With its provocative title We Have Never Been Modern, Bruno Latour radically questions the taken-for-granted foundations of the modern world. The book is one of the central texts in the sociology of science and marks a turning point in thinking about the relationships between nature, technology, and society. Latour argues that modernity is an illusion—an ideological construct based on the artificial separation of nature and society. His analysis reaches far beyond sociology and is relevant to many disciplines, from anthropology and science studies to political theory. Given ecological crises, global interdependencies, and technology-mediated everyday practices, Latour’s perspective has gained even more relevance in the age of the Anthropocene.
Bruno Latour and the Context of the Work
Bruno Latour (1947–2022) was a French sociologist, anthropologist, and philosopher. He is regarded as a co-founder of Actor-Network Theory (ANT), which dissolves classical boundaries between subject and object, nature and society, humans and technology. In the 1980s, Latour focused intensively on scientific practices in laboratories (Laboratory Life, with Steve Woolgar) and developed a distinctive perspective on the production of scientific facts. We Have Never Been Modern is the first book in which he systematically unfolds his critical stance toward the foundations of modernity—and simultaneously makes a plea for a new understanding of social order in which norms, technologies, and environmental conditions are inseparably intertwined.
Key Points
We Have Never Been Modern by Bruno Latour
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Main Proponent: Bruno Latour (1947–2022)
First Publication: 1991 (French), 1993 (English)
Country: France
Core Idea: Modernity is a myth based on the artificial separation of nature and society. In reality, humans, things, technologies, and norms act together in hybrid networks.
Foundational For: Actor-Network Theory (ANT), sociology of science, sociology of technology, environmental sociology, posthumanism, Anthropocene debates, critical policing studies.
Core Arguments of the Work
At the heart of Latour’s argument is the claim that modern society rests on a contradiction: it officially separates nature and society, yet constantly interweaves them in practice. This “modern constitution,” as Latour calls it, is defined by two opposing movements:
- Separation (Purification): The distinction between nature (science) and culture (politics, society).
- Translation (Mediation): The creation of so-called hybrids—mixtures of nature and society such as technical artifacts, medical innovations, or environmental problems.
Latour criticizes modernity for pretending not to see these hybrids. His demand is clear: we must take seriously the real entanglements of actors (humans, things, institutions) and study them through a “symmetrical anthropology” that does not presuppose an ontological hierarchy between nature and society. Especially in a world shaped by digitalization and global networks, these hybrid configurations become a central challenge for sociological analysis.
Modernity was never modern. It is time to turn our backs on it. – after Bruno Latour
Theoretical Positioning
Latour’s approach is hard to categorize in classical terms. It runs counter to the macrosociological theories of Marx or Durkheim, as well as interpretive approaches like Weber’s interpretive sociology. His work is deeply rooted in science and technology studies and influenced by poststructuralist traditions. In sociology, We Have Never Been Modern is best understood as a contribution to Actor-Network Theory (ANT), which radically expands the boundaries of the social: not only humans act, but also objects, technologies, and non-human agents.
Actor-Network Theory (ANT):
Actor-Network Theory is a sociological approach that argues social reality is produced by networks of human and non-human actors. Things, technologies, animals, or natural phenomena are treated as equally important actors. ANT rejects classical distinctions such as subject vs. object or nature vs. society and instead examines how stable orders emerge from the interplay of diverse elements in networks. Key figures include Bruno Latour, Michel Callon, and John LawA system of codified rules and sanctions recognized by the state..
Example: PolicingThe practice of maintaining public order and enforcing laws through authorized institutions. as an Actor-Network
A police stop is classically seen as an interaction between officer and driver. But from an ANT perspective, many additional actors shape the situation:
- Technical artifacts: Speed-measuring devices, body cameras documenting events.
- Legal norms: Traffic laws, procedural guidelines, data protection regulations structuring everyone’s behavior.
- Material environments: The road, weather, or lighting conditions influencing the encounter.
- Social roles: The uniform signaling authority; the driver responding according to their social identity (e.g. motorist, migrant, youth).
From the ANT viewpoint, the social reality of the police stop emerges not solely through human interaction but through the interplay of an entire network of people, things, norms, and contexts.
Unlike systems-theoretical models (such as Niklas Luhmann), Latour does not emphasize the autopoietic closure of social systems but their open, dynamic, and constantly negotiated networks. His theory points to the limits of classical images of society and connects with postmodern and posthumanist perspectives—as well as current debates in environmental sociology, technology ethics, and criminology.
Reception and Impact
Latour’s work has been both celebrated and hotly debated. Especially in science studies and sociology of technology, We Have Never Been Modern is seen as a milestone. Its critique of the nature–society divide has spurred debates about the relationship between science, politics, and the public—extending to climate research and so-called “post-truth” politics. The book has left deep marks in anthropology, STS (Science and Technology Studies), political ecology, and increasingly in migration and risk research. Latour’s approach offers tools for analyzing transnational challenges, digital infrastructures, and new forms of social inequality.
Conclusion
We Have Never Been Modern is a key work for a reflexive sociology of the present. Latour deconstructs the myth of modernity and offers a new perspective on the social that treats technological artifacts, natural phenomena, and human actors equally. His work challenges us to take seriously the connections between things, people, and institutions—a stance that is more urgent than ever in light of ecological crises, technological transformations, and global interdependencies.
References
- Latour, Bruno (1993). We Have Never Been Modern. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
- Latour, Bruno (2005). Reassembling the Social: An Introduction to Actor-Network-Theory. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- Law, John (1992). Notes on the Theory of the Actor-Network: Ordering, Strategy, and Heterogeneity. Systems Practice, 5(4), 379–393.
- Callon, Michel (1986). Some Elements of a Sociology of Translation: Domestication of the Scallops and the Fishermen of St Brieuc Bay. In J. Law (Ed.), Power, Action and Belief: A New Sociology of Knowledge? (pp. 196–233). London: Routledge.
- Law, John & Hassard, John (Eds.) (1999). Actor Network Theory and After. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers / The Sociological Review.
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