifetime. His work focused on questions of uncontrollability, ignorance and uncertainty in the modern age, and he coined the terms "risk society" and "second modernity". He also tried to overturn national perspectives that predominated in sociological investigations with a cosmopolitanism that acknowledges the interconnectedness of the modern world. He was a professor at the University of Munich and also held appointments at the Fondation Maison des Sciences de l’Homme (FMSH) in Paris, and at the London School of Economics.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

When they come to Europe, they are confronted by still closed borders. Thus, the concept of open borders is a very selective concept, one that is not taken seriously at all in the experience of non-Europeans.

Ulrich Beck

This experience actually means the very opposite: the largest military power was unable to stop such a sensitive attack and will be unable to rule out such a possibility in the future. Precisely this is the background to the United States' military i...

Ulrich Beck

Neither science, nor the politics in power, nor the mass media, nor business, nor the law nor even the military are in a position to define or control risks rationally.

Ulrich Beck

Nonetheless, we continue to be obsessed with finding or inventing a European nation which, as in the nation state, guarantees homogeneity and thus an appropriate form of democracy and centralized government.

Ulrich Beck

You need education. You need subsistence protection. We need jobs and social security. These are preconditions under which it will perhaps be possible to deal with these complex circumstances.

Ulrich Beck

And it also became clear that these conditions of inequality and historical injustice have given rise to a feeling of hate in the world - a deeply felt hate that cannot easily be overcome with a few good words.

Ulrich Beck

Accordingly, globalization is not only something that will concern and threaten us in the future, but something that is taking place in the present and to which we must first open our eyes.

Ulrich Beck

We do not yet have the solutions to these questions, but the awareness that we live in an endangered world is present in more and more life situations.

Ulrich Beck

I forced myself to think what is the new concept and it became clear to me that it was risk, not only in technology and ecology, but in life and employment, too.

Ulrich Beck

You cannot make peace with terrorists. The normal dividing lines between war and peace do not apply.

Ulrich Beck

The world has become so complex that the idea of a power in which everything comes together and can be controlled in a centralized way is now erroneous.

Ulrich Beck

Global conditions are far too complex to be able to imagine that they could ever be really controlled by one power.

Ulrich Beck

The basic assumption of the secular society is that modernity overcomes religion.

Ulrich Beck

All theory of modernity in sociology suggests that the more modernity there is, the less religion. In my theory we can realize that this is wrong: atheism is only one belief system among many.

Ulrich Beck

You could say that we are living in an internally globalized country.

Ulrich Beck

Western countries in particular can today no longer be separated from Muslim societies, because they have them within themselves. They are themselves internally globalized.

Ulrich Beck

We are living in a world that is beyond controllability.

Ulrich Beck

The idea that you surrender your identity when you relinquish national powers is unhelpful. No, indeed, precisely the opposite is the case: if done in an intelligent way, you attain the sovereignty to better solve national problems in cooperation wit...

Ulrich Beck

That was the first major social sciences conference at which social scientists from all cultures wanted to reach a consensus on whether we can continue to pursue a national course in the social sciences or whether we need a cosmopolitan path that als...

Ulrich Beck

Relinquishing apparent national sovereignty does not have to entail a loss of national sovereignty, but can actually be a benefit.

Ulrich Beck

Author Bio

  • NameUlrich Beck
  • DescriptionGerman sociologist and professor of Sociology who coined the term risk society
  • BornMay 15, 1944
  • DiedJanuary 1, 2015
  • CountryGermany
  • ProfessionSociologist