Liquid Love On the Fragility of Human Bonds

In Liquid Love, Bauman takes us from the social theory he previously presented in his Liquids books to an analysis of the individual’s personal choices—emotional and sexual—in an age of liquid modernity… where life has abandoned the solidity of its roots. In this book, Zygmunt Bauman examines the search for usefulness and rational choices, and how they have destroyed the permanence and spontaneity of emotional relationships. The timing and short-termism upon which modern consumer society’s calculations are based constantly generate needs, turning everything old into something reprehensible and deserving of being consigned to the trash can—including feelings, bodies, and relationships. He takes us on a journey that begins with philosophy, delves into the heart of sociology, and ends with politics. Bauman seeks to understand the nature of the “sociological” state our societies are experiencing. Here, he seeks to demonstrate the manifestations of liquid modernity in self-awareness and personal choices. Instead of “relationships,” he presents a profound description that reflects complex and intricate social choices that come at a price in a cohesive society, while the person of liquid modernity decides that he is unwilling to pay the price, invest time, or make sacrifices in order to gain the benefits of social interaction.