Risk : a study of its origins, history and politics / Matthias Beck (Queen's University, UK) and Beth Kewell (The University of Stavanger, Norway).

Cover image for Risk : a study of its origins, history and politics / Matthias Beck (Queen's University, UK) and Beth Kewell (The University of Stavanger, Norway).

ISBN:

9789814383219

Title:

Risk : a study of its origins, history and politics / Matthias Beck (Queen's University, UK) and Beth Kewell (The University of Stavanger, Norway).

Author:

Beck, Matthias, 1964-

Personal Author:

Beck, Matthias, 1964-

Physical Description:

1 online resource.

Contents:

Preface; Contents; List of Tables; List of Figures; List of Illustrations; Introduction; Moral Reach and Ontological Insecurity; Homo Economics and Homo Ludens; About this Book; Chapter One Homo Ludens, Aleatorics and the Birth of Probability; From the Beginning; Cardano's Provenance: A Focus on Risk; Heroes of Aleatory Arithmetic; Play and Politics; Conclusion; Chapter Two Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Century Fictions of Risk; Mapping the Ground; Post-Enlightenment Disasters and the Origins of Pessimism; Historical Disasters and the Fear of the Present.

Dangers of Urban Life and Societal Dimensions of DisasterXenophobic Visions and the 'Political' Disaster Novel; War in the West; Wars with Asians; Conclusion; Chapter Three 'Pseudo-Sciences' of Risk; Setting the Scene; Dangerous Crowds and Technologies; Racial Hierarchies and Racial Threats; Endangered 'Rulers'; From Local Threat to Global Race War; Conclusion; Chapter Four Decision Analysis and the Social Control of Technology; Transitions to 'Modernity'; The Rise and Fall of Technological Decision Analysis; The Beginnings of Modern Safety Science; Safety Expertise as Ideology.

Signs of DecayThe Environmentalist Critique; Heuristic Limitations and Environmentalist Dissent; Conclusion; Chapter Five International Crises and Precarious Global Systems; Predecessors: Retrospective Decision Analysis; Crises and Diplomatic History; Arms Races and Defence Expenditure; Alliances and Wars; Economic Crises; Pax Americana and Prospective Decision Analysis; Systems Theory and Global Risk Management; Systems Thinking; Global Modelling; Conclusion; Chapter Six Macrosociological Dualities of Risk: Structural Inequality and Risk Society; Structural Inequality; Dependency Theory.

Risk SocietyConclusion; Bibliography; Index; About the Authors.

Subject Term:

Risk -- History.

Risk -- Social aspects.

Risk -- Political aspects.

Risk perception.

Uncertainty -- Social aspects.

Uncertainty -- Political aspects.

Added Author:

Kewell, Beth.

Format:

Electronic Resources

Electronic Access:

Click here to view

Publication Date:

2013

Publication Information:

New Jersey :

World Scientific,

2013.

Available:*

Shelf Number	Material Type	Copy	Shelf Location	Status
302.12 BEC	1:E-BOOK	1	1:ONLINE	Searching... Unknown

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

Over a period of several centuries, the academic study of risk has evolved as a distinct body of thought, which continues to influence conceptual developments in fields such as economics, management, politics and sociology. However, few scholarly works have given a chronological account of cultural and intellectual trends relating to the understanding and analysis of risks. Risk: A Study of its Origins, History and Politics aims to fill this gap by providing a detailed study of key turning points in the evolution of society's understanding of risk. Using a wide range of primary and secondary materials, Matthias Beck and Beth Kewell map the political origins and moral reach of some of the most influential ideas associated with risk and uncertainty at specific periods of time. The historical focus of the book makes it an excellent introduction for readers who wish to go beyond specific risk management techniques and their theoretical underpinnings, to gain an understanding of the history and politics of risk.