GLOBALISATION, MODERNITY & POSTMODERNITY

GLOBALISATION, MODERNITY & POSTMODERNITY

1. GLOBALISATION AND MODERNITY

   • It is th eroision of national boundries, with incresing interconnectedness of economics, politics, culture and risk
   • 1 TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGES - e.g, Internet, global networks etc.
     • Conssequense - risk on a global scale - Beck (92) we are now living in a 'risk society' - theats to our wellbeing come from human made technology rather than natrual disasters
   • Similar food on a worldwide scale, similar cultrual consumption of Hollywood films & POP music & tech prooducts (apple)
   • 2. ECONOMIC CHANGES-incresingly a 'weightless electonic economy.', no longer the production of goods, but the prodctionof infomation (music etc) - 24h financial transactions
     • Leslie and Sklair (03) the small elite who control TNCs are now a form of seperate global capitalist class
   • 3 POLITICAL CHANGES - some argue that globalisation hae undermined the power of the nationstate
     • Kenchi Ohmae (94) we now live in a borderless world, where TNCs and consumers have more economic power than national governments - Lash and Urry: States are less able to regulate the activities of large capitalist enterprises - 'disorganised capitalism'
   • 4. CHANGES IN CULTURE AND IDENTITY - Globalisation makes it harder for cultures to exist - economic intergration encourages a global culture e.g. Nike selling goods to many countries - creating similar tastes beyoynd national borders . incresed movement of people (tourists, ecominic migrats refugees etc.) has added to this
     • Consequence- w/c communites in the west (who used to manefacture) are left behind - loss of identity
   • The modern age began with the enlightenment period
   • The nation state is a key feature of modern society
   • Economy based on free market capitalism
   • Rationalism and Science can explain the national and social world
   • Secularism replaced religious values in understanding the world

2. POSTMODRENISM

   • Foucault - rejects the idea of metanarratives e.g. Marxism
     • It is because 'truths' have been proven wrong and thus this undermines the claim that truth can be found
   • Classified as a form of irrational thoughts: Uses rationality to seek the truth, so they, so it is a defeatist theory as they believe there is no point of looking for a single truth
   • Braudrillard (83)
     • Hyper-reality - reality TV programmes such as the only way is essex (dramatized version of reality)
     • Simulcra - Fake news (tabloid newspapers reporting on fictitous soap opera stories
     • Society is no longer based on the production and selling of material goods
   • The media produces an endless stream of ever changing images, values and versions of the truth ...
     • A rejection of improving society
   • David harvey (89) - political decisions do change people's lives and knowledge can be used to solve problems, even if theories may not be absolute truths, but are at least an aprox.
   • unstable, fragmented, media-saturated global village -mage and reality are indistinguishable
   • Philo and Miller (01) - Marxists
     • Wrong to beleive that people cannot distinguish between image and reality
     • Value or moral relativism means that bad ideas are seen as equally valid as morally good - e.g. are we denying that the Nazi ideology was definite bad thing
     • Ignores power and inequality
     • Claim we freely construct our identities overlooks the effect of poverty
   • Best and Kessler - Fails to explain how features of society came about (media and consumption)

3. Metanarrative: a meta is something that exists 'above' and narrative is a story or explanation. it is an overarching theory that explains all of humanity i.e Marxism or traditional religions

4. LATE MODERNITY

   • Late modernity theories recognises changes, but argues that society can still be analysed Objectively & Rationally (does subscribe to science)
   • Late modernity - intensified the process of rapid change that occurs in modernity
   • Giddens
     • Disembedding - 'lifting out of social relations from local contexts of interaction' - breaks down geographical barriers, makes interactions less impersonal
     • Rexlevivity We are constantly reflecting our actions and lifestyles - culture becomes more unstable, Tradition and custom becomes less important- we are more individualistic
     • We face many high consequence risks including cc & the instability of the capitalist economy - he believes we can make rational plans to improve/reduce these risks
   • Beck
     • Reflexive modernisation - We reflect on our actions as trad. values have less influence. Instead, we weigh up likely risks in our day to day actions
     • Late modernity theories provide a sociological alternative to postmodernism + rational anylasis of society remains possible and improve society by reducing costs
     • Most dangers in the past were as a result for out inability to control nature e.g. drought/disease/famine, now we face manufactured risks, global warming
     • Risk consciousness becomes more central to our culture - but much of this knowledge comes from Mass media (may have a distorted view)
   • Reflexivity: Poor a less capable of re-structuring their lives to avoid risk and often face more environmental problems as they cannot afford to live in a healthier/less polluted place
   • HOWEVER, LATE MODERNITY DOES PROVIDE AN SOCIOLOGICAL ALTERNATIVE TO POSTMODERNISM - THAT RATIONAL ANALYSIS REMAINS POSSIBLE - EVEN THOUGH KNOWLEDGE MAY MOT BE PERFECT IT WE CAN STILL IMPROVE SOCIETY & REDUCE THE RISK WE FACE
   • Hirst - rejects the idea the movements e.g. environmentalism will bring significant change as they are too fragmented to challenge capitalism

5. MARXIST THEORIES OF POSTMODERNITY

   • Flexible accumulation - when profits are made from low paid/temporary work - zero hours
   • Jameson - represents a more developed form of capitalism because of commodifies virtually all forms of life
   • A Niche product is a non-mass produced and specialised commodity, often more expensive than mass produced goods - these include handmade furniture bespoke clothes
   • DOES EXPLAIN THE RECENT CHANGES IN SOCIETY TO THE NATURE OF CAPITALISM - POSTMODERNISM DOES NOT
   • Harvey - Compression of time and space - creation of new technologies (like disembedding)
   • Postmodernity has contiunued with capitalism's drive for globalisation
   • Marxsits theories of postmordernity abandon the idea that society has fragmented into many social movements e.g. feminism, enviromentalism