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Quote by Zygmunt Bauman

“"Community" came to be seen as a chat-group: you switch on as long as your pleasure lasts, then push another button and switch off. Very easy to go in and out, join and leave.”

Quote by Zygmunt Bauman

Author

Zygmunt Bauman (1925-2017) was a Polish-British sociologist and philosopher, widely regarded as one of the most influential social thinkers of the 20th century. He taught sociology at the University of Leeds and was known for his concept of "liquid modernity," which describes the shift from solid, stable social structures to fluid, uncertain conditions. His major works include "Modernity and the Holocaust," "Liquid Modernity," and "Liquid Love." Bauman's analysis of consumer capitalism, social inequality, and the relationship between modernity and genocide has profoundly shaped contemporary sociological thought. more

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“Throughout early modernity there were very strong pressures on Jews to assimilate. Assimilating meant cutting your ties with the community of origin.”

Strong Community Cutting Pressure Jew Ties Very Strong Modernity

Author:Zygmunt Bauman

“Lev (Léon) Shestov, a Russian Jew who later became a French Jew and even converted to Catholicism, defined God not by His power to create the laws of universe, but His ability to break them at will - the capacity for miracles. God could cancel the past! For instance, God could decide retrospectively, that Socrates was never poisoned... Assimilation demanded a miracle: that you stop having been somebody else before... But only God can do it.”

Past Law Universe Can Do Ability Break Capacity Miracle Jew Instance Defined Catholicism Assimilation

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“With globalization and with a lot of power evaporating from the nation-states, the late-19th century established hierarchies of importance, or 'pecking orders' of cultures, presenting assimilation as an advancement or promotion, dissolved.”

States Order Culture Nations Century Late Importance Globalization Hierarchy Promotion Advancement 19th Century Presenting Assimilation Pecking Order

Author:Zygmunt Bauman

“There is less pressure on abandoning native communities: what for? There is nothing to be gained by it. On one hand, there are plenty tempting opportunities of experimenting with identities - being one kind of person today and a different the next day. On the other hand, there is little pressure to include the ethnic identity or religious identity into this mechanism, because now everybody is in a kind of Diaspora today.”

Kind Littles Persons Different Hands Today Next Opportunity Community Religious Identity Pressure Plenty Native Mechanism Next Day Tempting Diaspora Ethnic Identity Religious Identity

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“Jews and Gypsies were well-nigh the only Diasporas in 19th century Europe. Now go to London, it is a collection of Diasporas.”

Wells Century Europe Jew London Collections 19th Century Gypsy Diaspora

Author:Zygmunt Bauman

“The question of identity has separated from the issue of 'assimilation', having lost much of its drama and become, so to speak, a secular problem.”

Problem Lost Speak Issues Identity Drama Secular Assimilation

Author:Zygmunt Bauman

“Jews are no longer pressed and obliged to fight, hide or deny their Jewishness. What for? No one actually requires today to abandon the idiosyncrasy of some other culture or ethnic tradition. The great achievement of this last period is that we have been slowly, sometimes reluctantly, yet steadily, learning the art of living with differences.”

Has Beens Art Sometimes Today Lasts Culture Fighting Differences Periods Achievement Tradition Jew Deny Abandon Obliged Art Of Living Great Achievement Other Cultures Idiosyncrasies

Author:Zygmunt Bauman

“In "solid modernity" difference was tolerated as a temporary irritant only, expected to disappear tomorrow, when "those aliens" will become like us. "Living with strangers" was therefore not something to last and did not call for developing appropriate arts and skills. Now, however, it looks like that diasporic context of our living will not go away - it will be there forever, so learning how to live with strangers day in, day out without abandoning my own strangeness is high on the agenda.”

Looks Art Lasts Differences My Own Forever Tomorrow Skills Stranger Disappear Expected Aliens Developing Appropriate Agendas Going Away Temporary Modernity Strangeness Irritants

Author:Zygmunt Bauman

“You are a stranger, I am a stranger, we all remain strangers, and nevertheless we can like or even love each other.”

Stranger Nevertheless Love Each Other

Author:Zygmunt Bauman

“Why are people so concerned with relativism? If you look back in history, millions of people were killed because of someone's dogmatic views, but I do not remember anybody being killed due to the tolerance of difference, to relativism; ethically relativism does not seem to be such an awful thing, really.”

People Ifs Looks Doe Seems Remember Differences Views Millions Concerned Dues Tolerance Awful Dogmatic Relativism

Author:Zygmunt Bauman