marxism and postmodernity

• marxism and postmodernity

  jameson + harvey - society has moved to postmodernity, bringing about major changes resulting in instability, diversity and increased media presence

  • however postmodernity is the result of the most recent stage of capitalism
  • while capitalism is dynamic it is also prone to periodic crises which produce major changes, and postmodernism arose from the capitalist crisis in the 1970s
• flexible accumulation

  harvey - the use of information technology, job insecurity and the requirement for workers to be flexible in a post-fordist system

  • permits the production of customised products for niche markets rather than standardised products, which brings about the cultural characteristics of postmodernity
  • customised products promotes cultural diversity
  • easily switching production from one product to another encourages fast-changing trends
  • also changed consumption as identity became a commodity
  • causes the compression of time and space as new technology serves to shrink the globe
• politics and progress

  harvey + jameson - flexible accumulation has also brought about the political characteristics of postmodernity eg. weakening the working class and socialist movements

  • develops fragmented oppositional movements eg. women's liberation, anti-racism etc
  • however these can hopefully come together in a rainbow alliance to bring about social change
• differences between postmodernism

  best + kellner - marxist views of postmodernism differ from those of postmodernism in two ways

  • retain faith in marxist theory as a way of explaining societal changes
  • argue that the goal of the enlightenment project is still achievable
• evaluation

  by relating recent societal changes to marxism the theory offers an explanation for the changes, which postmodernism fails to do HOWEVER

  • has seemingly abandoned the possibility that the enlightenment project would be achieved by the revolution of the bourgeoisie