Modernity, Post-Modernity and Their Effects on Alcohol Anonymous - Research Paper Example

Download file to see previous pages... Post-modernity was characterized by the breakdown of the ills that were perceived of modernity. It had an approach that was critical to the objective comprehension of the real world. It heralded the entry of capitalism. Most sociologists date this era back to 1945, as anti-colonial protests in Asia and Africa took root after the Second World War. Capitalism, while acting to subtly perfect the idea of individualism, was critical and vital in toning down the utopic excesses of modernism. Post-modernism emphasized on constructivism, idealism, relativism, scepticism and pluralism. The premise of this paper is to study the rise and development of Alcohol Anonymous and relate it to the theories of modernity and post-modernity. Alcoholic anonymous, or AA, was modelled after Christianity of the first century, being known as the Oxford Group at the time. While most of tits original members did not concern themselves with sobriety, some believed in the critical role the group played in sobriety. Bob Smith and Bill Wilson founded it, with a close confidant, Thatcher. Thatcher confessed to Wilson that he was sober because of religion and that he too should accept religion as a way of being sober. Wilson attended the first meeting of the Oxford Group, after feeling struck at the common suffering kinship he felt towards Thatcher, and the fact that Thatcher was sober. Later, during a trip to Ohio, Wilson was introduced to Bob Smith, an alcoholic, who was sober 30 days later. However, in 1937, Wilson split from the group. He believed that the strength, which the members drew from each other, not religion that maintained their soberness. This was the beginning of AA as known today (Kurtz 22). By the year 1937, Smith and Wilson knew of 40 men they had helped to sobriety. To promote their newfound fellowship, Wilson, joined by other members, authored “Alcoholics anonymous: The Story of How More than One Hundred Men Have Recovered from Alcoholism” (Darnovsky 78). In it, they suggested a program containing 12 steps to getting sober and staying that way. In the book, they emphasized the powerlessness of man against alcohol, and the need to seek strength and guidance from a higher power. The first part, which has remained unchanged since1939, emphasized the need to: list character defects while readying oneself to get rid of them, make an inventory of morals while ensuring the inclusion of resentments, list and acknowledge those one has hurt while making amends, and to help alcoholics get sober. The books second half is updated regularly with each edition and contains redemptive sketches of an autobiographical manner about struggles and triumphs undergone by AA members (Darnovsky 78). As with every popular organization, AA began to squabble over purpose, structure, publicity, finance and authority in 1946. Wilson formed and promoted the twelve traditions of the AA, which acted as guidelines on AA’s purpose, to aid alcoholics via shunning publicity. The structure Wilson set out championed for a non-coercive, unaffiliated, altruistic, and structure that was non-hierarchical. Wilson, in 1955, relinquished AA stewardship to the GSC, in Missouri, with members growing to millions worldwide (Ritzer 89). AA refers to their organization as a benign anarchy, with no political or formal organization. Their continued success has been attributed to the inverted pyramid governance style, which has aided it in sidestepping the various pitfalls faced by religious and ...Download file to see next pagesRead More