A sociedade de risco: visões sobre a iminência da crise ambiental global na teoria social contemporânea

Abstract

This paper aims to present a short discussion about the modernity crisis as it has been taken in contemporary social theory, in the context of global environmental risk. Primarily, there are references to global changes, occurred from the 1950s onwards, followed by a debate about the recent introduction of environmental questions in social sciences, as well as the visions of Anthony Giddens and Ulrich Beck about reflexivity and the risk society. The conclusions indicate that, although these authors have appointed to the high destruction potential at the risk society, they keep a fairly optimistic approach relative to the emergence of post-material values concerning general respect to all forms of life. This becomes clear in Gidden.s suggestions for a model of radical politics (utopian realism) or in Beck.s evidences about the perspective on active criticism, that is, on the reflexive conscience concerning environmental risks in late modernity.