postmodernity, globalisation, modernity Flashcards
(13 cards)
What are 2 features of a modern society?
-Capitalism- based on private ownership and the use of wage labourers
Capitalism brought out industrialisation, which increased wealth, but this distribution is unequal>class
conflict
-Rationality, science and technology- secular ways of thinking dominate religious ways
Impacted medicine, education
What impacted modern society?
What 2 things led to this?
Globalisation- increasing interconnectedness of people across national boundaries
Economic changes
Technological changes
Explain economic changes in globalisation
Economic activity takes place within a set of global networks that creates greater connectedness
Most activity’s have moved from physical goods, e.g. music which is produced through global networks
Explain technological changes in globalisation
Being able to cross continents within hours and exchange information across the globe with the click of a mouse
Internet, television have helped narrow the distance between people
What is postmodernism?
We are living in postmodernity, this is unstable, media saturated and global
Modernist theories no longer apply
We define ourselves by what we consume
What do postmodernists argue about knowledge?
What consequence does this have?
There is no foundations to it, no objective criteria -this is known as foundationalism
The Enlightenment project of achieveing progress through scientific knowledge is dead, as we cannot guarantee our knowledge is correct, cannot use this to improve society
Post modernists take a relativist apporoach, what does this mean?
They argue that all views are true for those who hold them
Nobody has special access to the truth, including sociologists, all accounts of reality are equally as valid
We should be celebrating the diversity of views, rather than seek one truth
What are 2 ways Marxists criticise postmodernists?
By celebrating diveristy of views, this becomes a moral issue e.g. extreme racist, sexist, homophobic views are valid
Too pessimistic with the Enlightenment project, their view that objective knowledge is impossible and that nothing can be done to improve society
What is late modernity?
Believe that key features of modernity have become intensified e.g. social change has always been a feature of modern society, but now this change has gone into overdrive
We are in the late phase of modernity
Believe in the Enlightenment project, we can discover objective knowledge and use it to improve society
According to Giddens, what are the 2 reaosns we are in the stage of late modernity (a defining characteristic of modern society)
Disembedding
Reflexivity
What is disembedding according to Giddens
‘Lifting out of social relations from local contexts of interaction’ -we no longer need face to face contact in order to interact
This breaks down the geographical barriers, making interactions more personal
We become more individualistic because tradition is less important in late modern society e.g. no longer following same occupation as family
What is refelxivity according to Giddens
Individualism (tradition no longer tells us how to act)>reflexive
We are constantly reflecting our actions due to the risks and opportunities involved e.g. economic risks in unstable capitalist economy, environmental risk of global warming
Nothing is fixed, everything is up for challenge
One criticism of late postmodernity is that reflexivity suggests we have to reflect on our actions to reshape our lives to reduce risk
Explain
Not everyone has this option e.g. poor are generally more exposed to environmental risks as they are likely to live in polluted areas
May be unable to afford to move to a healthier one
