Abstract
Nikolai Genov starts his book Challenges of Individualization by saying that his aim is to ‘contribute to the sociological diagnosis of our time’, which is marked by the enormous rise of the rights and responsibilities of individuals. With individualization one’s life becomes its own project, carried out under its own will, more now than ever. Nevertheless, after reading this book, the reader cannot deny that the phenomenon of individualization has been known for centuries, it is just gaining more and more importance. The author shows very clearly that there have been continuities and discontinuities, breaks, and qualitatively new starts of individualization in history. This is a very innovative and persuasive explanation of individualization, which is understood by Genov as one of the main global trends – together with upgrading the rationality of organizations, the spreading of instrumental activism and the universalization of value-normative systems.
As one major obstacle to a cumulative understanding of individualization the author sees the plurality of individualization concepts. Usually, when talking about individualization, it is not always clear what is the subject of discussion. The author’s aim is to present a generalized concept of individualization. We can say that he succeeds in doing this. The author views his analytical concept as a universalized framework of cognitive parameters developed and applied for the systematic description, explanation, forecasting, and the management of structures, functions and processes in social reality.
The analysis and argumentation in this monograph is guided by the understanding of individualization as upgrading individuals’ capacities for autonomous and efficient problem management. Framed in this way, individualization has two dimensions, of structure and action. The first is linked to the changes of social spaces available for the autonomous and efficient orientation, decision-making and action of individuals. The action dimension of individualization refers to the improvement of the abilities of individuals to become oriented, make decisions, and act in an autonomous and efficient way. This outcome is achieved mostly by upgrading individual levels of knowledge and quality of skills. This is the guiding conceptual framework of the present monograph.
The monograph consists of eight chapters. The first three chapters show the historical and modern context of the phenomenon under consideration. First the global context is presented and analysed, followed by social reality and concepts and then millennia of individualization. Chapters IV to VII analyse concrete modern global realities, explained in the frame of individualization. In Chapter IV the author argues that upgrading employability must be understood by the increasing active involvement of individuals in the global division of labour, which offers them a plethora of opportunities to reach global markets. The global enlargement of options for personal choice goes hand in hand with new requirements for efficiently handling increasingly complicated tasks. The competition is fierce, and the risks of personal failure in task management are omnipresent. The institutional control and punishment for inefficient personal action are high on the agenda.
Organizational settings of individualization, the question that the fifth chapter is dedicated to, are in Genov’s understanding linked with good governance, foster equity and inclusiveness, individual participation in decision-making and policy control, and have respect for pluralism of interests and preferences, transparency, accountability and rule of law. The author claims that democratization has transformed national and international political systems by enabling millions of people to actively participate in political life. Millions are involved in a cultural exchange, which has already brought forth a global culture. Its value-normative core is the respect for universal human rights of individuals, together with an emphasis on the existential relevance of the idea and practices of sustainability.
Chapter VI is titled ‘Cross-border migration’, and Chapter VII, titled ‘Migration crisis’, which focuses on the situation of Syrian and other migrants coming to Europe in 2015–2016, is a kind of continuation of Chapter VI. The trend of migration is changing hugely in the era of globalization. Genov shows that cross-border migration is nowadays typically presented as the mass-movement of hopeless people from South to North and from East to West. This is true, but according to the author not detailed enough. The moving crowds consist of thousands of individuals, each of them having his or her motives to join the crowd, his or her life trajectory, and his or her prospects of achieving the desired breakthrough in his or her path of individualization. Nevertheless, as Genov says, a decision on cross-border migration is not always taken by individual(s) alone. The decision might also be a collective one to send members of the family or settlement community to work abroad, which can be made with various circumstances in mind. In the context of the 2015–2016 migration crisis, Genov especially focuses on cultural conflicts and institutional changes. The author says that a part of the migrants in that period were refugees of war, who are recipients of international support, so the German government’s decision at that time to welcome migrants was fully understandable and legitimate. The day-to-day experience would reveal that the majority of migrants were young men, not all refugees from war-stricken countries. As understood by the author, mass immigration causes lasting changes in the conditions for individualization among the native populations in the host countries. The most visible outcome of the migration crisis in 2015–2016 was a sharp decline in the willingness to welcome and support immigrants into the European Union.
The last chapter of the monograph is dedicated to the futures of individualization. It is clear to the author how many times in the past forecasting has proven to be false. According to Genov the future of individualization is certainly not the same in different parts of the world. The biggest changes are expected in the employment and workplace area, connected with technological developments. Consequently, in contrast to the widespread well-being enjoyed in economically advanced parts of the world, millions in other places still experience their individualization as a struggle for the basic necessities to survive. For the poor, the very opportunity for autonomous, reflexive and constructive personal development remains a dream.
Overall, depending on the circumstances, individualization might be constructive or destructive. The former fosters activity and creativity in the development and realization of individuals and their enabling natural and social environment. The latter is marked by disintegration and degradation of individuals and their natural and social environment. The variety and quality of often diverse and uncertain individualization paths pose permanent challenges to the stability of economic, political and cultural structures. Thus, according to Genov, the study of individualization becomes crucially important for the elaboration of a multidimensional diagnosis of contemporary social development in times marked by uncertainty.
This monograph is highly recommended reading for all sociologists and other social science scholars, but also for all intellectuals, who want to understand the world we live in. Starting from a search for a proper methodological approach, the author then describes many theoretical issues related to the topic of individualization and provides empirical data to illustrate his statements. It would be difficult to find a more understandable and clearer description and analysis of so many aspects of the global trend of individualization. Instead of ‘individualization in general’, Genov stresses the precise identification and analysis of processes within specified time and space. Instead of regarding individualization as characteristic of modern and post-modern societies alone, the guiding idea of the study is that phenomena of individualization can be identified throughout human history. Instead of being limited to debates on individualization in Western Europe and North America, the discussion takes into account challenges of individualization in other parts of the world as well. More than just relying on the so far largely predominant theoretical approach to individualization, he develops and applies the indicators for measuring the advancements and declines of individualization that are regarded as crucially important. Instead of the typical cognitive focus of discussions on individualization, their practical relevance is underlined too.