Andreas Reckwitz – The Society of Singularities (2017)

With The SocietyA group of individuals connected by shared institutions, culture, and norms. of Singularities (2017), Andreas Reckwitz delivered one of the most influential analyses of late modern society. At a time when individuality, uniqueness, and authenticity are invoked almost to the point of inflation, Reckwitz argues that the basic principle of modern sociality has fundamentally shifted: from a logic of the general to a logic of the particular. The book is now considered a key text in cultural and social theory and has received multiple awards, including the Bavarian Book Prize.

Author and Context

Andreas Reckwitz (*1970) is Professor of General Sociology and Cultural Sociology at Humboldt University of Berlin and was a Fellow at the Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin. His work combines social theory, cultural sociology, and contemporary social diagnosis. The Society of Singularities is the first part of what became a trilogy, continued in The End of Illusions (2019) and Late Modernity in Crisis (2023).

Key Points

The Society of Singularities by Andreas Reckwitz

Main Author: Andreas Reckwitz (*1970)

First Publication: 2017

Country: Germany

Core Idea: In late modernity, a logic of singularization dominates—what is unique, authentic, and exceptional replaces what is general and standardized.

Foundation for: Contemporary social diagnosis, cultural sociology, inequality studies, theories of late modernity, milieu analysis, critique of digitalization.

Key Theses

At the heart of Reckwitz’s analysis is the claim that modern societies are increasingly shaped by a “logic of singularization.” This logic is visible across various social fields:

• Individuals: Biographies are expected to be unique, authentic, and optimized.
• Objects: Products and services (e.g. travel, housing, fashion) are imbued with cultural meaning and uniqueness.
• Organizations and Places: Cities, companies, universities, and museums stage themselves as “singular” to gain attention and legitimacy.

Singularization (Reckwitz):

The term describes a societal trend in which the general, functional, or average no longer counts; instead, the unique and authentic are valued. People, things, places, and events are expected to stand out, to be aesthetically charged. Singularization shapes lifestyles, work, consumption, and social relationships—deeply transforming the structure of modern societies.

This development is not accidental but follows what Reckwitz describes as a cultural transformation: Instead of standardized mass products, value now derives from aesthetic enhancement, performativity, and cultural capital. Society thus becomes an “economized cultural society” where distinction becomes the central principle of selection.

For example, hand-brewed coffee from a local roastery is not just sold as a beverage but as a lifestyle—complete with designer cups, storytelling about its origin, and an Instagram-ready setting. It’s about more than function: it’s about symbolic meaning.

Similarly, in education: it’s not just the degree that matters but attending a “special” university, collecting international experiences, engaging in social projects, and demonstrating cultural distinction—all of which serve to curate a unique personal profile.

Theoretical Framework

Reckwitz combines several sociological traditions in his work:

• From Max Weber, he adopts the idea of cultural sociology as an interpretive science.
• From Pierre Bourdieu, he draws on class analysis under conditions of cultural difference.
• He engages with Ulrich Beck’s individualization thesis, but crucially extends it to include the cultural dimension.

His analysis goes well beyond a status diagnosis: Reckwitz offers a theory of late modernity in which the new middle class becomes the culturally dominant force—while simultaneously establishing new mechanisms of exclusion.

Relevance for Key Social Trends

Reckwitz’s concept of singularization offers a way to understand central social developments:

• Social InequalityThe unequal distribution of resources, opportunities, and privileges within a society.: Access to cultural capital becomes decisive—not just income, but also style, habitus, education.
• Social Roles: Classical roles dissolve in favor of individualized self-presentation—in social media, consumption, and work.
• Social StructureThe organized pattern of social relationships and institutions that shape society.: Society splits between the “new middle class” (academic, urban, culturally oriented) and the “old middle/lower class” (industry-oriented, materially focused).
• Value Change: Authenticity, creativity, and lifestyle become normative ideals—producing high social pressure to perform.

Platform Society and the World of Work

A key field where singularization is visible is the digital economy. Platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and LinkedIn are not just venues for self-expression but infrastructures of visibility. In these spaces, uniqueness becomes currency, attention becomes capital, and authenticity is the goal of the algorithm. Users curate their biographies, stage lifestyles, and subject themselves to constant comparison—a digital echo chamber for the cultural principle of the exceptional.

In the world of work, too, the logic of singularization is evident: especially in knowledge-based, creative, and project-driven industries, it’s not just performance but personality that is demanded. Careers are expected to be “interesting” rather than linear. Creativity, flexibility, and self-actualization are prerequisites for success—while routine work and traditional career paths lose symbolic value.

This development is ambivalent: On the one hand, it opens new possibilities for self-expression—particularly for the well-educated members of the new middle class. On the other hand, it generates new exclusion mechanisms: those unable or unwilling to stage themselves performatively become invisible. Those not flexible enough are left behind. Reckwitz speaks of the emergence of an aesthetic economy, in which professional success increasingly depends on the ability to perform and differentiate oneself.

The Paradox of Singularization

As compelling as Reckwitz’s description of the cultural logic of singularization is, one question inevitably arises: Does it actually work? Or is the promise of the exceptional undermined by its own popularity? Everyday examples provide clues: influencers promote a “secret” coastal spot as a unique travel destination—only for thousands to flock there, turning the “singular” into a mass phenomenon that loses its special character. Such dynamics are exactly what Reckwitz describes as the structural ambivalence of modern culture.

Reckwitz highlights a fundamental tension: Singularization is both a structural reality and a social illusion. It shapes institutions, labor markets, and life courses—through rankings, evaluations, performances—and produces real effects: social differentiation, new inequalities, symbolic capital. But the more actors try to present themselves as exceptional, the more the exceptional becomes generalized. Authenticity becomes an expectation, individuality a norm, the unique a commodity.

This dynamic is particularly evident in contemporary cultural buzzwords like YOLO (“You Only Live Once”) and FOMO (“Fear of Missing Out”). YOLO acts as a maxim for self-realization: life is to be designed as eventful, meaningful, and unique—perfectly aligned with the logic of singularization. FOMO is the flip side of this imperative: the fear of missing out on the special, of not being able to keep up, of sinking beneath the flood of performative self-presentations. Both concepts reveal how deeply the cultural ideal of uniqueness has been inscribed into individual biographies—and the social tensions that arise from it.

Reckwitz calls this the “performance trap”: Those who constantly want or need to be exceptional—at work, in private life, on social media—come under pressure. The result is fatigue, alienation, chronic uncertainty, and often a sense of social failure. Precisely because the promise of self-actualization does not come true for everyone, polarization and disappointment intensify—this is a key theme in Reckwitz’s later work, The End of Illusions.

It becomes clear: Singularization is not a linear success story of the exceptional but a cultural paradox—a structural principle that continually undercuts its own conditions while generating new social tensions.

Reckwitz’s Response to the Paradox

Andreas Reckwitz does not stop at diagnosis. While The Society of Singularities is primarily analytical, his later works—especially The End of Illusions (2019) and Late Modernity in Crisis (2023)—offer reflections on how to address the tensions and disappointments of singularization. He does not propose a radical break but argues for a reflexive approach to the contradictions of late modernity.

A central idea is the rediscovery of the general: In a society that idolizes the unique, there must be greater emphasis on shared structures, reliable institutions, and collective infrastructures—such as in education, care, or public administration. Not every sphere of life needs to shine through authenticity and innovation.

At the same time, Reckwitz calls for a democratic institutionalization of recognition: If social inequality today operates not only economically but also symbolically, political strategies must enable cultural participation—not only for elite milieus but also for less visible social groups.

Reckwitz advocates for a new progressive politics that integrates social policy and cultural policy: Participation, security, access to education, and cultural self-realization should no longer be treated as opposites. He sees in this combination a chance not to resolve the paradox of singularization, but to mitigate it socially and shape it politically.

Critique and Relation to Bourdieu

Reckwitz’s analysis of late modern society is both influential and contested. Critics argue that many of his observations—such as distinction through lifestyle, cultural capital, or the reproduction of social inequality—were already formulated by Pierre Bourdieu. What then is new about Reckwitz’s theory? Is it simply an updated milieu study of the urban creative class with new vocabulary?

In fact, Reckwitz stands in Bourdieu’s tradition but also goes beyond it in important ways. While Bourdieu describes social inequality within stable fields and capital-based strategies, Reckwitz reconstructs a profound cultural transformation: the principle of singularization as a new social logic. The claim to be special—once an elite privilege—becomes, according to Reckwitz, a general norm permeating all subjects and generating new tensions.

The following table summarizes the similarities and differences between the two theoretical approaches:

Reckwitz “Bourdieuanizes” the present—but expands the view to the key features of late modernity: self-branding, the platform economy, aestheticized lifestyles, and symbolically charged consumer goods. He thus offers not just an updated milieu analysis but a sociological theory of cultural capitalism that complements—and in part transcends—Bourdieu’s perspective.

Conclusion

The Society of Singularities is a key work of contemporary social diagnosis. Andreas Reckwitz succeeds in translating economic, cultural, and social dynamics into a theoretically ambitious yet accessible concept. His analysis not only explains societal change over recent decades—it also provides a basis for critically reflecting on the polarization between cultural self-realization and material exclusion.

The cultural hegemony of the new middle class does not go unchallenged: political polarization between cosmopolitan and populist milieus reflects the cultural divide that Reckwitz identifies as a central structural feature of late modernity.

References

• Reckwitz, Andreas (2017): The Society of Singularities: On the Structural Change of Modernity. (Original German edition: Die Gesellschaft der Singularitäten, Berlin: Suhrkamp.)
• Reckwitz, Andreas (2019): The End of Illusions: Politics, Economy, and Culture in Late Modernity. (Original German edition: Berlin: Suhrkamp.)
• Bourdieu, Pierre (1984): Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.