This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Rigakos, G. S. Articles by Law, A. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Risk, Realism and the Politics of Resistance

Carleton University, Ontario, Canada, grigakos{at}connect.carleton.ca

Alexandra Law

Carleton University, Ontario, Canada

Social theorizing about risk has produced important implications for both analytic strategy and resistance. The ontology of risk, however, has either been taken for granted or dismissed altogether. We consider what a realist philosophy of risk might look like given the desire to analyze risks as more than discursive constructs yet avoiding the pitfalls of empiricism. We argue that a necessary first step is to treat as ontologically real both the objects and subjects of risk power. While a realist philosophy of risk does not necessarily produce critical praxis, within the context of class struggle it does allow for this possibility by providing the tools necessary for recognizing risk's historical situatedness and the political role of science in resisting risk ideologies.

Key Words: class • realism • resistance • risk

Critical Sociology, Vol. 35, No. 1, 79-103 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/0896920508098658


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?