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Quote by Zygmunt Bauman

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Collateral Damage: Social Inequalities in a Global Age

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Zygmunt Bauman
Zygmunt Bauman

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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“Paradoxically, the sources available today (in the era of big data) are less precise than those that were available a century ago due to the internationalization of wealth, the proliferation of tax havens, and above all, lack of political will to enforce financial transparency, so it is quite possible that we are underestimating the level of wealth inequality in recent decades.”

“As women of the western world, we see our sisters in other lands being raped, maimed and even executed simply for trying to exercise the most basic freedoms, such as taking a bus alone or wearing a bright red sweater. And when we look at our own world, we see that it too still lacks equality for the sexes. It's a terrible thing to go through one's entire lifetime not getting to do all the things we dream of doing just because others say we're not permitted to do them, and to know that they will hurt us if we try. But far, far worse than that is when there's not a thing or a person outside that's stopping us from living exactly as we wish, but we stop ourselves; internally we do not give ourselves permission, simply because we're too scared of what will happen if we dare.”

“As economic inequality grew, time horizons shrank, and fewer Americans believed that the future held a better version of the present. Lacking a functional state that assured basic social goods taken for granted elsewhere - education, pensions, health care, transport, parental leave, vacations - Americans could be overwhelmed by each day, and lose a sense of the future.”