Social Change in Late Modernity 01

Social Change inLate Modernity

Communication | Global Politics The Environment | Culture | Science

Finance

social change in late modernity

Communication


Communication


Communication

March 2000

•Dotcom bubble bursts

July 2000 Friends

Reunited

• launched in a N. London bedroom. By 2005 it has 15 million members

June 2003 Second Life

• It now has over a million active users.

June 2003 Facebook

• founded. It now has over 300 million users.

Aug. 2004 ‘to google’

•enters the OED

Feb 2005 YouTube

• launched

July 2006 Twitter

•Gordon Brown is a twitterer

June 2007 the iPhone

•Nearly 30 million sold

July 2008 Google indexes

•1 trillion unique web pages

October 2008

Spotify•Over 1 million

users


Communication

All forms of government ultimately are notgoing to succeed in trying to control orcensor the internet – Rupert Murdoch

Basically, our goal is to organize the world'sinformation and to make it universallyaccessible and useful. Larry Page, Co-Founder of Google


Communication

Google and China

Don’t be evil

Don’t be any more evil than necessary


Global Politics


Global Politics


Global Politics

2000 December

•George W. Bush wins the US presidential election after recounts in Florida

2001 September

•Two planes are flown into the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon killing nearly 3,000 people

2002 February

•Milosevic goes on trial in the Hague for war crimes and genocide

2003 March

•The Iraq war begins

2004 November

•George W. Bush wins a second term

2005 July

• London bombings on three tube trains and a bus kill 56

2006 December

• Saddam Hussein is executed

2008 February

•Kosovo declares independence from Serbia

2008 November

•Barack Obama, the first black president, enters the White House


Global Politics

On 20 September 2001 Bush declared:“tonight we are a country awakenedto danger and called to defend freedom.”


Global Politics

How can conflicting global appeals forjustice and freedom be resolved?


The Environment

20001

2

3


The Environment

20101

“We are all environmentalists now” Al Gore


The Environment

2000 February

• Floods in Mozambique kill hundreds and displace 1 million

2001 April

•George Bush refuses to endorse the Kyoto protocol

2003 August

•Heat wave in Europe kills over 30,000 people. UK records highest ever temp., 38.1C

2004 December

•Earthquake causes tsunami which kills more than 30,000 people in 11 countries

2005 August

•Hurricane Katrina kills nearly 2,000 people in New Orleans

2006 May

• ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ becomes a best-seller

2007 July

• Live Earth Concerts worldwide

2008 May

•Cyclone Nargis hits Burma killing at least 146,000 people

2010 January

•Earthquake hits Haiti killing an estimated 240,000 people


The Environment

Al Gore argues in his book Our Choicethat ‘action on climate change is amoral and ethical issue.’ What does hemean, and is he right?


The Environment

Do the rights and well-being of existingpersons have priority over the rightsand well-being of future persons?


Culture: Fame


Culture: Fame

2000 July

•Big Brother

2001 July

•Barry George

2002 October

• John Leslie

2003 February

•Phil Specter

2004 October

•Rebecca Loos

2005 April

•Charles and Camilla

2006 May

•Paul and Heather

2007 January

•Big Brother, race

2009 June

•Michael Jackson

2010 January

• John Terry


Culture: Fame

Do celebrities have a right to privacy?or

Should the media have a right to report John Terry’s indiscretions?


Science


Science

In 2001 the Pope said the creation anddestruction of human embryos solelyfor research were "evils" comparableto euthanasia, infanticide andabortion.

What reasons do you think he wouldgive to support his position?


Finance

•Child poverty to be abolished by 2020•NHS would match EU spending•Education, education, education•Sure Start, Every child a reader, Every Child Counts•Tax credits•40% of pupils go to University

Tough decisions


Finance

2008 February

•Northern Rock is nationalised

2008 September

• Lehman Brothers goes bankrupt

•Bradford & Bingley nationalised

•TSB takes over HBOS•RBS is part

nationalised•US government

announced $700 million bailout

2008 October

•UK government announce £400 billion banking rescue plan

• Iceland banking crisis

2009 January

•UK officially enters recession

2010 January

•UK recession officially over

2010 February

•Barclays announce record profits and £2.3 billion in bonuses


Finance

Do the bankers deserve their bonuses?


Conclusion: in defence of reason

Reasoning is a robust source of hope and confidence in a world darkened by murky deeds– past and present. … Reasoning can beconcerned with the right way of viewing andtreating other people, other cultures, otherclaims, and with examining different grounds forrespect and tolerance. We can also reason aboutour mistakes and learn not to repeat them.

(Sen,The Idea of Justice p. 46)