S/S/22. Why does Beck claim we live in a risk society? Is he right?

Beck has argued that modernity has been transformed, and although modernity has changed in fundamental ways, it has not been eclipsed. Beck (1992, 2004) argues that modernity has gone through a metamorphosis from the classical industrial society, concerned with production and distribution of wealth in conditions of relative scarcity, to the risk society, concerned with the production and distribution of risk in relative abundance. This essay will outline and analyse Beck's theory of the risk society, and will argue that Beck provides a useful insight into previously unanalysed aspects of society. However, it is not possible to accept Beck's theory as a whole. Rather, it is more plausible to argue that the production of wealth and risk are both intrinsic aspects of modern society and must always be understood together, despite any quantitative shifts in the production of wealth and risk.