Life in Fragments
This stylised portrait in fragments is the second of my little tributes today. One of the seminal books of the past 30 years was written by a Polish sociologist, exiled from his home country during the Communist crackdown in 1968. Zygmunt Bauman (1925-2017) was a strong advocate for true people's democracy and he was never afraid to speak the truth to power. His subjects ranged on the changing nature of morality in a postmodern society, the brokenness of so many people and their cultures left in the wake of the so-called economic success of globalisation, the rise of anti-Semitism and violence, and how we should deal with strangers.
In his book "Life in Fragments" (1995) he wanted to explore ways individuals fragmented by the changing pace of life and the sheer "liquidity" of the postmodern situation could come together and form real social bonds beyond the traditional structures of the nation state or religious and racial identity. Bauman is the sort of writer you'll never sum up in neat quotes. Once you read him you have to engage in his whole argument. But I will leave you with one thought-provoking comment that is particularly apposite during this time of rolling lock downs:
"It is because of our loneliness that we open up to the Other and allow the Other to open up to us. It is because of our loneliness (which is only belied, not overcome, by the hubbub of the being-with) that we turn into moral selves. And it is only through allowing the togetherness its possibilities which only the future can disclose that we stand a chance of acting morally, and sometimes even of being good, in the present." (p. 71.
One of the final interviews with sociologist Zygmunt Bauman "Social Media are a Trap":
english.elpais.com/elpais/2016/01/19/inenglish/1453208692...
Life in Fragments
This stylised portrait in fragments is the second of my little tributes today. One of the seminal books of the past 30 years was written by a Polish sociologist, exiled from his home country during the Communist crackdown in 1968. Zygmunt Bauman (1925-2017) was a strong advocate for true people's democracy and he was never afraid to speak the truth to power. His subjects ranged on the changing nature of morality in a postmodern society, the brokenness of so many people and their cultures left in the wake of the so-called economic success of globalisation, the rise of anti-Semitism and violence, and how we should deal with strangers.
In his book "Life in Fragments" (1995) he wanted to explore ways individuals fragmented by the changing pace of life and the sheer "liquidity" of the postmodern situation could come together and form real social bonds beyond the traditional structures of the nation state or religious and racial identity. Bauman is the sort of writer you'll never sum up in neat quotes. Once you read him you have to engage in his whole argument. But I will leave you with one thought-provoking comment that is particularly apposite during this time of rolling lock downs:
"It is because of our loneliness that we open up to the Other and allow the Other to open up to us. It is because of our loneliness (which is only belied, not overcome, by the hubbub of the being-with) that we turn into moral selves. And it is only through allowing the togetherness its possibilities which only the future can disclose that we stand a chance of acting morally, and sometimes even of being good, in the present." (p. 71.
One of the final interviews with sociologist Zygmunt Bauman "Social Media are a Trap":
english.elpais.com/elpais/2016/01/19/inenglish/1453208692...