Inequity increasing in globalization age, says prof. Beck

Inequalities and stratifications among world populations are increasing in the light of globalization, Harvard University professor Ulrich Beck said Tuesday.

Beck’s lecture on modernization, “risk society” and cosmopolitanism, titled “Remapping Social Equality in the Global Age,” drew an audience of about 100 at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. Beck is a sociologist and a sociology professor at the University of Munich, who also holds a position at the London School of Economics in sociology, and has written seven books on the topic.
Beck said the injustices in global society come from misplaced nationalism and protectionism.
“These inequalities cannot exist in a modern society,” he said. “We must not cling to old loyalties.”
Beck also coined the sociological term “risk society,” meaning “the process of societal progress by assessing and organizing according to the risks it faces,” he said.
The current risk, he said, was a lack of individual involvement in globalization and global society, resulting in insularity and xenophobia.
He said there are cultural, social and economic boundaries between countries, so it is important for government to engage in exchange rather than isolation.
“Active members in this exchange, who embrace a cosmopolitan perspective, are the ones who are succeeding in the twenty-first century,” he said. “Young people, transnational organizations [and] the global elites who have power and influence accept and embody this idea.”
Beck also said there are other global issues that play into the risks and balances of social groups, contributing or hindering progress. His main example was climate change.
“This is a border-transcending issue,” he said. “The normal inequalities and vulnerabilities are exposed and exaggerated by this issue.”
Beck said it is necessary to address climate change in a global dialogue that was not subject to national interests.
“The more that ecological conflicts become stratified and divided by national borders, the more that impoverished and subjugated people will suffer,” he said.
Harvard urban planning professor Susan Fainstein said she came to the lecture because she was interested in Beck’s perspective on how communities and governments could incorporate global concerns in planning infrastructure and development.
“Professor Ulrich is foremost in his field and in innovative understanding of the challenges we face today,” she said. “His ideas are the ideas we need to incorporate in planning for our future.”
Harvard sophomore student Chris Ivey said he found Professor Beck’s lecture interesting and provocative.
“I wouldn’t have drawn all of the connections that he did,” Ivey said. “It was a good perspective on issues and what needs to happen in the future for a more equal society.”
Harvard freshman Bennett Locke said the lecture was illuminating.
“I learned a lot about interconnectedness among issues and how not engaging in global really is damaging.”

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