Post-Modernism, Late-Modernity + Globalisation Flashcards
what are the 4 features of modern society
- the nation-state
- capitalism
- rationality, science and technology
- individualism
outline capitalism as a feature of modern society
- the economy of mod societies is capitalist
- wealth distribution is unequal - leading to class conflict
- the nation-state maintains capitalism
- modern industry operates off Fordist principles; cheap, mass production of consumer goods leading to a rising standard of living
outline rationality, science and technology as a feature of modern society
- scientific, secular ways of thinking dominate + influences industry, medicine + communications
- technology dominates social and economic life
outline individualism as a feature of modern society
- tradition, custom and ascribed status becomes less important
- there is greater personal freedom in choosing our life course + identity
- structural inequalities still shape peoples identities + restrict their choices - like class
outline the nation state as a feature of modern society
- the idea that countries are bounded territory ruled by a centralised state whose population shares the same language + culture
- the nation state is an important source of identity for citizens, who identify with its symbols - like the flag
define globalisation
- Globalisation = the process of increasing inter-connectedness of people across national boarders
what are 4 changes that came with globalisation
- technology changes
- cultural/ identity changes
- political changes
- economic changes
outline technology changes as a result of globalisation
- people can now connect to anyone anywhere at any time with the use of developed technology (time-space compression)
- e.g. WhatsApp, Instagram, Facetime
- tech also brings risks to a global scale - e.g. greenhouse gases in one place lead to global climate changes
outline cultural/ identity changes as a result of globalisation
- due to mass media, cultures are more blended (global culture)
- the inc in tourists, asylum seekers, migrants help to create this
- western owned companies spread west culture to the rest of the world
outline political changes as a result of globalisation
- globalisation has undermined the power of the nation state
- Ohmae: we now live in a borderless world in which the consumer has more economic power than governments
- disorganised capitalism = states are now less able to control the activities of large capitalist enterprises
outline economic changes as a result of globalisation
- economic activity takes place within a ever-greater interconnectedness
- there is now an electric economy, in which money never sleeps and there are global 24hr financial transactions
- this contributes to a risk society
outline the Postmodern view
- we are now living in a new era of PM; a fragmented, unstable, media-saturated, society where image and reality are indistinguishable
outline Foucault’s view of postmodernity
- all theories based on enlightenment are outdated and have no use
- all previous theories are meta narratives/ big stories presenting one truth - which isn’t applicable in postmodern society
outline Lyotard’s view of postmodernity
- due to competing views, there is a variety of truth within PM society
- this variety of truth allows for more individualised experiences, in which marginalised voices can be heard in society
outline Baudrillard’s view of postmodernity
- media offers signs/ simulacra which bear little resemblance to reality - which forms a hyperreality
- PM culture has replaced reality with simulacra and so we can no longer distinguish reality from simulacra - this is evident in the media
- making progress is near impossible
what do PMs say about culture
- culture + identity in PM society differs from modern society - esp because of the role of the media
- the media presents an endless stream of ever-changing images, values and versions of the truth
what do PMs say about identity
- identity has become destabilised; instead of a fixed identity from our ascribed status, we can construct ourselves from the lifestyles on offer from the media
- we can simply change our identity from changing our consumption patterns
what do PMs say about politics
- our media-created-hyperreality leaves us unable to distinguish image from reality
- if we cannot grasp real society - we have no power to change it. political activity to change it is now useless
- we can change our identity, but not society
outline 2 PM evaluations from Philo and Miller
Philo + Miller (Marxists):
- PM ignores power and inequality (e.g. how media’s images and reality are unconnected ignores the ruling class’ use of media as a tool of domination)
- the claim that we freely construct our identities through consumption ignores effects of structural inequalities like poverty
outline late modernity
- the rapid social changes are a continuation of modernity
- key features of modernity that were always present have now become intensified
- theories of modernist sociology are still useful - unlike in PM
what does Giddens say are the 2 key features of late modernity
- global, rapid social change is due to 2 things: disembedding and reflexivity
outline Giddens view of disembedding in late modern society
- disembedding = the idea that we no longer need face to face contact to interact - interactions are more impersonal
outline Giddens view of tradition/ custom in late modern society
- tradition + custom have become less important + no longer serve as a guide on how to act
- we have become more individualistic
- e.g. sons are no longer expected to follow the same occupation as their fathers
outline Giddens view of reflexivity in late modern society
- because tradition no longer tells us how to act, we become reflexive
- we have to constantly monitor, reflect + modify our actions
- we are also constantly revaluating our ideas and theories - nothing is fixed
- due to this, culture is unstable + subject to change
outline Giddens view of modernity + risk in late modern society
- in late modernity, we face a number of high consequence risks
- e.g. military risks of nuclear war. economic risks like instability of economy etc
- all of these are manufactured rather than natural risks
- Giddens reject the PM view that we cant intervene to improve things
Late modernity: outline Becks ‘risk society’
- the dangers we face today are man made resulting from human activity, in contrast to in the past - where there were natural dangers (e.g. drought)
- there are 4 main types of risk
name Becks 4 main types of risk
- surveillance
- escalation of military power
- collapse of economic growth
- environmental risks
what does Beck mean by individualisation + reflexive modernisation
- beck sees late modernity as a period of growing individualisation - in which we become increasingly reflexive
- tradition no longer governs how we act and we have to reflect on our actions
- reflexive modernisation = having to constantly take into account the risks attached to courses of action
what does Beck mean by risk consciousness
- as a result of risks, ‘risk consciousness’ becomes increasingly central to culture - we become more aware of risks and seek to avoid/ minimise them
what is Beck’s stance on the enlightenment project
- beck disagrees with Baudrillard who rejects the Enlightenment project (the possibility of progress through action based on rational knowledge)
- he thinks we have the ability to use rationality to overcome risks
- e.g. Beck looks to new political movements like environmentalism to challenge the direction of tech development
outline evaluations of late modernity
- the concept of reflexivity ignores the restrictions w/c people may have. e.g. people living in poverty are exposed to more environmental risks in a heavily polluted area
- Rustin: criticises Beck, and says that capitalism is the source of risk - not technology
what do postmodern Marxists believe
- Jameson + Harvey: society has moved to postmodernity - in the sense that it is a later stage of capitalism
- Harvey: capitalism is a dynamic system, constantly developing new technologies + way of maximising profit
- Jameson: PM represents a developed version of capitalism as it commodifies all aspects of life
outline PM Marxist’s idea of flexible accumulation
- capitalist crisis gave rise to the new regime of accumulation - a new way of profit (flexible accumulation/ post Fordism)
- FA involves the requirement for workers to be flexible to fit their employers’ needs
- it favours the production of products for small, niche markets instead of standardised ones for mass markets
what has flexible accumulation resulted in
- FA brought many of the cultural changes of PM; such as diversity, choice + instability
- e.g. production of customised products for niche markets promotes cultural diversity
it also brought changes in consumption; turning leisure, culture + identity into commodities
what does Harvey say about the development of Capitalism
- this more developed form of capitalism leads to the compression of time + space
- commodification of culture, creation of global markets, new information + technologies all serve to shrink the globe
what do PM Marxists Harvey and Jameson say about politics + progress
- H + J argue that flexible accumulation has brought political changes; e.g. weakening the w/c + socialist movements
- in their place, oppositional movements have emerged, such as environmentalism, women’s rights etc
- they are hopeful that a ‘rainbow alliance’ can occur in which different protest groups unite in a communist rebellion
- thus, progress and change are difficult but hopeful
outline evaluations of Postmodern Marxists
- Marx’s original view of the enlightenment project was that it would be achieved by the w/c leading a revolution to overthrow capitalism. however, by accepting that political opposition to capitalism has been fragmented, a revolution is seemingly impossible
outline a criticism of Lyotard’s theory
- his theory is self-defeating; why should we believe a theory that says that no theory is true
