ABSTRACT
Modernity produces ambivalence' is one of Zygmunt Bauman's chief messages. In other words, it throws up phenomena that are difficult to categorize. Bauman himself is one such phenomenon. The critical response to his writings has been extremely ambivalent. The critics have not found it easy to pigeonhole him. This chapter suggests that the time has come for a more explicit focus upon the problems in Bauman's sociological writings and it is as a contribution to this emerging debate that addresses the line of argument developed here. It offers some brief remarks on how Tester's interpretation notes a potential thematic affinity between the concepts of possibility and of freedom. It also considers the important ideas expressed by Dennis Smith, and assesses the concept of freedom as it emerges in Dennis Smith's and Peter Beilharz's interpretation of Bauman.
