“Societies of the Latest Times” in the Perspective of Miloslav Petrusek’s Sociological Analysis

The article makes a preliminary attempt to analyze some key ideas of famous Czech sociologist Miloslav Petrusek (1936—2012), and, first of all, his ideas of the specific nature of the latest stage of social development and shaping of the so-called ‘societies of the latest times’ coming into being at the turn of the XXI century. The author examines in detail some concrete aspects of Petrusek’s views in the discussion on the relevant theoretical and conceptual descriptions, used in the world sociology as means of scientific interpretation of the phenomena of modernity/post-modernity.

M. Petrusek, sociology in the Czech Republic, sociological theories of modernity and post-modernity, post-industrial society, ‘flowing modernity’, information society, ‘societies of knowledge’, simulacres, hyper-reality, radical pluralism, trust, social capital, globalization, localization