Furedi's family emigrated from Hungary to Canada after the failed 1956 uprising, and did his Bachelor's degree at McGill University in Montreal. He has lived in Britain since 1969, and did his Master's degree (on African politics) and his PhD (on the Mau Mau Uprising in Kenya) at the School of Oriental and African Studies, London University.

In the 1970s, using the pseudonym Frank Richards, Furedi served as the co-founder and chairman of the Revolutionary Communist Party (RCP). The RCP was distinguished by its commitment to theoretical elaboration and hostility to state intervention in social life.

Furedi is associated with the web journal Spiked Online. Furedi maintains that society and universities are undergoing a politically driven 'dumbing down' process which is manifest in society's growing inability to understand and assess the meaning of risk. The rise of the environmental and green movements parallels society's growing obsession with risk which has become a commodity that some organisations are using to further their objectives. Furedi also attacks the scientific consensus on Global Warming In 2008, let us challenge the Politics of Apocalypse | spiked, and has criticised the prominent role played by science in policy formation. The tyranny of science | spiked

Furedi's academic work was initially devoted to a study of imperialism and race relations. His books on the subject include The Mau-Mau War in Perspective, The New Ideology of Imperialism and The Silent War: Imperialism and the Changing Perception of Race. In recent years his work has been oriented towards exploring the sociology of risk.

Furedi frequently appears in the media, expressing his view that Western societies have become obsessed with risk. He writes regularly for Spiked Online. He has also written several books on the subject of risk, offering a counterpoint to the analyses of Anthony Giddens and Ulrich Beck, including Paranoid Parenting, Therapy Culture, and Culture of Fear.

He wrote an article about risk culture post-9/11, one of several publications from the charity Global Futures. In 2008 he criticised opponents of American vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin on the Spiked website. He claims: "It seems that even fervent advocates of women’s rights will adopt outdated and chauvinistic moral rhetoric when targeting a woman they do not like."

In 2008 he co-authored a book with Jennie Bristow published by the think tank Civitas titled Licensed to Hug: How Child Protection Policies Are Poisoning the Relationship Between the Generations and Damaging the Voluntary Sector, arguing that the growth of police vetting (see Criminal Records Bureau) has created a sense of mistrust and advocating a more common-sense approach to adult/child relations, based on the assumption that the vast majority of adults can be relied on to help and support children, and that the healthy interaction between generations enriches children's lives.

Furedi is a supporter of the British Humanist Association.