Society, Space and the Public Realm: Beyond Gated Individualism

Abstract

A feature of late modern society is the economisation and privatisation of social life resulting in a decline in the public realm. Judt has observed that we are drifting toward a society of 'gated individuals who do not know how to share public space to common advantage ' (2010: 216). Similarly Oldenburg (1989) has expressed concerns about the sustainability of third places -places that occupy the space between the marketplace, workplace and home place -in the modern era. He argues that 'third places' are being replaced by 'non-places' -places where individuals relate to each other purely in utilitarian terms. Non-places promote civil disaffiliation rather than civil integration. This article argues for an exploration of the 'spaces of potential' within the public realm of the city that can help to promote relationships of trust, respect and mutuality. Acknowledging and promoting such 'spaces of potential' amounts to a challenge to the privatisation and economisation of social life. Moreover, it creates the possibility of a reinvigorated public sphere and an enhancement of civil integration.

Sociology in Ireland: Some random reflections

“…Ironically, behavioural economics (similarly to social geography, business and criminology) is colonising what used to be sociological space. I have previously written about this in the Irish Journal of Sociology (Corcoran, 2012). For instance, a perusal of a single issue of The Economist , reveals two stories with headlines that would definitely set any sociologist's teeth on edge.…”