Towards a (Modern) Historical Risk Perspective

The long term historical distinction between the pre-modern and modern is an important backdrop to the sociology of risk, understanding risk as a distinctively modern perspective, institutionalised through mechanisms such as insurance. Little has been done to enrich and contemporize this perspective, however, through more finely tuned analysis where risk perspectives and mechanisms have unevenly progressed within particular societies. Some recent work has begun to examine the consolidation of risk within the United States and this paper will draw out and integrate these new insights. I will further set out a project focusing on key moments and events that have combined to consolidate another significant ‘risk society’, the United Kingdom. Such a perspective allows us to highlight the role of particular actors and contingencies in what should be understood as an ongoing process of risk consolidation