Topic 5 Globalisation, Modernity, and Postmodernity Flashcards
What are the four key features of modern society?
- The nation state the key political unit with clear boundaries and a centralised government
- Capitalism economic base of modernist society
- Rationality, science, and technology secular way of thinking dominates
- Individualism traditional norms are less influential
Apply a theorist to the key feature of modernity - capitalism
Lash and Urry Capitalism results in unequal wealth distribution and is organised based on Fordist Principles Of Production such as mass production
Apply a theorist to the key feature of modernity - Individualism
Bradley argues identity is predictable, stable and is formed by social structures such as class, gender and ethnicity.
How has globalisation affected modernity?
Loss of power from nation states due to increased connectedness
What are the four changes that brought about globalisation?
technological changes The Internet, satellite communications, television
economic changes trans-national corporations
political changes reduced power of nation states creating a ‘borderless world’
changed in culture cultures no longer exist in isolation formation of global culture
Can we achieve objective knowledge and are we able to trust modernist thinkers (theorist)
Foucault takes an anti-foundationalist viewpoint saying there are no longer foundations for knowledge, so we can’t prove a theory true or false. He says modernist theories are meta-narratives pushing their own agendas.
What does postmodernism argue?
Emerging in the 1980s, it argues we now live on a fragmented, unstable, media saturated global village where image and reality are indistinguishable
What do postmodernists mean when they say the media produced a hyperreality? (Theorist)
Baudrillard The media produces an endless stream of images and versions of the truth. Resulting in fragmentation and loss of collective values.
Postmodernists say the media causes people to be confronted by multiple meta narratives. Why is this a problem?
Different messages undermine people’s faith in meta-narratives, causing fragmentation.
How do we construct identities in a postmodern society (theorist)
Bauman says we use media to construct our identities
Criticise the postmodernist idea of hyperrealities using Marxism (theorists)
Phillo and Miller
PM ignores power and inequality - media images don’t exist apart from reality but rather as a tool for the ruling class to control the working class
How do Marxist view postmodern society (theorist)
Harvey believes we are in a postmodern society, but he says we don’t live in a new society but rather a new stage of capitalism
Why do Marxists believe we are in a new stage of capitalism?
After the financial crisis in the 1970s a new regime of accumulation emerged with post-fordist production systems and flexible accumulation
What is flexible accumulation?
Involves the use of ICT and flexible workers, allowing production for goods in niche markets, allowing switching of production from one product to another
What is the impact of flexible accumulation?
Brought changes to consumption it turned all aspects of life into commodities.
It weakened trade unions.
What is late modernity?
Social changes have produced a continuation of modernity rather than a postmodern era.
In late modern society how are people forced to act? (Theorist)
Giddens - people act reflectively they consistently monitor, reflect, and modify their behaviour in light of new information as they’re not influenced by traditions.
What is the late modern idea of the risk society. Who came up with it?
Beck we face new kinds of dangers called manufactured risks resulting from human activity .
As a result the risk consciousness is more central and we are more reactive to risks.
Criticise Giddens’ idea of a reflexive late modern sociology.
Not everyone is able to reflect on actions and act to re-shape society - link to green crime
