Contemporary society

About: Contemporary society is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 3991 publications have been published within this topic receiving 91755 citations.

Re-inventing the Social Contract:

Abstract: The sociological concept of `society' has been questioned in multiple ways in recent decades. However, one central aspect of the notion has been taken so much for granted that no one has challenged it: society is not a plan and cannot be based on an agreement. Yet contemporary societies increasingly rely on voluntary contracts between individuals, groups, organizations, enterprises, states and their organs or officials. In this article, I argue that new contractualism cannot be explained simply as an expansion of the market at the expense of the state. The contract is an illusion that disguises relations of domination as voluntary partnership. It stresses agency to a point where autonomy is not only granted to but demanded of even those who have little or no capacity for it. The illusion of the contract has real consequences on how societies are governed and how they relate to each other. This is the reason why the concept of society no longer has the sense of an entity. Consequently, sociology has turned...

Mediated Citizenship(s): An Introduction

Abstract: What does it mean to be a citizen in contemporary societies? And what role do mass media play in the construction and practice of citizenship? The work on “Mediated Citizenship(s)” published in the...