Includes bibliographical references (pages 154-160) and index.
Introduction: On living in a liquid modern world -- The individual under siege -- From martyr to hero, and from hero to celebrity -- Culture : obstreperous and unmanageable -- Seeking shelter in Pandora's box, or fear, security and the city -- Consumers in liquid modern society -- Learning to walk on quicksand -- Thinking in dark times (Arendt and Adorno revisited).
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"'Liquid life' is the kind of life commonly lived in our contemporary, liquid modern society. Liquid life cannot stay on course, because liquid modern society cannot keep its shape for long. It's a precarious life, lived under conditions of constant uncertainty. The most acute and stubborn worries that haunt this liquid life are the fears of being caught napping, of failing to catch up with fast-moving events, of overlooking the 'use by' dates and being saddled with worthless possessions, of missing the moment calling for a change of tack and being left behind. ... This and other challenges of life in a liquid modern society are traced and unravelled in this book by one of the most brilliant and original social thinkers of our time."--Back cover.