{"product_id":"9781509560486","title":"The Risk of Compressed Modernity","description":"\u003ch1\u003eThe Risk of Compressed Modernity\u003c\/h1\u003e\u003ch3\u003eChang Kyung-Sup\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cb\u003eSocial Science \/ Sociology \/ General\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn many Asian societies, the process of modernization often took place in a rapid and highly compressed fashion – not over centuries, as had happened in most Western societies, but in several decades. This enabled Asian societies to achieve high levels of economic growth very quickly, but it also harbored unexpected risks and costs that threatened further development. The very mechanisms and strategies that made their explosive modernization possible tended to produce existentially hazardous consequences in virtually all areas of public and private life, and seemingly insurmountable obstacles to sustained advances in the future.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFocusing on South Korea and other Asian countries, this book presents a critical account of compressed modernity and its key structural risks. These include endemic political crises, distorted industrial governance, widespread labor displacement, worsening intellectual and cultural dependency, rampant environmental and physical hazards, and even abrupt demographic meltdown. However, these risks and contradictions have also stimulated structural reforms and adaptations, opening up the possibility for the kind of radical change that Ulrich Beck described as “the metamorphosis of the world.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e \u003cb\u003eChang Kyung-Sup\u003c\/b\u003e is SNU Distinguished Professor of Sociology at Seoul National University.\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ctable\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePublication Date: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e29 July 2025\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePublisher: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePolity Press\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eImprint: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePolity\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eISBN-13: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e9781509560486\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eFormat: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eHardback\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePage Count: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e240\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eWeight (oz): \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e17.6\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e","brand":"Polity Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44379150123148,"sku":"9781509560486","price":62.96,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0710\/9545\/1788\/files\/9781509560486.jpg?v=1780236730","url":"https:\/\/fh90cf-fv.myshopify.com\/products\/9781509560486","provider":"Late Knight Books and Services, LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}