Topic 5: Globalisation, modernity and postmodernity Flashcards
Lash and Urry
The nation state is regulates capitalism and maintains the conditions under which it operates- they describe this as ‘organised capitalism’
With globalisation states are less able to regulate activities of large capitalist enterprises resulting in ‘disorganised capitalism’
Changes that have brought about globalisation:
Technological changes- create time-space compression and risk on a global scale
Economic changes- electronic economy/TNC’s
Political changes- undermining the power of the nation-state
Changes in culture and identity- global culture/cannot exist in isolation. Traditional sources of identity undermined
Beck
We are now living in a a risk society- where increasingly the threats to our well being come from human-made technology rather than natural disasters.
Growing individualisation leads to reflexive modernisation meaning risk consciousness becomes central to our culture
We can use rational thinking to overcome risks e.g. Environmentalism.
Sklair
The small elite who control the largest TNC’s are so powerful they now for, a separate global capitalist class
Ohmae
We now live in a border less world in which TNC’s and consumers have more economic power than national governments.
Lyotard
Knowledge is just a series of language games or ways of seeing the world. No one has special access to the truth- relativist position (anti-foundationalism)
Baudrillard
Society is now based on the buying and selling of knowledge in the form of images/signs- but today these bear no relation to physical reality. He calls these simulacra- they mean nothing other than themselves, they are not symbols of some other thing.
He describes this situation as hyper-reality, where signs appear more real than reality itself and substitute themselves for it. This leads us unable to distinguish and loses us the power to improve society
Phillo and Miller
Marxist criticism of postmodernity- ignores inequality. People can distinguish between reality and media image. Assuming all views are equally true is a morally indefensible position.
Giddens
Late/high modernity. Modern society experiences rapid change because of two key features:
Disembedding- we no longer need face-to-face contact in order to interact
Reflexivity- tradition no longer tells us how to act so we have to constantly reflect on and modify our action in the light of information about possible risks and opportunities- we are continually re-evaluating ideas and theories creating an unstable society
We face a number of high-consequence human-made risks- but we can make rational plans to reduce these and achieve better progress.
Rustin
Capitalism with its pursuit of profit at all costs is the source of risk, not technology as such.
Harvey
Capitalism is a dynamic system contacts developing new technologies an systems- it is prone to periods of profitability with produce major changes. Postmodernity arose out of the capitalist crisis of the 1970s which gave rise to a reflexive accumulation- which involves the use of ICT, an expanded service/finance sector and the requirement of workers to be flexible. This permits the production of customised products for small niche markets promoting cultural diversity and encoding constant shifts in fashion. It also turned leisure, culture and identity into commodities.
This has lead to the compression of time and space though the commodification of culture, the creation of worldwide financial markets and new information technologies
Jameson
Postmodern represents a more developed from of coastal ism because it commodified virtually all aspects of life, including our identities.
Harvey and Jameson
Reflexive accumulation has also brought political changes wearing socialist movements and replacing them with a variety of oppositional movements. However they are hopeful these can form a ‘rainbow alliance’ to reign about change
Key characteristics of modern society
The nation-state
Capitalism
Rationality, science and technology
Individualism
