Postmodernism

Postmodernity and Postmodernism

The first important distinction to be made is that between postmodernity and postmodernism. Postmodernity is a name given to a period of history, and postmodernism is the body of theory that has developed to explain that period. Opinions differ about when postmodernity is supposed to have begun, with dates ranging between 1968 and 1973. All agree that conditions in the world have changed since then. In international politics, the sites of authority have fractured from the relatively straightforward conflict of the Cold War to the multipolar, less predictable, and more confusing international situation of today. Other fundamental changes have been made to our styles of work, with entirely new industries, work hours, and arrangements than were the case before. The assumption underlying the notion of postmodernity is that the world has seen not simply changes in style but a fundamental shift in the way the world operates, a shift that has been to the disadvantage of predictability, order, and rationality.

Those who argue for 1968 as a convenient date for the onset of postmodernity point to the student riots of that year, when the post-World War II baby boomer generation, the best-fed, best-educated generation in world history, spurned the cultural conventions they grew up with and demanded change. These revolts did not demand a specific set of political, social, and economic changes; they demanded change, as a general rejection of the old. The impact of the baby boomer generation is very significant, but even it was swept along by the broader transformation taking place after the events of 1973. This was the year when the international economy changed forever as a result of the oil shocks brought on by a newly radicalized Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). The oil shocks were provoked by the oil-producing countries, most of which were from the Muslim world, wanting to express anger at the continued support by the West of Israel, which had been decisive in the recent Yom Kippur war. This marked a fundamental change in the balance of economic and political power and a dramatic shifting in priorities in global politics and economics. The widespread social changes that have occurred in the West are largely a product of these developments. Postmodernity can perhaps best be dated, therefore, from 1973.

It is important to note that “postmodernity” as discussed here is nothing more than a title given to a period by historians, like “Renaissance” or “Dark Ages.” Others have called this period Late Capitalism. Still others have rejected the idea that the events of 1973 mean we can no longer speak [Page 1030]of “modernity.” This debate becomes a question about the periodizing of history and the usefulness of such a procedure.

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