Postmodernity as Contemporary Social Theory - Essay Example

?Contemporary Social Theory Postmodernity is an economic or cultural situation or condition of the society whose existence is marked as the period after the modern era. There are various debates regarding the time-dimension of the beginning of this postmodern era. In this regard different schools of thought have produced different time points. One school thinks that postmodernity started at the late 20th century. They have argued that postmodernity started at the early 1990s or early 1980s. But other schools of thought have argued that the postmodernity is not yet realised and it is just a development of modernity. But inspite of these debates regarding its existence, postmodernity has been the most discussed topic over the last two decades. In the late 1970s Jean-Francois Lyotard articulated the notion of postmodernism and analysed the influence of postmodernity on the society and on human conditions (Harvey, 1989, pp.39-44). This paper outlines the notion of postmodernity and represents a critical evaluation of Lyotard’s notion of the ‘condition of postmodernity’. Postmodernism: Postmodernity has been one of the most debated topics in modern times. People have wrestled on this topic producing contradictory views about it. Political forces behind this battleground can never be ignored. In the late 1970s Jean-Francois Lyotard defined postmodernity as “incredulity towards meta-narratives” (Harvey, 1989, pp.44-45). Lyotard has argued that in the postmodern world those who argue in favour of the postmodernity must avoid Marxist influences in favour of the concept. According to Lyotard, postmodernity can result from the termination of traditional societies’ social solidarity. Lyotard argued that postmodernism is a process that becomes effective via the growth of the way of thought which is dubbed rationalist by characteristic and is embodied in science in a pre-eminent manner (Cuff, Sharrock and Francis, 2006, pp.253-255). Postmodernity has been the most controversial terms of modern times. Various intellectual disciplines and associated political and theoretical constituencies have been discussing about the topic since a long time. Postmodernity has been discussed in different fields like sociology, geography, anthropology, philosophy etc. Critical theorists, neo-conservative social analysts, Marxists and other schools of thought have been arguing for and against the topic. Most of them have criticised the notion of postmodernity. Hence, various heterogeneous terms and concepts have emerged in regard to the definition of the topic. Some analysts have analysed postmodernity as identical “to mentioning the unmentionable, articulating the unacceptable, the indefensible, the inconceivable”. The idea of postmodernity has been cited as something different, not as something new. Some argues that the postmodernity is redundant for the purpose of understanding the nature of political, social, cultural and economic aspects of modern societies. They argued that it can never simply be reduced as the concept of evolving modernity (Smart, 1993, pp.11-13). New times and postmodernity: In modern world people are excited about the fact that they are living in the new times where there are new ideas, new political, economic and especially new cultural aspects which were not present at old times. They are excited about the fact that new virtues are extolled in these new times which are associated with ideas of progress or development of the existing and old cultural, economic, political and social aspects and concepts. The idea or notion of postmodernity is related to these feelings and realisations of modern world and this idea also includes new inventions and introductions of new concepts and theoretical knowledge in any field. Since it is really very difficult to identify which are the new ideas and aspects that have changed our lifestyles and that have marked notable differences in it compared to the past, it is much easier to identify these changes or developments as the emergence of completely new ideas or aspects. These changes have been realised in everyday life, in different economic and cultural activities, in political associations, in cultural consumptions and productions. These conflicts have raised the issue that these changes are merely the continuation of the existing concepts or ideas (Lyon, 1999, pp.35-45). Or these new ideas are merely the continuation of the conditions which have been prevailing from the past. But these conflicts have disturbed the equations of modernity and conditions of modernity of new times. Also the increase in the attention happened due to the qualitative transformations of conditions of modernity. Moreover since the concept of modernity has been a debated and controversial issue in regard to the beginning of the conditions of modernity, the concept of postmodernity also has been suffering from this same problem, the time when it begins. However, there have been several ideas or concepts related to the notion of postmodernity mentioned by several authors, sociologists and philosophists. In this context postmodernity has been identified as the new cultural configuration that has been characterised as the broader continuation of modernity and not as a significantly different from the characteristics or conditions of modernity. Postmodernity has been described as a process where the development and emergence of postmodern cultural forms, conditions and practices are realised. Political, social and cultural aspects and thoughts are also developed during this phase of development. New shifts and changes in the social totality of modernity has been realised during this phase of social transition. These changes have been characterised as the break from the conditions of modernity. These changes have been described as the carrier of the distinct organising principles. In the post industrial society or world these changes have marked significant changes in the socioeconomic and technological factors and processes for different diversified societies. The concept of postmodernity has not been introduced to mark the existence of new distinct configurations of social, cultural and economic aspects, but to note the development of the relatively new condition or mood which are both increasingly realised and experienced. The concept of postmodernity has been used in three different censes. First of all it has been used to mark the distinctive differences with the conditions and characteristics of modernity. Secondly, it has been used to point out a break in the modern conditions. And finally it has been used to mark the continuation of the modern forms of life and the limits and limitations of the modern forms of life. But the most accepted notion of the concept of postmodernity has been the notion that it marks a break in the conditions for modernity. This concept has been used in the formation and activities of political, social and economic organisations. Regarding the social and cultural aspects postmodernity has been viewed as the concept of emergence of middle-class lifestyles and values in civilisation of modern Western societies. This is also characterised as the growing emergence of middle-class economic, political and cultural properties and features. This has been a crucially important example of the postmodern thinking. In this context Lyotard described the concept of postmodernity as the quintessential characteristic of modernity. Another important notion of the concept of postmodernity has been the continuation of the modern forms of life. In this respect postmodernity has been described to imply differences in regard to the complex relationships of continuous modern socioeconomic structures, formations and conditions (which have been named as capitalism). In this regard the concept of postmodernity has been used as the newest stage of the time-space comparisons. But in this time phase of comparisons postmodernity itself became an integral part of the ongoing processes of capitalist modernizations. It has also been argued that the conditions for postmodernity are not to be claimed as superior compared to the conditions of modernity (Smart, 1993, pp.15-30). Conditions of postmodernity: There are various points that have been mentioned by Lyotard as the ‘conditions of postmodernity’. The process of transition from modernity to postmodernity in the contemporary structure of culture must exhibits production of images instead of material goods, emergence of diversified opportunities of consumption for communities, pragmatism in philosophy etc. Postmodernity also needs to include creativity and destruction in production and cultural consumption, the power and ability to avoid the complexities of modernity, reformation of political, social, economic and cultural aspects of societies according to the needs and aspirations of the people of those societies, an introduction of the urban style of modern societies, the ability to achieve success in postwar modernism of the human civilisation, the ability to dissolute different languages of architecture, creation of primitive accumulations and proletarians, promotions of contemporary material practices, the transformations of the political and economic structure of the capitalistic nature of the society, the ability to reduce scientific knowledge to ‘a kind of discourse’, creation of rigid markets for capital investments, labour, goods and services etc., developments in the role of the state and activities of the global financial markets etc. (Harvey, 1989, pp.12-35). Critical evaluation of the condition for postmodernity: The conditions of postmodernity have been critically assessed by various writers and scholars on several grounds. Firstly the concept of postmodernity or postmodern conditions are not characterised as post-modern conditions. According to Lyotard these conditions or characteristics are prior to conditions of modernity. These conditions are not merely the continuation of the conditions of modernity. The concept of architectural dissolution of different languages has been praised by David Harvey (2001) in regard to its contribution to lifestyles of human beings and various socioeconomic, cultural and political aspects of their everyday lives. One important implication of this is, this dissolution helps people to understand various socioeconomic, political and cultural aspects of modern world. Again Lyotard’s condition for reduction of scientific knowledge to ‘a kind of discourse’ has been criticised by Margaret A. Rose (1991) in regard to the fact that it reduces the concept of metanarratives or totality that has been the guiding principle for the fulfillment of conditions of postmodernity. Again in regard to the distinction of the Marxist view of use of goods and services and value-exchange, Lyotard’s viewpoint about the distinction is unclear. His point of view regarding the separation of the direct productive class from the means of production has been criticised on the ground that even in the modern world there can be only single elite class of decision-makers which is responsible for the exploitation against the working class of the society. Lyotard’s viewpoint about modern aesthetics (that is “the aesthetic of the sublime”) has been criticised on the ground that it still provides solace and pleasure to the readers and viewers. Fredric Jameson (1984) argued that the concept of postmodernity and its conditions are radical breaks and impressive and radical modifications of the socioeconomic, cultural, political, aesthetic and organisational characteristics. In this regard Jameson criticised Lyotard’s conditions of postmodernity which Lyotard has opined as the minor changes or continuations of conditions of modernity (Rose, 1991, pp.3-65). Conclusion: The concept of postmodernity has been the most debated issue of the time. The concept is viewed from several angles and several opinions have been put forward in favour of the concept. Almost all those views have been contested by other views on the same topic. Hence, it is very much difficult to judge which viewpoint is the most relevant and acceptable one. The conditions of postmodernity noted by Lyotard have also been criticised on several grounds. But it can be said that as the world’s socioeconomic, cultural, political and other related issues are largely integrating and interacting with each other in large volumes, it is really difficult to understand the proper meanings and conditions of postmodernity. References: 1. Cuff, E., Sharrock, W. and D. Francis. (2006), Perspectives in Sociology (5th edition). London: Routledge. 2. Harvey, D. (1989). The Condition of Postmodernity: An Enquiry into the Origins of Cultural Change. Oxford: Basil Blackwell. 3. Lyon, D. (1999). Postmodernity (2nd edition). Buckingham: Open University Press. 4. Lyotard, J. F. (1984). The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge. Manchester: Manchester University Press. 5. Rose, M.A. (1991). The Post-modern and the Post-industrial: A Critical Analysis. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 6. Smart, B. (1993). Postmodernity. London: Routledge. Read More