Individual risk and collective fears

If we consider the general concept of risk as a specific cultural modality, we must hold to the view that, as far as medicine is concerned, the concept of risk has followed the historical vicissitudes of those who made its history. In this era of great scientific transformation which has accompanied us over the last few decades, the risk factor has contributed to the greater awareness people have of the limits of modern science. Although medicine has made rapid progress, it has not been able to balance effectively the likelihood of a risk perceived event and the factors that determine the risk itself. Elaborate statistical studies have produced risk estimates which do not change the way people perceive the possibility of falling ill. Although society may well ascribe an important role to technology, it has not been able to avoid associating it, in symbolic terms, with the individual and collective risks it has constructed.