Unannihilable – Zygmunt Bauman as Analyst and Ambassador of Ambivalence

Abstract

In Zygmunt Bauman’s work, ambivalence was a topic that recurred explicitly several times in his analyses of modernity and later liquid modernity. This was particularly evident in his book Modernity and Ambivalence (1991). But ambivalence also appears as an underlying theme in later books on life in liquid-modern society. Moreover, Bauman’s sociological perspective itself oozes ambivalence, and many of the topics he explored and embraced throughout his career – such as freedom, morality, immortality and utopia – are themselves fundamental expressions of ambivalence. In addition, Bauman always insisted that the world is not fixed once and for all, but that humans can challenge and change it, and in this way ambivalence is not an ailment to be cured but rather a fact to be accepted. This article explores the theme and leitmotif of ambivalence in the writings of Bauman. The article seeks to provide a concise presentation and discussion of Bauman’s continuous engagement with ambivalence in order to show that sociology perhaps ought to take the topic of ambivalence more seriously than is currently the case.