Difference between revisions of "Postmodernism"
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| − | + | '''Postmodernism''' is the period of [[bourgeois society]] from the late 60s/early 70s up to the present, and in particular the cultural aspects of this period, characterised by the marginalisation of traditional (religious, kinship, custom, etc.) practice and belief and a disappearance of the prospect of achieving social harmony. | |
| − | '''Postmodernism''' is | + | |
| − | + | Once [[capitalism]], in the words of the ''[[The Communist Manifesto|Communist Manifesto]]'' “has left no other nexus between man and man than naked self-interest, than callous ‘cash payment’ [and] drowned out the most heavenly ecstasies of religious fervour, of chivalrous enthusiasm, of philistine sentimentalism, in the icy water of egotistical calculation [and] resolved personal worth into exchange value”<ref>Karl Marx, ''Communist Manifesto'', Chapter 1</ref>, then the basis for postmodern society has been laid. Postmodern society is characterised by [[scepticism]] in relation to science, all forms of authority and the possibility of an ethical life, by [[relativism]] and disbelief in any concept of value beyond 'what pays', while the very ideas of originality, progress and truth seem themselves to be derivative, out-dated and untrue. | |
| − | + | == Historical context == | |
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| − | + | The period of postmodernism began when the period of expansion of capitalism following the Second World War drew to a close. Belief in progress was bolstered after the devastation and barbarism of the Second World War, by the [[Marshall Plan]] and the [[Bretton Woods]] arrangements which allowed the dollar to be printed in unlimited amounts to finance the expansion of capitalism. This protracted [[Post-War Boom]] caused many former radicals to draw conclusions about the impossibility of rebellion and about capitalism having resolved its historic crisis. See for example [[Herbert Marcuse]]'s ''[[One-Dimensional Man]]''. [https://www.marcuse.org/herbert/pubs/64onedim/odmcontents.html] | |
| − | + | At roughly the same time that the Bretton Woods arrangements collapsed in 1968, the failure of the student uprisings and the betrayal of the French General Strike, caused a number of formerly radical French intellectuals to begin elaborating sceptical and subjective views, which incorporated elements of Marxist theory, and which laid the foundations for postmodern social theory. (See biographies of [[Roland Barthes]], [[Michel Foucault]], [[Jacques Lacan]] and [[Jacques Derrida]]). The [[Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia]], and other phenomena world-wide around this time demonstrated a rupture in the alliance between the workers' movement and the intelligentsia, an alliance which dated back to the [[Russian Revolution]] and before. | |
| − | + | Beginning already in the 1950s, but accelerating following the collapse of the Bretton Woods arrangements and the boom in commodity prices which followed, the dominant capitalist powers turned decisively from being net exporters of capital towards importing capital, and relocating their manufacturing industries to countries offering cheap labour, relying on military supremacy, financial power and knowledge and image industries to maintain their dominance. This led to a situation where the division of labour between mental and manual labour which had been around as long a civilisation and which forms the basis for the separation of theory and practice, was now articulated on an international scale, with whole countries securing their domination over other nations on the basis of military and financial power and the “symbolic industries”. Any wonder then, in those countries, that [[idealist]], sceptical and [[subjectivist]] outlooks became rampant, with writers theorising that “there is nothing outside of the text”. The same phenomena has been exhibited in the periods of decline of earlier civilisations. Especially as the limits on growth which were the root of the [[Environmental Movement]] became manifest, natural science lost the mystique it had held since the days of [[the Enlightenment]]. Social theory and [[Feminism|feminist]] and [[Marxism|Marxist]] ideas in particular were turned to demonstrate the limits of scientific knowledge. (See [[Jacques Monod]]'s ''[[Ethic of Knowledge]]'' [https://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/philosophy/works/fr/monod.htm] and [[Jürgen Habermas]]'s ''[[Knowledge and Human Interest]]'' [https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/habermas/1968/theory-knowledge.htm]). | |
| − | + | == See also == | |
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| − | + | * [[Post-truth]] | |
| + | * [[Post-structuralism]] | ||
| + | * [[Cultural Marxism]] | ||
| − | == | + | == Further reading == |
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| − | + | *[[Frederic Jameson]]'s ''[[Postmodernism, or The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism]]'' [https://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/philosophy/works/us/jameson.htm] | |
| + | *[[Jean-Francois Lyotard]]'s '' [[The Postmodern Condition]]'' [https://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/philosophy/works/fr/lyotard.htm] | ||
| + | *[[Michel Foucault]]'s ''[[Archaeology of Knowledge]]'' [https://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/philosophy/works/fr/foucault.htm] | ||
| + | *[[Teresa Ebert]]'s ''[[Untimely Critiques for a Red Feminism]]'' [https://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/philosophy/works/us/ebert.htm] | ||
| − | + | == References == | |
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Revision as of 16:00, January 5, 2021
Postmodernism is the period of bourgeois society from the late 60s/early 70s up to the present, and in particular the cultural aspects of this period, characterised by the marginalisation of traditional (religious, kinship, custom, etc.) practice and belief and a disappearance of the prospect of achieving social harmony.
Once capitalism, in the words of the Communist Manifesto “has left no other nexus between man and man than naked self-interest, than callous ‘cash payment’ [and] drowned out the most heavenly ecstasies of religious fervour, of chivalrous enthusiasm, of philistine sentimentalism, in the icy water of egotistical calculation [and] resolved personal worth into exchange value”[1], then the basis for postmodern society has been laid. Postmodern society is characterised by scepticism in relation to science, all forms of authority and the possibility of an ethical life, by relativism and disbelief in any concept of value beyond 'what pays', while the very ideas of originality, progress and truth seem themselves to be derivative, out-dated and untrue.
Historical context
The period of postmodernism began when the period of expansion of capitalism following the Second World War drew to a close. Belief in progress was bolstered after the devastation and barbarism of the Second World War, by the Marshall Plan and the Bretton Woods arrangements which allowed the dollar to be printed in unlimited amounts to finance the expansion of capitalism. This protracted Post-War Boom caused many former radicals to draw conclusions about the impossibility of rebellion and about capitalism having resolved its historic crisis. See for example Herbert Marcuse's One-Dimensional Man. [1]
At roughly the same time that the Bretton Woods arrangements collapsed in 1968, the failure of the student uprisings and the betrayal of the French General Strike, caused a number of formerly radical French intellectuals to begin elaborating sceptical and subjective views, which incorporated elements of Marxist theory, and which laid the foundations for postmodern social theory. (See biographies of Roland Barthes, Michel Foucault, Jacques Lacan and Jacques Derrida). The Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, and other phenomena world-wide around this time demonstrated a rupture in the alliance between the workers' movement and the intelligentsia, an alliance which dated back to the Russian Revolution and before.
Beginning already in the 1950s, but accelerating following the collapse of the Bretton Woods arrangements and the boom in commodity prices which followed, the dominant capitalist powers turned decisively from being net exporters of capital towards importing capital, and relocating their manufacturing industries to countries offering cheap labour, relying on military supremacy, financial power and knowledge and image industries to maintain their dominance. This led to a situation where the division of labour between mental and manual labour which had been around as long a civilisation and which forms the basis for the separation of theory and practice, was now articulated on an international scale, with whole countries securing their domination over other nations on the basis of military and financial power and the “symbolic industries”. Any wonder then, in those countries, that idealist, sceptical and subjectivist outlooks became rampant, with writers theorising that “there is nothing outside of the text”. The same phenomena has been exhibited in the periods of decline of earlier civilisations. Especially as the limits on growth which were the root of the Environmental Movement became manifest, natural science lost the mystique it had held since the days of the Enlightenment. Social theory and feminist and Marxist ideas in particular were turned to demonstrate the limits of scientific knowledge. (See Jacques Monod's Ethic of Knowledge [2] and Jürgen Habermas's Knowledge and Human Interest [3]).
See also
Further reading
- Frederic Jameson's Postmodernism, or The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism [4]
- Jean-Francois Lyotard's The Postmodern Condition [5]
- Michel Foucault's Archaeology of Knowledge [6]
- Teresa Ebert's Untimely Critiques for a Red Feminism [7]
References
Template:MIAE- ↑ Karl Marx, Communist Manifesto, Chapter 1
