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The Modernity/Postmodernity debate
Key assumptions
Postmodernists claim that contemporary western societies have moved from the modern (which replaced traditional societies) to the postmodern. To understand this shift requires an understanding of modernity first. Some leading sociologists question the claim that we have
moved as far as postmodernity, although they accept major social change has occurred in the developed world.
Modernity 18th - 1970s
Postmodernity 1970s onwards (fragmentation of societies)
Applications of postmodernism
Evaluation
‘Enlightenment Project’ - the idea that society can
In pomo society, we define ourselves by what we consume.
Education
progress through the use of human reason, where
It Is not a continuation of modernity, but a fundamental break with it.
1. Due to the economy shifting towards
rationality and science will enable us to discover true
For postmodernists, this new kind of society requires a new kind of theory – modernist
‘flexible specialisation’ education needs
knowledge about the world. With this knowledge we
theories no longer apply.
to produce a skilled, adaptable
can progress to a future of freedom and prosperity.
Lyotard claims that there is no such thing as the truth (scientific or otherwise) and that all
workforce that is transferable.
Postmodernists have raised new and important questions about cultural change,
Modernist theories therefore set out to explain the
knowledge is uncertain.
Education must encourage selfworkings of modern society and to identify the
particularly in the areas of the media, culture and identity, and the significance of
direction it should take if it is to progress.
E.g. Is suicide dependent on the society you are in, or is it a product of social actors (coroners)?
motivation and creativity.
these.
Postmodernism should be seen as a completely separate from Modernism
2. Eduation has become more diverse.
The nation-state – key political unit in modern society
Baudrillard: Simulacra
Fragmentation and choice has been
Postmodernists provide insight into most contemporary social changes, such as
– a bounded territory ruled by a powerful centralised
Like Lyotard, Jean Baudrillard (1983) argues that knowledge is central to postmodern society.
created: specialist schools, CTCs and
‘uncertainty’, globalisation and the growing power of the media.
state, whose population usually shares the same
He argues that society is no longer based on the production of material goods, but rather on
Grammar schools (again movements
language and culture. We think of the modern world
buying and selling knowledge in the form of images and signs. However, unlike signs in past
made by the new government)
as made up of a series of separate societies, each with
Postmodern theories highlight how modernist theories are out of date. For
its own state.
societies, those today bear no relation to physical reality.
example, many of the founders of sociology (Durkheim & Marx) focused on social
The state is the focal point of modern society,
Instead, signs are simply just themselves. They are not a symbol of some other real thing.
Family
class to the neglect of gender and ethnicity. Postmodernism offers us a theory
organising social life on a national basis. Modern
Baudrillard called these signs simulacra (or simulacrum for singular). E.g. tabloid newspaper
1. There is no longer one family type
which recognises the complexity of contemporary societies.
states have creative large administrative
articles about fictitious soap opera characters are ‘signs about signs’ rather than about an
that is dominant. Family structures are
bureaucracies and educational, welfare and legal
underlying reality.
fragmented and individuals have far
Postmodernists are right to suggest that knowledge and many aspects of social life
institutions to regulate their citizen’s lives. The
He describes this situation as hyper-reality: where the signs appear more real than reality itself
more choice in lifestyle and the type of
nation-state is also an important source of identity for
are socially constructed/relative. For example, what counts as the truth, crime or
citizens who identify with its symbols such as the flag.
and substitute themselves for reality i.e. we don’t know the difference between reality and
relationships they choose. E.g. Women
health does vary from time to time and place to place.
fiction. However, because the signs do not represent anything real, they are literally
as ‘breadwinners’, same sex couples.
Capitalism – the economy of modern societies is
meaningless. In this respect, he is very critical of TV, which he sees as the main source of
capitalist – based on private ownership of the means
simulacra and of our inability to distinguish between image and reality.
Religion
of production and the use of wage labourers.
Other views:
1. Religion has become consumerist and
Capitalism brought about the industrialisation of
1.
Decline of the metanarratives – Lyotard concludes that we are left with
individuals are choosing different beliefs
modern society, with huge increases in wealth.
Marxists have made several of their own criticisms of postmodernism:
However, wealth distribution is unequal, resulting in
competing metanarratives, each as equally as valid as the other. We should
and shaping them into personal

It ignores power and inequality e.g. the idea that images are
class conflict. The nation-state becomes important in
celebrate these differences, not try to impose one on the other.
philosophies. E.g. the rise in
unconnected with reality ignores the ruling class’ use of the media as a
regulating capitalism and maintaining the conditions
2.
Post industrialisation – Rapid introduction of new goods and services with much
Scientology.
tool of domination
under which it operates. This is described as
wider consumer choice. Manual work replaced by the service economy e.g.
‘organised capitalism’ (Lash and Urry, 1987; 1994).

Similarly, the claim that we freely construct our identities through
finance, telecommunication. Flexible work practices are common (part-time,
Crime
In modern industry, production is organised on
consumption overlooks the effects of poverty in restricting such
temporary contracts, job sharing etc.), jobs for life have disappeared.
1. Growing underclass who commits
Fordist principles (after the Ford motor company’s
opportunities
system): the mass production of standardised
3.
Death of social class - postmodernists claim that social class is no longer a major
crime due to feelings of resentment and

Postmodernists are simply wrong to claim that people cannot
products in large factories, using low skilled labour.
factor shaping social life. They claim life chances and cultural identities are now
revenge.
distinguish between reality and media image
Cheap, mass produced consumer goods lead to a
also shaped by other structures such as ethnicity, gender, age. Heaton claims we
2. Postmodern feminists account for the
rising standard of living.

By assuming all views are equally true, it becomes just as valid to deny
now lead “fragmentary lives”.
growth in female crime in terms of
that the Nazis murdered millions as it does to affirm it. This is a morally
4.
Globalisation - postmodernists claim we now live in a global world where the
shifting gender roles and the poverty
Rationality, science and technology – Rational,
indefensible position.
world is strongly interconnected. Thus production is carried out in multinational
experienced by women.
secular, scientific ways of thinking dominate the
influence of magico-religious explanations of the
plants, nation states have become less powerful, and communication transcends
3. Control of crime has become
Postmodernists contradict themselves They claim there is no such thing as the truth,
world declines. Technically efficient forms of
space and time, e.g. the internet, satellite tv, e-mail.
invasive. Postmodernists claim we now
yet they make their own truth claims e.g. Lyotard. Why should we accept their own
organisation e.g. bureaucracies and factories
5.
Pick and mix culture - traditional cultural boundaries have become blurred and
live in a surveillance society - e.g. CCTV,
metanarrative over other grand theories?
dominate the social and economic life. Science
people
form
their
identity
from
a
range
of
structures
class,
ethnicity,
sexuality,
electronic
tagging.
becomes increasingly important in industry, medicine
age, gender. Cultural forms such as conceptual art and many new music genres
and communications.
Postmodernism perhaps exaggerates the amount of social change that has
are based on mixing the old with the new. Cultural diversity and pluralism exists
happened. For example, nation states are still strong, mass production still takes
Individualism - Tradition, custom and ascribed status
in a range of social contexts, religion, family, youth culture.
place, and social class remains a major determinant of life chances, culture and
become less important as the basis for our actions.
6.
Enlightenment – We cannot accept any theory (metanarrative) that claims how to
consumption.
We experience greater professional freedom and can
create a better society because we cannot know it to be true.
increasingly choose our own course in life and define
7.
Consumption
consumption
of
goods
and
services
increasing
becomes
important:
our own identity. However, structural inequalities
Postmodernist are criticised for their pessimistic view of the enlightenment project
consumption is global, emphasises style and is conspicuous, is influenced by
such as class remain important in shaping people’s
– David Harvey (1989) rejects this pessimism and argues that political decisions do
popular culture, defines individual identity.
identity and restricting their choices.
make a real difference to people’s lives and that knowledge can be used to solve
human problems. Even if the theories cannot provide absolute truth, they are at
least an approximation to it.
While Postmodernism has identified some important features of today’s society, it is
poorly equipped to explain them. By contrast, recent sociological theories have
offered more satisfactory explanations of the changes society is undergoing.
Links to methods – The debate between positivism and interpretivism is generally dismissed by postmodernists as a pointless waste of time. They take the view that:
1.
Sociological Research is a social construction created by sociological researchers. Concepts like gender and ethnicity are just frameworks imposed on the world by sociologists and have no meanings to separate them.
2.
3.
It is pointless to try and find causes of behaviour through Social Research. There is no longer ‘a society’ or any social structure; there is only a mass of individuals making separate choices about their lifestyles. There is no point in carrying out research unless you
specifically target every single individual as their behaviour and construction of their meanings will be totally different.
Postmodernists say little on specific research methods as they theorise about society rather than study it empirically.
Critical Views of Postmodernism
These can be used to criticise Postmodernity (compare and contrast).
1. Giddens: late modernity
Giddens (2006) Agrees with the postmodernist view that changes in society have occurred and that we live in a modern society (society in a stage of late or high modernity) characterised by growing diversity, risk and
uncertainty. However the problem is that they have exaggerated the amount and nature of social change. He believes we have moved some where in between modern and postmodern societies, namely late
modernity. He believes the defining changes in late modernity are: globalisation; cosmopolitanism (diversity of cultures, ethnic groups and social movements); reflexivity (individuals and institutions think and reflect
on their actions); and individual freedom.
2. Beck - risk society
Beck also questions the shift to postmodernity. He claims we live in a new phase called ‘the second modernity’ where we face risk and uncertainty. For example, jobs are no longer permanent; marriage often ends up
in divorce; ecological risks exist due to the greenhouse effect, GM crops etc. A new sub-based politics emerges (which is not class based) including the green movement, anti-globalisation protestors, animal right
activists etc.
Beck believes that individuals and societies are capable of reflexivity so that they can learn, assess and question the risks faced by modern technological societies.
Beck also believes contemporary societies are characterised by individualisation (people seeing themselves as individuals). He believes this is because of the declining structural influences of social class and gender.
3. Marxist Theories of Postmodernity (Harvey)
Marxists believe in the Enlightenmen project of achieving objective knowledge and using it to improve society. E.g. Marx claimed that his theory showed how a working class revolution could overthrow capitalism and
bring an end to exploitation. Some Marxists such as Harvey (1989) believe that we have moved from a modern to a post modern society with much more emphasis on the media, diversity and instability. However,
instead of seeing postmodernism as completely separate, Harvey (1989) sees it as the product of the most recent stage of capitalism. Harvey (1989) argues this by highlighting the fact that Postmodernism was borne
out of the capitalist crisis of the 1970s, which saw the end of a long economic boom that had lasted since 1945.
Harvey describes the era after the capitalist crisis of 1970, as ‘flexible accumulation’; this brought about a new way to achieve profits. Flexible accumulation involved the use of ICT, expanding the service and finance
sector and job insecurity. It allows the markets to be more flexible in order to create profits.
This change brought about many cultural characteristics of post-modernity (diversity, choice and instability). E.g.:

Production of customised products for niche markets promotes cultural diversity.

Easy switching of production from one product to another encourages constant shifts in fashion.
Critical points

Postmodernists have highlighted many important changes in contemporary western societies, for example globalisation and the potential dangers it creates, e.g. wars. However, postmodernist thinking has
serious weaknesses. For example, choice is not equal in society, as social class, ethnicity etc determine the extent to which choices can be made (e.g. in health care, schooling etc).

The central question contemporary social theorists seem to be engaged in is the degree to which developed societies have shifted from the modern.

However, perhaps debates as to whether we are postmodern or late modern is merely a language/concept game played out by sociologists to enhance their career prospects. There is after all much
common ground in the thinking of postmodernists and Giddens about contemporary societies.