postmodernism

• postmodernism - 4 characteristics of a modern society

  1. nation-state
  2. capitalism
  3. rationality
  4. individualism
• postmodernism - characteristics of a modern society

  NATION-STATE

  • the key political unite of modern society
  • a geographical area rule by a powerful central state
• postmodernism - characteristics of a modern society

  CAPITALISM

  • private ownership of the means of production and the use of wage labourers
• postmodernism - characteristics of a modern society

  RATIONALITY

  • science and technology are the dominate way of thinking
  • the move away from religious explanations
• postmodernism - characteristics of a modern society

  INDIVIDUALISM

  • greater persona freedom and the break from tradition and ascribed status
  • although structural inequalities still remain
• postmodernism - globalisation

  increased interconnectedness of people across national boundaries
• postmodernism - 4 changes of globalisation

  1. technological changes
  2. economic changes
  3. political changes
  4. changes in culture and identity
• postmodernism - 4 changes of globalisation

  TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGES

  • new technologies have created a time-space compression but also created greater risk
  • global warming
• postmodernism - 4 changes of globalisation

  ECONOMIC CHANGES

  • economic activity now takes place on a global scale and includes the electronic economy
  • money never sleeps
• postmodernism - 4 changes of globalisation

  POLITICAL CHANGES

  • globalisation has undermined the power of the nation-state
  • we now live in a borderless world - OHMAE
  • TNC have more power than government
• postmodernism - 4 changes of globalisation

  CHANGES IN CULTURE AND IDENTITY

  • we live in a global culture created by mass media
  • that has led to westernisation of the world
• postmodernism -

  characterised by instability and fragmentation within a global village where image and reality are indistinguishable

  • we are defined by what we consume
  • new era of society
• meta-narrative

  • the big picture - a singular truth which explains the world around us
• relativist position

  • all views are true for the people who hold them
  • no one has a monopoly on truth
• postmodernism - LYOTARD and langauge games

  • knowledge is not about truth but a way of seeing the world
  • this preferable as it allows marginalised groups to be heard
• postmodernism - BAUDRILLARD and simulacra

  • society is no longer based on the production of goods but on buying and selling of knowledge which bares no reaction to reality
  • he calls the signs that stand for nothing simulacra
  • hyper-reality = where there is a blurring of reality and image
  • reality TV = partially scripted so bears no relation to actual reality
• postmodernism - AO3

  • PHILO AND MILLER
  • NEST AND KELLNER
  • ENLIGHTENMENT PROJECT
• postmodernism - AO3

  PHILO AND MILLER

  • it ignores power and inequality
  • overlooks the role of poverty in restricting opportunities
  • wrong to assume people cannot differentiate between reality and image
• postmodernism - AO3

  BEST and KELLNER

  • weak theory
  • explains how society is but fails to explain how they came about
• postmodernism - AO3

  ENLIGHTENMENT PROJECT

  • postmodernism is a pessimistic view
  • their view of objective knowledge is impossible and nothing can be done to change or improve society
• Late modernity -

  • argue that we are not entering a new era of postmodernism but instead are seeing a continuation modernity
  • they recognise that something important is happening but the elements of modernity are still present
  • they belive that we can use the enlightenment project to improve society
• features of Late modernity - GIDDENS

  1. Disembedding
  2. Reflexivity
• features of late modernity - GIDDENS

  • disembedding

  we no longer need face to face contact to interact. There is a break down of geographical boarders thus making interaction impersonal
• features of late modernity - GIDDENS

  • reflexivity

  We are continually re-evaluating our ideas and theories, nothing is fixed or permanent and everything is up to challenge
• BECK - risk society

  • manufactured risk - the risks that we face today have been created by human activity rather than by nature
  • individualization - we are no longer governed by tradition in terms of how we act, instead we think for ourselves and reflect on the possible consequences of our actions
  • risk consciousness - we have become much more aware of risk to ourselves then we ever used to be and work to avoid and minimise them
• BECK - risk society

  • manufactured risk
  • individualisation
  • risk consciousness
• BECK - risk society AO3

  RUSTIN

  • capitalism not technology is the cause of risk in modern society
• BECK - risk society AO3

  HIRST

  • movements such as environmentalism are unable to bring about that change that Beck suggests
• BECK - risk society AO3

  RISK AND THE POOR

  • not everyone has the option to minimise the risk that they are faced with
  • the poor don't always have the means to do this