Late + Post modernism

• Giddens - late-modernity


  Reflexivity

  - someone being able to examine their own feelings + how they influence what they do/think

  - reflexivity = reflect on possible consequences of actions

  - no fixed ideas = constant reflection on actions
• Criticism - Giddens - late modernity

  suggests we are free to re-shape our lives to reduce exposure to risks - but not always possible e.g. poor = more environmental risks, unable to move
• Beck - late modernity

  Risk society

  - new dangers + risks e.g. past = natural risks e.g. disease, today = manufactured risks e.g. nuclear war, global warming

  - reflexive modernisation = constantly assess potentially risks -> leads to risk consciousness = heighted awareness e.g. eat food based on if it's good for the environment
• Criticism - Beck - late modernity

  Rustin / Marxist - capitalism = source of risk, Beck fails to recognise this

  Pre-modern risks = worse: disease, famine, war

  Risk not experiences universally - e.g. w/c at greater risk of ill-health
• Lyotard - post modernity

  - Knowledge = different 'language games' / ways of seeing the world

  - Postmodernity embraces competing views rather than modern society's meta-narratives
• Baudrillard - post modernity

  Simulacra + identity

  - society = about buying/selling knowledge rather than goods

  - simulacra/hyperreality - representation of extreme reality that overshadow actual reality e.g. Love Island hyper-real environment

  - critical of TV - line between image + reality = blurred

  - identity = destabilised - create our own identity, easy to change

  - pessimistic - how can we improve reality if we no longer understand it
• Harvey - post modernity / Marxism

  - capitalism = constantly changing

  - flexible accumulation - workers need to be flexible for employers' needs

  - identity has become a commodity e.g. fashion, sports, music marketed as products

  - movements on class not as important as in past - replaced by environmentalism
• Criticism of post-modernity

  - Late-modernists - still accept meta-narratives

  - self-defeating - why should we believe a theory that claims no theory has truth

  - Marxists, Philo + Miller - say post-modernists ignores power and inequality, ruling class manipulate media to control ideologies

  - morally questionable - assuming all view-points are true, becomes valid to deny things such as Nazi's murdering millions as much as it can affirm it