ANTHONY GIDDENS: BIOGRAPHY, THEORIES, CONCEPT OF GLOBALIZATION, WORKS - BIOGRAPHIES - 2024

Anthony Giddens (1938) is an English sociologist who was a professor of sociology at the University of Cambridge and director of the School of Economics in London. He is known worldwide for his theory of structuring and for his comprehensive perspective of modern societies today.

It can be established that Giddens' work presents two lines of research: the first is that which aimed to cover the problems surrounding the purpose of the theoretical framework of the discipline. That is, the author delimited the new parameters of the theoretical and conceptual construction of sociology.

Anthony Giddens in 2004. Via wikimedia commons.

The author's other line of research was focused on the study of the characteristics of modern societies. Giddens carried out works that focused on the concept of the nation-state within advanced societies and also addressed the problems concerning social classes.

In addition, it determined the elements of modernity, specifically within the most current times. Likewise, Giddens was one of the first researchers to consciously propose the studies of change processes, relating the microsociological dimensions with the macrosociological dimensions, together with the subjective dimensions.

Similarly, in his latest works, the sociologist has tried to relate the types of political system, state and current democracy with the changes that are perceived in people's private lives. Giddens considers that there are elements of democracy that somehow influence the personal construction of each individual.

To carry out his postulations, Giddens recovered some guidelines from authors such as Marx, Durkheim and Weber, as well as a set of currents of critical, theoretical and social thought.

For example, Giddens rescued hermeneutics, a form of thought of German origin that sought to understand historical processes through an empathetic and equanimous attitude.

Biography

Early years

Anthony Giddens was born on January 18, 1938 in the town of Edmonton, London. He comes from a modest middle-class family background, as his father worked for the London Passenger Transport Board, a company dedicated to transporting merchandise throughout the city.

Giddens was the first member of his family to earn an academic degree, which he earned at the University of Hull in 1959. He later earned a degree from the London School of Economics and Political Science and earned a doctorate from the University of Cambridge. during 1974.

In 1961, he began working for the University of Leicester, working as a professor in the field of Social Psychology. In this place he met Norbert Elias, a German sociologist who inspired him to work on his own theoretical foundations.

In 1969 he secured a position at the University of Cambridge, where he contributed to the creation of the Committee for Political and Social Sciences. Giddens spent many years working for the Cambridge educational institution, until in 1987 he was promoted to full professor.

Political participation and recognition

Between 1997 and 2003 he served as director of the London School of Economics and Political Science. During this period he was also part of the Institute of Public Policy Research.

Likewise, he worked as an advisor to Tony Blair, who was Prime Minister between 1997 and 2007. In fact, Blair took as inspiration certain foundations of Giddens known as "the Third Way" for his political campaign. Since then, Giddens has participated in various political debates with the aim of defending the Labor Party.

He has also been featured frequently in the media and has written a remarkable number of articles, most of them published in the New Statesman.

For his remarkable research, Anthony was awarded the 2002 Prince of Asturias Award for Social Sciences and today holds the title of Baron Giddens of Southgate.

Theories

Structuring theory

One of the main contributions of Anthony Giddens consisted in his rethinking of some of the postulates of the sociological discipline. This he did through an ontological proposal known as Structuring Theory.

Alfredo Andrade Carreño, in his text The fundamental analytical planning of the theory of structuring (nd), establishes that Giddens formulated his theory of structuring as a conceptual framework that can be used to analyze the way in which human beings transform, they produce and reproduce society.

This Giddens theory proposes three tasks to guide the intellectual development of sociologists: first, the approaches of the founding authors such as Marx, Durkheim and Weber must be radically revised.

Then, there is a systematic critique of functionalism, particularly the postulates of Talcott Parsons. Finally, the analytical contributions of the different American microsociological currents must be reworked.

These three analytical axes are supported by means of a perspective in which the overcoming of positivism and the inheritance of the hermeneutical tradition converge.

The acting agent

In the same way, Giddens proposes that man, as an acting human agent, follows three processes: The first consists of a record of the action carried out, then it proceeds to the rationalization of said action; finally, the recognition of what motivated the action. This point is in turn divided into three layers: consciousness of speech, practical consciousness, and unconscious motives.

For Giddens, the reflective record of the action is a procedure that allows to archive the activities carried out. It also allows you to create certain expectations that others will carry out these activities. This point records physical and social aspects of the scenarios where the interactions occur.

On the other hand, the rationalization of action consists of a process by which, through routine, the acting agents develop a theoretical understanding of their activities.

Third, the point that addresses the motivation for action is based on general programs or plans where general behavior is staged within society.

Globalization concept

Emergence of a new era through binary encoding

Giddens announced that a new era would emerge as a result of the globalization process. According to this author, globalization consists of a procedure where commercial, administrative and private use is developed through transmission systems and binary coding of information.

This can be seen, for example, in bar codes, plastic money, microprocessors, communication satellites, telephones or laptops; all of them work with information encoded in binary systems.

Globalization has brought both positive and negative aspects. Source: pixabay.com

This generalization of binary codes has produced an increase in the transmission of cultural, scientific, economic and statistical information. Furthermore, it has also made it virtually impossible to pose any obstacles to those markets that run on intangibles, especially technology and financial ones.

It can be established that the first to benefit from this technical modification are the large transnational companies and the States, however, private users have also benefited thanks to the massive spread of Internet use.

Globalization for Sociologists

What interests sociologists most is that globalization recovers and accelerates the cycle of economic accumulation. Furthermore, it provides the means for intense cultural innovation that, in many cases, can lead to social crises and disorganization.

Juan Manuel Iranzo, in his text A runaway world. The Effects of Globalization (1999), states that Giddens affirms the imminent growth of a global cosmopolitan society, which generates greater global solidarity and cooperation, but also implies a readaptation for many fundamental institutions, such as the family, the nation, tradition, work, nature, among others.

Likewise, globalization has generated the emergence of a new consciousness, which highlights the risks that derive from the complexity of the institutional frameworks.

For example, globalization has made it possible to visualize the destabilization of the climate caused by man, speculation in financial markets and damage to public health that originate in insufficient food and agriculture processes -technical failures, adulterations, genetic modifications, among others-.

Giddens, along with other sociologists, also established that there are other very important global risks, such as the disappearance of indigenous peoples, the increase in economic and social inequality on a global scale, and the economic de-structuralization of the poorest nations.

Plays

Anthony Giddens wrote more than two hundred articles and has published more than thirty-four books. Some of his most important works are mentioned below:

- Capitalism and modern social theory (published in 1971).

- The class structure in advanced societies (from 1973).

- Politics and sociology in Max Weber (whose publication dates from 1972).

- Sociology (carried out in 1982).

- The constitution of society: bases for the theory of structuring (1984).

- Consequences of modernity (published in 1990).

- The transformation of intimacy: sexuality, love and eroticism in modern societies (carried out in 1995).

- Modernity and identity of the self: the self and society in contemporary times (from 1991).

- The third way: the renewal of social democracy (developed in 1998).

- A runaway world: the effects of globalization in our lives (from 1999. One of its most important and cited texts).

- On the edge: life in global capitalism (2001).

- The politics of climate change (One of his most recent publications. Data from 2010).

References

1. Arnett, J. (2002) The psychology of globalization. Retrieved on January 15, 2020 from psycnet.apa.org
2. Bonilla, E. (sf) Anthony Giddens: consequences of modernity. Retrieved on January 15, 2020 from razonypalabra.org
3. Carreño, A. (sf) The fundamental analytical approaches of the theory of structuring. Retrieved on January 15, 2020 from core.ac.uk
4. Infante, J. (2007) Anthony Giddens: an interpretation of globalization. Retrieved on January 15, 2020 from Researchgate.net
5. Iranzo, J. (1999) A runaway world. The effects of globalization. Retrieved on January 15, 2020.
6. SA (sf) Anthony Giddens. Retrieved on January 15, 2020 from Wikipedia: es.wikipedia.org
7. SA (sf) Theory of structuring. Retrieved on January 15, 2020 from Wikipedia: es.wikipedia.org
8. Tomlinson, J. (1994) A phenomenology of globalization? Giddens on global modernity. Retrieved on January 15, 2020 from Jstor: jstor.org