Insecurities

Some insecurities have their origin in nature (natural disasters), many straddle the boundaries of the natural and social (as is the case in risks associated with global warming, pollution, resource scarcity, etc.), while others may be categorised as largely or entirely social (as in the case of job insecurity). Some insecurities are real and others are imagined. However, many insecurities are real because imagined according to Thomas’s Theorem where if we define something as real then it becomes real in its consequences. Think of fears about children’s vulnerability that leads to excessive paternalism (don’t go near strangers, don’t stray away from home, don’t walk to school) and so to a risk aversion that may serve to make children more rather than less vulnerable.