One of the things this means, in a situation in which many aspects of modernity have become globalised, is that no one can completely opt out of the abstract systems involved in modern institutions. This is most obviously the case in respect of such phenomena as the risk of nuclear war or of ecological catastrophe. But it is true in a more thoroughgoing way of large tracts of day-to-day life, as it is lived by most of the population. Individuals in pre-modern settings, in principle and in practice, could ignore the pronouncements of priests, sages, and sorcerers and get on with the routines of daily activity. But this is not the case in the modern world, in respect of expert knowledge.

Anthony Giddens, The Consequences of Moderni…, loc. 204