Experts and Cultural Narcissism: Relations in the Early 21st Century

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Introduction

The complexity of contemporary social processes makes the possibility for their in-depth analysis and understanding significantly reduced. Dynamic changes in many areas and at different levels of social, economic, and political relationships make the reality being seen from the perspective of individuals and communities less transparent. At the same time, explanations provided in both traditional and modern ways are subjects of the multilateral criticism. At the beginning of the 21st century, we are dealing with the formation of the “late modernity” societies in which human activities are extensively transforming the world. The effects of this activity have a feedback impact on the people, by shaping new forms of trust and risk, social situations, and processes of global interdependence. The process of undertaking reasonable and calculated goals is related to the establishment and development of abstract systems, which are increasingly combined with human activities. What is more, this process needs a correct, predictable, and controlled operation as well as individuals with specialized knowledge. Such systems constitute complexes of devices and forms of organization with a technical and social nature. These include, for example, the telecommunications systems, transportation, financial markets, transnational corporations, the armed forces, mass media, and energy networks. Usage of those complex systems carries within itself several advantages by solving many social problems and increasing the quality of human life. Simultaneously, these systems are forcing their direct and indirect users to take responsibility for their maintenance, which in consequence leads to increase the diversity of new categories of experts that are trying to satisfy the identified needs and generate the next necessities. This dependence on the experts contributes to the birth of “culture of narcissism,” which is mainly characterized by the withdrawal of individuals into their personal realms. The

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