We live in a modern age, but what does 'modern' meanand how can a reflection on 'modernity' help us tounderstand the world today? These are the questions that PeterWagner sets out to answer in this concise and accessible book.Wagner begins by returning to the question of modernity's Westernorigins and its claims to open up a new and better era in thehistory of humanity. Modernity's claims and expectations havebecome more prevalent and widely shared, but in the course of theirrealization and diffusion they have also been radicallytransformed. In an acute and engaging analysis, Wagner examines thefollowing key issues among others:- Modernity was based on the hope for freedom and reason, but itcreated the institutions of contemporary capitalism and democracy.How does the freedom of the citizen relate to the freedom of thebuyer and seller today? And what does disaffection with capitalismand democracy entail for the sustainability of modernity?- Rather than a single model of modernity, there is now a pluralityof forms of modern socio-political organisation. What does thisentail for our idea of progress and our hope that the future worldcan be better than the present one?- All nuance and broadening notwithstanding, our concept ofmodernity is in some way inextricably tied to the history of Europeand the West. How can we compare different forms of modernity in a'symmetric', non-biased or non-Eurocentric way? How can we developa world-sociology of modernity?