Liquid Life

Description

Liquid Life is an explanatory text that applies the overall framework of liquid modernity to our experience in this age of fluidity within the daily and personal spheres. In this book, Zygmunt Bauman details the manifestations of modernity in our daily circumstances, in our life choices… our feelings… and our perspectives on the crises we face. This book is about living in a liquid modern world; it is about the individual being besieged by all the conditions that promise freedom… where, under the shadow of liquid life, meanings descend from their lofty status to reside in the market sphere and become commodities. Bauman then goes on to tell us that “individual achievements in a liquid modern society cannot acquire the solidity of permanent objects, because an advantage can instantly become a disadvantage… and past experiences cannot absorb the unexpected changes that arise in circumstances… and that liquid life is a life fraught with danger, lived in a state of constant uncertainty.” The solution, in Bauman’s view, lies in strengthening social cohesion and creating social awareness and goals for social responsibility. Escape from isolation can only be achieved by reviving the public sphere and the skills of interacting with others, discussing, fostering mutual understanding, and dealing with the inevitable conflicts of shared life, as these are the touchstones of humanity. He also emphasizes the need to search for meaning and then build solidarity and shared awareness as a condition for overcoming fear and timidity.