The sociology of risk and uncertainty: A response to Judith Green's ‘Is it time for the sociology of health to abandon “risk”?’

Abstract

This article responds to Judith Green's (2009, p. 493–508, this issue) contribution ‘Is it time for the sociology of health to abandon “risk”?’ It agrees with some of Green's criticisms of risk studies, but argues that rather than abandoning the concept of risk it should be refined and developed. Even though Green is right to have concerns about narrow approaches to social reality she follows a narrow perspective herself, which is atypical for sociological approaches to risk. She starts with criticism of the overemphasis on risk in research on the sociology of health but seem to shift to a general critique of risk research and focuses on one particular approach. Sociological risk research, I would argue, provides a critique of precisely those reductionist approaches to risk which Green sees as narrowing the focus of risk to concepts of rational decision making, technical calculation and risk assessment. Her examples, however, indicate a range of problems, but less with the concept of risk but rather methodological weaknesses, issues of operationalisation of macro theory and a technical understanding of risk which are altogether problematic not only in the realm of risk but for sociological approach to social reality in general. Instead of questioning risk I point to ways in which sociological risk research can be systematised. I show that Green's analysis has weaknesses that are conceptually important. In particular, she does not clearly distinguish between several levels of analysis such as institutional self representation and everyday practice, the risk society as a specific theory and the sociology of risk and uncertainty as an area of research and risk as an analytical approach and a research object. I argue that sociological approaches to risk already work with other distinctions than rational/subjective and some research even shows how such distinctions can be overcome to open further perspectives for risk research.