LIQUID LIFE1

Premise
Unlike physics, sociology has never found its Newton or its Einstein: the former
gave physics its classical structure, the second revolutionized it. But with both, even today, the
physicists must confront.
In contrast, in social sciences, since man cannot be studied in vitro, things have gone
differently. Certainly, in the manuals, there is talk of founders and classics. But the fact remains that the impossibility
Talking about a left-wing or right-wing physics does not apply to sociology. For example:
- Pareto is usually placed among conservatives;
Adorno among the progressives, and so on.
Furthermore, for some scholars, sociology must investigate social order, while for others it must investigate progress.
and the revolution. And in general, the first ones (few and trembling) are on the right, while the second ones (more
bald and numerous) on the left.
The premise also explains the difficulty for sociology to transform into a 'normal' science, capable
to study order and progress together, establishing social constants, as Gianfranco hoped
Miglio. But it also clarifies another thing: in the absence of reliable fathers and certain methods, sociology is
periodically forced to discover new ones. She is a victim of the foundling complex: she believes she
recognize in every adult the natural father. And here, it would be long to recall the protagonists of
sociological trends, not only Italian, even from the last ten to fifteen years...
Now, however, the reader will wonder who is currently at the peak of sociological trends. The answer is simple: Zygmunt.
Bauman2.

1[Link]
2Zygmunt Bauman (Poznań, November 19, 1925 – Leeds, January 9, 2017) was a sociologist, philosopher, and academic.
Polish of Jewish origins. Liquid life (Laterza Publishers 2006, pp. 192, euro 15.00). Emeritus professor of sociology.
at the universities of Warsaw and Leeds, the latter being the city where he has lived and taught since 1971. Polish of Jewish descent, in
1968 was banned by the communist authorities, after having escaped Nazi persecution thirty years earlier.
In the editorial flap on the back cover, he is described as 'one of the most well-known and influential thinkers in the world.'
Important books:
- Modernity and the Holocaust (il Mulino 1992). One of the most original and profound texts on the Shoah: A book that
It should be read and studied in schools: where it shows how the immense tragedy was not only the work of the mad.
criminals, but also the effect of that objective 'depersonalization', or bureaucratization, of individuals,
always possible, in 'our modern rational society'.
- Liquid Modernity (Laterza Editions 2000). Book where Bauman argues that 'solid' modernity, of work
of the factory, of the welfare state, of the unions and of the parties, would have given way to 'liquid' modernity:
a new reincarnation of the modern, imposed by the processes of globalization, based on flexible work,
anti-politics and the end of every reformist and revolutionary project. If yesterday there were solid points of reference
(Church, State, Party, Business, Family, etc.), today one would live in an "aquatic" space, marked
from the invisible and unstoppable flow of information, trends, and money. Whose 'liquidity' no longer allows for
people to fill stable social roles (such as citizen, worker, parent, etc.).
It is a thesis, not very recent in itself, which draws on the classic Tönniesian dichotomy between
Community/Society: between warm ties (communal) and cold ties (contractual). Which Bauman updates in light of
processes of globalization. Hence the editorial success (global is a topic that "pulls"). The fervor of the
academic environments, favored by the plight of the foundling, mentioned above. And the attention of an average audience,
facilitated also by the fact that the sociologist Bauman, unlike many of his colleagues, knows how to hold the pen in
hand.
- Liquid Life (Laterza Publishers 2006, pp. 192, euro 15.00). Assembly of different essays. Bauman himself
In the Introduction, it modestly speaks of a 'collection of insights': seven like the chapters.
Index:
1. Individual under siege (chapter 1)
2. From martyr to hero, from hero to celebrity (chapter 2)
3. Culture: rebellious and unmanageable (chapter 3)
4. Taking refuge in Pandora's box (chapter 4)
5. The consumer in liquid-modern society (chapter 5)
6. Learning to walk on quicksand (chapters 6)
7. Reflections on Arendt and Adorno (chapter 7)

Liquid Life3

Analyze the consequences of globalization on people.

• Sociology is somehow useful to humanity if it serves the ongoing battle.

daily by man to understand and give meaning to his existence
It gives us perspectives and remedies... The sociologist must take responsibility. Maintain scientific objectivity but
he has to say his piece - for example, speeches about problem-solving - you are still subject to criticism. He may seem
He does politics but makes general speeches. For Bauman, sociology has a strong role as it is indeed not useful if
it makes no sense, meanings, orientations for people and if it does not bring solutions to social problems.

• On the horizon, there is a glimpse of the intention to help people gain a certain control over their lives.
existential objectives

Sociology serves to explain, interpret reality, and within your existential choices, it allows you to
have control over future choices. One has less control over the events of society. liquid = everything is
labile.

In order to be able to provide its service in favor of the human experience, sociology must do
first of all, let's clear away the preconceptions.

Don't stop at common sense, at the surface, but delve into the depths of things. You give meaning to things.
not according to established standards (Weber's non-evaluability remains)

It is necessary to make certain aspects of experience visible that transcend individual horizons or are beyond
at the threshold of the individual’s consciousness.

Sociologists must help people rediscover solidarity – to go beyond individualism.

There is another, there is an otherness - not only others but also social. Alone, the individual has no possibility of
building a future.

• It is crucially important to unravel those intricate webs of cause-and-effect relationships between suffering.
individual and the collective circumstances that produce it

Often collective circumstances create suffering. Fragility is seen as an individual element.

fragility is constitutive of man (this is also stated by Corvo in his book)

3[Link]

generale/riassunti/riassunto-libro-vita-liquida-di-zygmunt-bauman/433681/view
 • Those who are fortunate enough to dedicate their lives to the study of the social world cannot
to remain in a neutral and indifferent position, detached from the struggles that have as their stake in
I play the very fates of this world.

Sociology must provide solutions, it must engage with the problems of society. emblematic–dimension
cultural not decisive in the formation of the individual.

• Each of us is responsible for what happens to the rest of the world

Even Don Dilani said: 'I have to worry about what happens.' From spectator to actor (vedicity under
harassment

• The morality of the subject today involves a form of responsibility.

We know things – we must take responsibility. This applies to the individual level but
even for that social one 'if we remain indifferent we become guilty of failure to intervene, failure to
responsibility

• Caring for the fate and suffering of those in need cannot depend solely on
moral impulses and from the conscience of the individual

The sociologist must show aspects – create a collective accountability (see Durkheim). It is not enough the
individual consciousness of the individual.

• At every moment in human history, every form of collective life has experienced joys and sufferings.
• Once it has fulfilled some of the needs that the subject expresses, each new social asset
inevitably leaves much to be desired in other respects
• Every form of human coexistence has its traps, its deceptions, its weak points.
• The key point is to discover what lies behind the traps and deceits that cause it.
suffering of many of our contemporaries and therefore requires urgent intervention
• In particular, all forms of social coexistence have sought to reconcile security and freedom.
without a shadow of a doubt, the two central values of human life

Non esiste una società perfetta, si rischia di andare nell’utopia. Problema principale è riconciliaresicurezza e
freedom. (a theme explored in particular in 'desire for community'). How much individual freedom
it also allows for individual security. E.g. immigration problem related to these issues. A solution has not yet been found.
a company capable of reconciling these two things. For example, Italy, people willing to give up a space of
freedom for security. These two dimensions must be in balance.

• None of the attempts made so far can boast of complete success in this regard.
• Every time a compromise has been reached
• Today, the lack of collective security is evident and each of us must struggle to navigate.
like on skates on a thin sheet of ice, without any protection, except for that offered by the few
state-paid personnel to respond in case of drowning
Metaphor - a.s. (few personnel) they try to save themselves but also to bring down the other to save themselves. unless in case
of those who try to save what they can...

• Furthermore, a new social stratification has emerged: on one side, the new supraterritorial elite that
acts at will in increasingly remote places, without paying the slightest attention to
borders and boundaries, while the rest of the world erects ever higher barriers to defend its own
 territories: just think of the barbed wire that surrounds the facilities for the reception of asylum seekers
and to the refugee camps
• Our lives move, wavering, between these two extremes

Globalization has increased social differentiation instead of reducing severe injustice.

inequality that exists in the world today.

• This only fuels fear and anxiety, which end up creating trauma in the subject and
at the same time they foster xenophobic and neo-tribal sentiments on a large scale
• These are the typical discomforts on the social level of the 'liquid' phase of modernity.

Xenos – from Greek foreigner. Clear position = it is our anxiety and fear that makes us become racist. Bauman
criticized because it refers to a cultural elite, to the upper middle class and not to the middle class. It talks about a
position as an intellectual and not one that starts from people's experiences. If sociology takes a stand, it can
to be criticized, a source of debate and disputable.

• Reducing personal interaction to a matter of pleasure stems from the illusion of freedom, while
strong ties, dedication to the other, responsibility seem to be the price to pay
• Dedication is seen as the denial of happiness and personal freedom (commitments mortgage
the future threatens to reduce the opportunities that may one day arise)
Postponing commitment because it creates responsibilities such as motherhood to pursue a career. Commitment is not part of the
our life - also in relationships, dedication, sacrifice for - does not exist because it limits you - idea that there is
always something better - consequence anxiety.

• In practice, however, relationships based on uncertain and unstable emotions constitute a source.
inexhaustible anxiety, an anxiety that ruins the fun: no one can feel completely
secure and for this reason everyone lives in fear
• The rapid deterioration of any skills, knowledge, merits accumulated over time and the
the fragility of the bonds makes the ice we all skate on increasingly thin and dangerous as
I in the past
The social complexification, unstable relationships, skills and knowledge no longer determined, is no longer there.
a transmission of knowledge. Once, one studied—and that was enough for a lifetime, now no.
this is a deep source of difficulty.

We have to continuously move, run, and shift, but after a while, it gets tiring.

• What we need are not recipes and miracle remedies but attempts and experiments
There are no dogmas for the difficulty of these things. Trying, even making mistakes and failing. Dimensions of life.
daily in which I can try new and different things while having the ability to put myself on the line. Courage
When an action is new, I don't know how it will end. For example, getting married at twenty-five. Now it takes courage.
To make a choice like this. The same friends tell you, "You don't know what you're missing by getting married so young."

• We have never found ourselves in a situation like this before and we have no models to which
we will meet again
• There are certainly areas that are relevant to our current existential condition and from which
derives most of the discomfort, where action needs to be taken with some urgency
• It is essential to restore an important role to politics and the public dimension in
resolution of social problems, without exceeding in the processes of deregulation
• Then it is necessary to reduce the gap between de jure individuality and de facto individuality, that is between
being individuals of rights and being able to access the resources necessary for individual free choice
 • To achieve this goal, the gap between public and private dimensions must be reduced.
understanding how to rely on the community to soothe one’s suffering, but which are, of
it is done, the suffering of all often means changing the state of things
• Our personal destiny is closely linked to collective conditions.

Involving is a first way to solve. NETWORKS. We are not islands. Feeling of being in a
archipelago, creating bridges between these islands.

• Regarding globalization, the desire to return to a pre-global dimension is touching for

its romanticism but risks distracting attention from the present and the duty of effort
restore a control of a political nature and, consequently, also ethical, in the perspective of
ensure justice and equity.
This thing needs to be projected into the future. The risk of nostalgia for a world that cannot return.

• It is not possible to escape technological and economic colonization, but one must ask how.
is it possible to eliminate the pollution produced, visible in human misery, and how to channel the
flow that the current is still able to activate towards a more equitable distribution of benefits
• It is necessary to create a global public opinion, a global forum, a global civil society.
• A century after Weber declared the disappearance of religion, denouncing its decline.
irremediable world in a state of disenchantment, one can speak of 'reenchantment'
• The return to the sacred can take the form of any religious fundamentalism, attitude
which is designed specifically to meet the request for simplification required by the condition
'liquid', for which one wants to reduce discussions about the human experience to a few truths, easily
accessible