New Concept of Postmodernity - Essay Example

?Running head: Postmodernity Postmodernity: A new concept Talk about postmodernism and the word willelicit a lot of different connotations in ordinary parlance. Ours is a world where change and the aspiration to change have totally inundated the world to the extent that the conventional life and mannerisms are no longer considered stylish. In a way, the human race has totally been obsessed with the whole idea behind change through the adoption of different ways of life and the introduction of different mindsets. This is the essence of postmodernism. Postmodernism is all about celebrating and cherishing the relevant tenets that define postmodernity which are normally reminiscent in entirely all sectors of the modern age. Talk about religion, culture, art and even technology and you are certainly confronted with both fundamentalists and a new wave of thinkers who will normally feel that postmodernism should be the accepted way of life (Anderson 2003). Well, it then begs the analysis of the whole concept of postmodernism to clearly see its true connotation and to draw lines between the term and the conventional modernism. Modernism, contrary to popular knowledge, has been in existence since somewhere in the late 17th or early 18th centuries (Chan, 2008). It is a period that radically transformed all manner of life in science, art, religion, culture etc. The ideas and thoughts propounded by postmodernists are normally subjects of much analysis. This arises out of the true nature of postmodernism. It has normally been seen that postmodernists are driven by that ultimate opposition and antipathy towards modernism. Whatever is conventional in the mindset of the modernist is therefore what the postmodernist seeks to prove wrong and nullify as old and traditional (Deely, 2001). A more recent trend seen is where postmodern fundamentalists have been constantly attacking and questioning some of the most celebrated knowledge in academic and professional realms (Eagleton, 2000). As a very special characteristic, postmodernism fundamentally relies on the voice of reason and the ability to inspire change through the avoidance of the bandwagon effect where humanity simply borrow from their past without much thought or ability to think and analyze what is good for them. With modernism, humanity evidenced the development of the Enlightenment era in which reason was used to establish fundamental truths about the world (Docherty, 2003). These truths have gradually been developed and have guided life for the past few centuries. Well, it has to be realized that postmoderns are normally against such guiding principles. To them, the concepts of morality and ethics, which are normally considered universal, are merely subjects of personal and subjective decision. In several instances, it can be seen that postmodernity tries to bridge the gap that is normally left with the flaws of modernism. In a critical perspective, postmodernism is not simply a way of life. On the contrary, the word is simply meant to address a wide range of social, economic, cultural and political changes that have lately inundated the world. It is the modernistic way of life supplemented with modern technology, globalization, individualism, feminism and multiculturalism (Gidders, 1999). On the cultural perspective, the move towards ethnic pluralism and relativism has made people to nostalgically think about their past cultures and what has been lost over time. Indeed much has been lost. On the social scale, the digital age has made the flow of information across the world as easy as possible. This has radically transformed lifestyles across many areas as new ways of life are adopted. Postmodernity encompasses that timeframe between the early 1980s to the present. It is a period that saw the emergence of a new economy-the postindustrial, which effectively replaced the earlier forms of life like aristocracy, working class and middle class (Zygmunt, 2000). Much of this era is however defined by the emergence of myriad opinions and mindsets on entirely all aspects that govern modern life. The world today is driven by asset of views and ideologies of which subscription and acceptance is basically a function of personal decision and environmental influence (Manuel, 2006). It is a period characterized by information awareness in which entirely everybody seeks to know and comprehend the happenings across the globe. It is a period marked by multiculturalism, feminism and environmentalism and other popular mindsets that spring up daily as a function of emerging issues. Think about postmodernism and you are compelled to imagine, albeit comically, that cybernetic metaphors should replace the conventional mechanical metaphors (Ulrich, 2008). Sure enough, it is a revolution in its own right, a paradigm shift towards the better. Postmodernists are more concerned about contemporary capitalism and its inability to address the myriad problems that affect humanity in the present age. To them some of the greatest problems that should be addressed with utmost urgency are such issues as climate change and environmental degradation. Well, everyone should understand the imperative of addressing the issue of climate change and the consequences of ignoring the whole issue. The collapse of political and economic systems like communism has been a major driving force behind postmodernism. When capitalism erupts as a solution to the economic problem, the situation is never addressed. The United States and western economies are urging nations across the world to deregulate their economies with the sole objective of giving their companies dominance across the world. Such are the fundamental issues that postmodernists seek to address in the face of emerging realities (Gidders, 1999). Therefore to understand postmodernism, one is compelled to first understand the dislocations that exist in contemporary capitalism and imagine a better world free of such tendencies. The fragmentation of social bonds and the breakage of the sense of collectiveness should never be left to prevail. In that respect change, in the context of postmodernism, becomes imperative. Problems with the term The word postmodernity has become a daily affair in the present world. However, it elicits a lot of negative perception whenever it is mentioned. This is because of the way postmodernists lead an entirely new lifestyle that is always in antipathy with conventional ideals. Moreover the word usually appears to be in opposition to the modern way of life which is certainly deemed the best. It further offers no solutions to the myriad issues that govern humanity in the present generation other than focus on empty rhetoric (Chan, 2008). It can be well seen that postmodernity as concept of this modern era has really perverted all aspects of human life. As seen above, it has affected human reasoning in terms of cultural identity where nothing but fundamental reasoning is the basis for existence. It is therefore tearing away the cultural fabric that bound societies and communities together over the years. It is also meting out serious onslaughts on the whole concept of the hitherto existing education. Well, the essence of education is progress but when this education becomes the subject of incessant criticism then the rate of progress has to be impeded. When our politics become governed by the divergent postmodernists, we can never hope of any progress perhaps other than an increase in political thought without tangible benefits (Ihab, 2006). Postmodernity has radically influenced the social values and aspects of life that have long defined the essence of humanity. References Anderson, P. (2003). Origins of Postmodernity. London: Verso. Anderson, P. (2006). Origins of Postmodernity. London: Verso. Chan, E. (2008). Against Postmodernism. Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press. Deely, J. (2001). Four Ages of Understsnding: The first postmodern survey of philosophy. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. Docherty, T. (2003). Postmodern, A Reader. New York: Harvester Wheatsheat. Eagleton, T. (2000). Capitalism, Modernism and Postmodernism. London: Verso. Gidders, A. (1999). Consequences of Modernity. Cambridge: Polity Press. Ihab, H. (2006). From Postmodernism to Postmodernity. Stanford CA: Stanford University Press. Manuel, C. (2006). The Network Society. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Ulrich, B. (2008). Risk Society: Towards a new Postmodernity. New York: Prentice Hall. Zygmunt, B. (2000). Liquid Modernity. 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