Politics of Uncertainty

<p>In <em>The Politics of Uncertainty</em> Peter Marris examines one of the most crucial and least studied aspects of social relationships: how we manage uncertainty, from the child's struggle for secure attachment to the competitive strategies of multinational corporations. Using a powerful synthesis of social and psychological theory, he shows how strategies of competition interact with the individual's sense of personal agency to place the heaviest burden of uncertainty on those with the fewest social and economic resources. He argues that these strategies maximize uncertainty for everyone by undermining the reciprocity essential to successful economic and social relationships.<br> At a time when global economic reorganisation is undermining security of employment, <em>The Politics of Uncertainty</em> makes a convincing case for strategies of co-operation at both personal and political levels to ensure our economic and social survival in the twenty-first century. </p> Introduction Part I Meaning, attachment and predictability 1 The uncertainties of everyday life 2 Uncertainty and the construction of meaning 3 The idea of self 4 Attachment 5 Attachment and control of uncertainty 6 Meanings in public and private Part II Controlling uncertainty 7 Controlling relationships 8 Self-defeating defences against uncertainty 9 Loss and the recovery of meaning 10 Planning 11 Reciprocity versus competition 12 Moral uncertainty