Contemporary Society Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Contemporary Society - Essay Example anding of contemporary society made by social thinkers such as Raymond Williams, Heidi Hartman, Iris Marion Young, Zygmunt Bauman, Stuart Hall, Paul Gilroy, John Rawls, David Miller, Martha Nussbaum, and Amartya Sen. Two of the most influential figures among these in a profound understanding of contemporary society in it various features and aspects have been Raymond Williams and Amartya Sen and this paper undertakes an evaluation of the intellectual contributions by these social philosophers whose works and writings helped modern man in realising the realities of present-day society. Williams’ contributions to politics, culture, the mass media, cultural studies and the cultural materialist approach, and literature as well as Sen’s works in welfare economics, social choice theory, economic growth, economic development and social topics helped the modern man tremendously in his understanding of the contemporary society. Raymond Henry Williams (1921-1988), the Welsh novelist, literary critic, cultural historian, cultural and political theorist, and social philosopher, has been often considered as one of the most prominent figures within the New Left movement and an eminent thinker of the wider culture. Through his important writings on politics, culture, the mass media, and literature, Raymond Williams offered salient contribution to the Marxist critique of culture and the arts. He has also been called the virtual architect of the interdisciplinary field identified as ‘cultural studies’ and his intellectual contributions have influenced every area of cultural study in the modern period. His Politics and Letters (1979), an account of his life and work, has been regarded as the single groundwork for cultural studies and the cultural materialist approach. Amartya Kumar Sen, (1933- ), the most important figure in the fields of welfare economics, social choice theory, economic growth and eco nomic development for over three decades, hails from India and he was