Ulrich Beck (; 15 May 1944 – 1 January 2015) was a German sociologist, and one of the most cited social scientists in the world during his lifetime. His work focused on questions of uncontrollability,

ignorance Ignorance is a lack of knowledge or understanding. Deliberate ignorance is a culturally-induced phenomenon, the study of which is called agnotology. The word "ignorant" is an adjective that describes a person in the state of being unaware, or ...

and

uncertainty Uncertainty or incertitude refers to situations involving imperfect or unknown information. It applies to predictions of future events, to physical measurements that are already made, or to the unknown, and is particularly relevant for decision ...

in the

modern age The modern era or the modern period is considered the current historical period of human history. It was originally applied to the history of Europe and Western history for events that came after the Middle Ages, often from around the year 1500 ...

, and he coined the terms " risk society" and " second modernity" or " reflexive modernization". He also tried to overturn national perspectives that predominated in sociological investigations with a

cosmopolitanism Cosmopolitanism is the idea that all human beings are members of a single community. Its adherents are known as cosmopolitan or cosmopolite. Cosmopolitanism is both prescriptive and aspirational, believing humans can and should be " world citizen ...

that acknowledges the interconnectedness of the

modern world The modern era or the modern period is considered the current historical period of human history. It was originally applied to the history of Europe and Western history for events that came after the Middle Ages, often from around the year 1500 ...

. He was a professor at the

University of Munich The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich, LMU or LMU Munich; ) is a public university, public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Originally established as the University of Ingolstadt in 1472 by Duke ...

and also held appointments at the Fondation Maison des Sciences de l’Homme (FMSH) in Paris, and at the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

Life

Beck was born in the Pomeranian town of Stolp,

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

(now Słupsk in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

), in 1944, and grew up in

Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

. He began university studies with a focus on law at

Freiburg Freiburg im Breisgau or simply Freiburg is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fourth-largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, Mannheim and Karlsruhe. Its built-up area has a population of abou ...

, and from 1966 onwards studied

sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

and

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

at the University of Munich. Starting in 1972, after earning a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

, he was employed at Munich as a sociologist. In 1979 he qualified as a university lecturer with a

habilitation Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in Germany, France, Italy, Poland and some other European and non-English-speaking countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excelle ...

thesis. He received appointments as professor at the universities of

Münster Münster (; ) is an independent city#Germany, independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a ...

(1979–1981) and

Bamberg Bamberg (, , ; East Franconian German, East Franconian: ''Bambärch'') is a town in Upper Franconia district in Bavaria, Germany, on the river Regnitz close to its confluence with the river Main (river), Main. Bamberg had 79,000 inhabitants in ...

(1981–1992). From 1992 until his death, Beck was professor of sociology and director of the Institute for Sociology at the University of Munich. He received numerous international awards and honors, including election to the Council and Executive Board of the German Society for Sociology. From 1995 to 1997 he was a member of the ''Kommission für Zukunftsfragen der Freistaaten Bayern und Sachsen'' (

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

n and

Saxon The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

State Commission for Questions Concerning the Future). Beginning in 1999, he was the speaker of the DFG research programme on reflexive modernity. From 1999 to 2009 Beck was a spokesman of the Collaborative Reflexive Modernization Research Centre 536, an interdisciplinary consortium of four universities in the Munich area funded and overseen by the German Research Foundation (DFG). Beck's theory of interdisciplinary reflexive modernization on a basis of a wide range of topics in appropriate research was empirically tested. The theory of reflexive modernization works from the basic idea that the rise of the modern industrial age produces side-effects across the globe that provide the institutional basis and coordinates that modern nation-states question, modify, and open for political action. He was active as sociologist and public intellectual in Germany and throughout the world, regularly intervening in debates on the European Union, climate change and nuclear energy. At the time of his death, he and his international research group were only 1.5 years into the 5-year research project "Methodological Cosmopolitanism – in the Laboratory of Climate Change" (the Cosmo-Climate Research Project), of which Beck was the Principal investigator. For this research project he received the prestigious ERC Advanced Grant, scheduled to terminate in 2018. Along with Beck, sociologists David Tyfield and Anders Blok lead work packages within the overall project. The project also fostered international research collaboration with various research 'hubs' in East Asia through the Europe-Asia Research Network (EARN). In cooperation with EARN, Beck and sociologist Sang-Jin Han had been set to lead a 2-year project for the Seoul Metropolitan Government beginning in 2015. Beck was a member of the Board of Trustees at the Jewish Center in Munich and a member of the German branch of

PEN International PEN International (known as International PEN until 2010) is a worldwide professional association, association of writers, founded in London in 1921 to promote friendship and intellectual co-operation among writers everywhere. The association ...

. He was married to the German

social scientist Social science (often rendered in the plural as the social sciences) is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among members within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the ...

Elisabeth Beck-Gernsheim. He died of a

myocardial infarction A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

on 1 January 2015, at the age of 70.

Research contributions

For 25 years, Beck delivered new diagnoses to the following question: How can social and political thought and action in the face of radical global change (environmental destruction, financial crisis, global warming, the crisis of democracy and the nation-state institutions) be intertwined in a new modernity? A radicalized modernity, for Beck, attacks its own foundations. Institutions such as the nation-state and the family are globalized 'from the inside'. Beck studied

modernization Modernization theory or modernisation theory holds that as societies become more economically modernized, wealthier and more educated, their political institutions become increasingly liberal democratic and rationalist. The "classical" theories ...

, ecological problems,

individual An individual is one that exists as a distinct entity. Individuality (or self-hood) is the state or quality of living as an individual; particularly (in the case of humans) as a person unique from other people and possessing one's own needs or g ...

ization and

globalization Globalization is the process of increasing interdependence and integration among the economies, markets, societies, and cultures of different countries worldwide. This is made possible by the reduction of barriers to international trade, th ...

. Later in his career, he embarked on exploring the changing conditions of work in a world of increasing global

capitalism Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their use for the purpose of obtaining profit. This socioeconomic system has developed historically through several stages and is defined by ...

, declining influence of unions and flexibilisation of the labour process, a then new theory rooted in the concept of

. Beck also contributed a number of new words to German and anglophone sociology, including " risk society", " second modernity", reflexive modernization and Brazilianization ( Brasilianisierung). According to Beck, all contemporary political thinking emanates from the methodological nationalism of political thought and sociology (and other social sciences). Risk society was coined by Ulrich Beck and

Anthony Giddens Anthony Giddens, Baron Giddens (born 18 January 1938) is an English sociologist who is known for his theory of structuration and his holistic view of modern societies. He is considered to be one of the most prominent modern sociologists and is ...

during the 1980s. According to Beck and Giddens, the traditional industrial class structure of modern society is breaking apart. Globalization creates risks that concern people from all different classes; for example, radioactivity, pollution, and even unemployment. Affluent households act to insulate themselves from these risks, but cannot do so for some; for example global environmental change. The poor suffer them. He points out that risks are also socially constructed and some risks are perceived as more dangerous because they are discussed in mass media more frequently, such as terrorism. Risk society leads to analysis of risks, causing prejudgment. Beck was the editor of the sociological journal, ' (in German, since 1980), author of some 150 articles, and author or editor of many books.

The Spinelli Group

On 15 September 2010, Beck supported the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

Spinelli Group The Spinelli Group is an initiative founded with a view to reinvigorate the endeavour for federalisation of the European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic uni ...

initiative to reinvigorate

federalism Federalism is a mode of government that combines a general level of government (a central or federal government) with a regional level of sub-unit governments (e.g., provinces, State (sub-national), states, Canton (administrative division), ca ...

in the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

. The

Union of European Federalists The Union of European Federalists (UEF) is an international non-profit association originally founded in 1946 and refounded in 1973, promoting the advent of a European federal State based on the idea of unity in diversity. In 1946, it brought ...

and its youth organisation Young European Federalists have been promoting the idea of European federalism for over 60 years, with a "belief that only a European Federation, based on the idea of unity in diversity, could overcome the division of the European continent". Prominent supporters of the initiative include

Jacques Delors Jacques Lucien Jean Delors (; 20 July 192527 December 2023) was a French politician who served as the eighth president of the European Commission from 1985 to 1995. Delors played a key role in the creation of the single market, the euro and th ...

, Daniel Cohn-Bendit,

Guy Verhofstadt Guy Maurice Marie Louise Verhofstadt (; ; born 11 April 1953) is a Belgian politician who served as the prime minister of Belgium from 1999 to 2008. He was a member of the European Parliament (MEP) from Belgium from 2009 until 2024. He was a me ...

, Andrew Duff and

Elmar Brok Elmar Peter Brok (born 14 May 1946) is a German politician who was a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 1980 until 2019. He was the chairman of the European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs from 1999-2007 and from 2012-2017. He i ...

Awards

*1996 Cultural Honor Prize of the City of Munich *1999 CICERO speaker price award *1999 German-British Forum Award for outstanding service to German-British relations (together with Anthony Giddens) *2004 Award of DGS for outstanding achievements in the field of public achievement in sociology *2005 Schader Prize, the most prestigious award for social scientists in Germany *2014 Lifetime Achievement Award for Distinguished Contribution to Future Research of the International Sociological Association *In 2013 he received an ERC advanced grant to carry out the Cosmo-Climate Research Project (Methodological Cosmopolitanism: In the Laboratory of Climate Change), with David Tyfield and Anders Blok amongst others. *Honorary doctorates (8): University of Jyväskylä, Finland (1996), University of Macerata, Italy (2006), University of Madrid (UNED), Spain (2007), Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt (2010), University of Lausanne, Switzerland (2011), Free University of Varna, Bulgaria (2011), University of Buenos Aires, Argentina (2013), St. Kliment Ohridski University of Sofia, Bulgaria (2013).Soziologe Prof. Dr. Ulrich Beck wird neuer Ehrendoktor der Katholischen Universität Eichstätt-Ingolstadt
, Mitteilung der Katholischen Universität Eichstätt-Ingolstadt vom 8. November 2010; retrieved, 3 January 2015

Works

Among his major works are: * Beck, Ulrich (1974) ''Objectivity and normativity. The theory-practice debate in modern German and American sociology''. Reinbek, Rowohlt. * Beck, Ulrich with Michael Brater and Hans Jürgen (1980). ''Home: sociology of work and occupations. Basics, problem areas, research results'', Rowohlt paperback Verlag GmbH, Reinbek. * Beck, Ulrich (1986) '' Risikogesellschaft – Auf dem Weg in eine andere Moderne'' (''Risk Society'') * Beck, Ulrich (1988) ''Gegengifte : die organisierte Unverantwortlichkeit''. Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp. * Beck, Ulrich (1992) ''Risk Society: Towards a New Modernity''. London: Sage * Beck, Ulrich & Elisabeth Beck-Gernsheim (1994) ''Riskante Freiheiten – Gesellschaftliche Individualisierungsprozesse in der Moderne'' * Beck, Ulrich & Giddens, Anthony & Lash Scott (1994) ''Reflexive Modernization.Politics, Tradition and Aesthetics in the Modern Social Order''. Cambridge: Polity Press. * Beck, Vossenkuhl, Ziegler, photographs by T. Rautert (1995) ''Eigenes Leben – Ausflüge in die unbekannte Gesellschaft, in der wir leben'' * Beck-Gernsheim, Elisabeth & Beck, Ulrich (1995) ''The Normal Chaos of Love''. Cambridge: Polity Press. * Beck, Ulrich (1995) ''Ecological Politics in an Age of Risk''. Cambridge: Polity Press. * Beck, Ulrich (1996) ''The Reinvention of Politics.Rethinking Modernity in the Global Social Order''. Cambridge: Polity Press. * Beck, Ulrich (1997) ''Was ist Globalisierung?'' * Beck, Ulrich (1998) ''Democracy without Enemies''. Cambridge: Polity Press. * Beck, Ulrich (1998) ''World Risk Society''. Cambridge: Polity Press. * Beck, Ulrich (1999) ''What Is Globalization?'' Cambridge: Polity Press. * Beck, Ulrich (2000) ''The Brave New World of Work''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. * Adam, Barbara & Beck, Ulrich & Van Loon, Joost (2000) ''The Risk Society and Beyond: Critical Issues for Social Theory''. London: Sage. * Beck, Ulrich & Beck-Gernsheim, Elisabeth (2002) ''Individualization: Institutionalized Individualism and its Social and Political Consequences. London: Sage. * Beck, Ulrich & Willms, Johannes (2003) ''Conversations with Ulrich Beck''. Cambridge: Polity Press. * Beck, Ulrich (2005) ''Power in the Global Age''. Cambridge: Polity Press. * Beck, Ulrich (2006) ''Cosmopolitan Vision''. Cambridge: Polity Press. * Beck, U., & Grande, E. (2007). ''Cosmopolitan Europe''. Cambridge: Polity Press. * Beck, Ulrich. (2009). ''World at Risk''. Cambridge: Polity Press. * Angelika Poferl and Ulrich Beck (eds.) (2010) ''Große Armut, großer Reichtum. Zur Transnationalisierung sozialer Ungleichheit.'' Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp Verlag. * Beck, Ulrich & Grande, Edgar (2010
"Varieties of second modernity: extra-European and European experiences and perspectives"
'' British Journal of Sociology'', Vol 61, Issue 3, pages 406–638. * Beck, Ulrich (2012) ''Das deutsche Europa'', Berlin * Beck, Ulrich (2013) ''German Europe''. Cambridge: Polity Press. * Beck, Ulrich and Ciaran Cronin (2014) ''Cosmopolitan Vision''. Cambridge: Polity Press.

Essays

*”World citizens of all countries, unite! Democracy beyond the nation-state: Europe must make a beginning. Theses for a cosmopolitan manifesto”. (World Citizen manifest) in. ''The Time'', 1998 No. 30 *”The Society of the Less. The burst dream of the rise in Germany”, ''ZDF'', 17 January 2005 *”Gentle world power Europe. Vision of a cosmopolitan empire that no longer relies on national ideas”, in: ''Frankfurter Rundschau'' 5 July 2005 *”Blind to reality”, in: ''Frankfurter Rundschau'', 3 September 2005 *”Europe can not be built on the ruins of the nations”, with Anthony Giddens, In: ''The World'', 1 October 2005 *”Farewell to the utopia of full employment”, in: ''Neue Zürcher Zeitung'', 4 November 2006 *”Tragic individualization”, in: ''Sheets for German and international politics'', 2007, Issue 5, pp 577-584. *”God is dangerous” in ''Die Zeit'', 2007 No. 52. *”The error of the caterpillar”, in: ''Frankfurt general newspaper'' 14 June 2011 *”Fainting, but legitimate”, in: ''the daily newspaper'' (taz) 28 October 2011 *”Machiavellis power”, in: ''Der Spiegel'', 8 October 2012 *”For a European Spring!”, in: ''the daily newspaper (taz)'', 23 November 2012

Interviews

*“Freedom or capitalism”. Ulrich Beck in an interview with Johannes Willms, Suhrkamp, Frankfurt am Main 2000 *”Interview, Telepolis”, 28 November 1997 *"Choice will not save the country," interview in New Window *”An encounter” (Memento of 6 July 2007 at the Internet Archive) with Beck on Lake Starnberg, ''Der Tagesspiegel'' 23 September 2005 *"Unemployment is a victory": Interview with Constantine Sakkas, in: ''Der Tagesspiegel'' on 30 November 2006. *"Anyone can create their own God," in the Tagesspiegel of 20 July 2008 *”Questions of faith. A new enthusiasm”, talk with Arno Widmann, in: ''Frankfurter Rundschau'', 15. August 2008 *”Action in the state of not knowing”. Ulrich Beck, Risk Society theorists, on the turncoats of the financial crisis and the importance of Europe. in: ''Frankfurter Rundschau'', 5 November 2008 *”Merkel engages in the dressing up box in”: ''Süddeutsche Zeitung'', 12. February 2010 *”A strategically staged mistake”, talk with Andreas Zielcke in: ''Süddeutsche Zeitung'', 14. March 2011 *”In bed with the others”, Ulrich Beck and Elisabeth Beck-Gernsheim in conversation with Ulrich Gutmair, in: ''taz: Die Tageszeitung'' 12 October 2011 at *”The common identity should first be identified”, Ulrich Beck and Elisabeth Beck-Gernsheim in conversation with Jeanette Villa Chica, in: ''Tages-Anzeiger,'' 9 November 2011 *”Love across national borders”, Ulrich Beck and Elisabeth Beck-Gernsheim, in: ''Time Campus'' 22 November 2011 *”About the Merkiavellismus”, talk with Nils Minkmar, in: ''Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung'', 16 January 2013 *”More Willy Brandt dare Ulrich Beck and Martin Schulz on the future of Europe”, in: ''Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung'', 24 May 2013

References

External links

Professor Ulrich Beck
– his staff page at the LSE
Homepage of Prof. Dr. Ulrich Beck

Ideas radio show, discusses Ulrich's concepts of risk in science and societyNew media artwork inspired by Ulrich Beck's work, created by eco-art collaborative EcoArtTechInterview with Ulrich Beck: “Nationalism does not leave much room for the recognition of others”
Barcelona Metropolis, 2009.
Europe’s Times and Unknown Waters, Cluj-Napoca, Marga, Andrei (April 2009). "The society of risk? Ulrich Beck, Risikogesellshaft. Auf dem Weg in eine andere Moderne"Interview with Ulrich Beck: "Germany has created an accidental empire"

, 2013. {{DEFAULTSORT:Beck, Ulrich 1944 births 2015 deaths Academics of the London School of Economics Environmental sociologists Family sociologists German sociologists Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich alumni Academic staff of the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich People from Słupsk People from the Province of Pomerania Studienstiftung alumni Academic staff of the University of Münster Writers about globalization German male writers Modernity German philosophers of technology