Globalisation, modernity and post modernity

The nation state is the key political unit within modern society; a bounded territory ruled by a powerful centralised state, whose population shares the same language and culture. We tend to think of the modern world as made up of a series of separate societies, each with its own state. The state is the focal point of modern society, organising social life on a national basis. Modern states have created large administrative bureaucracies and educational, welfare and legal institutions to regulate their citizens lives.

The economy of modern soiceties is capitalist. Capitalism brough about the industrialisation of modern society, with huge increases in wealth. However, wealth distribution is unequal, leading to class conflict. The nation state becomes important in regulating capitalism and maintaining the conditions under which it operates. Lash and Urry refer to this as organised capitalism. In modern industry, production is organised on fordist principles: the mass production of standardised prodcuts in large factories, using low skilled labour. Cheap mass produced customer goods lead to a rising standard of living.

Rational, secular, scientific ways of thinking dominate and the influence of magio-religious explanations of the world declines. Technically efficient forms of organisation, such as bureaucracies and factories, dominate social and economic life. Science becomes increasingly important in industry, medicine and communications.

Tradition, custom and ascribed status become less important as the basis for our actions. We experience greater personal freedom and can increasingly choose our own course in life and choose our own identity. However, structural inequalities such as class remain important in people shaping their identity and restricts their choice

We can cross entire continents in hours and exchange information in a click. Technological changes makes the world 'smaller'. Technology also brings risks on a global scale. For example, greenhouse gases in one country can lead to global warming elsewhere

Globalisation is the metaphorical shrinking of the world due to new societal advancements. These include: social media. trade, internet banking and global markets.

Global economy is increasingly a weightless or electronic economy. Instead of producing physical goods, much activity now involves the production of information such as music, TV and data processing. These commodities are produced, distributed and consumed through global electronic network. 'Risk factor' is also involved in being able to transfer money 24/7. Another major economic force pushing globalisation is TNCs. They tend to be westen based. Coca cola and nike are examples of colossal TNCs and they, amongst the other 500 biggest, are so powerful that the small elite that produced them form a separate global capitalist class- Sklair

Some sociologists claim that globalisation has undermined the power of the nation state. Ohmae argues that we now live in a borderless world, in which TNCs and consumers have more economic power than national governments. States are now less able to regulate the activities of large capitalist entterpirses, a situation Lash and Urry describe as disorganised capitalism.

ICT makes it hard for cultures to remain isolated from each other as traits and cultures are shared on a global scale

The enlightenment project- Modernist theories (marxism) are a part of this project and holds the idea that we can discover true knowledge and progress to a better soicety through science and reason.

-It emerged in the 70s and claims we are now living in a new era of post modernity

-Postmodernity is unstable, fragmented, media saturated where image and reason are indistinguishable.

-We define ourselves by what we consume

-The enlightenment project of achieving progress through true, scientific knowledge is dead. If we cannot guarantee our knowledge is correct, we cannot use it to improve society.

-Any all embracing theory that claims to have the truth claims to have the truth about how to create a better society, such as marxism, is a part of a meta-narrative. Therefore there is no reason to believe the claims.

-Postmodernism rejects theories such as Marxism because they've helped create oppressive totalitarian states which impose their view of the truth on people.

-Lyotard: In postmodern society, knowledge is just a series of 'lanuage games'. However, postmodern soicety is preferable to modern society.

-Post modernism allows groups who had been marginalised, minority groups such as women and ethnic minorities, to be heard.

-Society isnt based on the production of material goods, but rater on buying and selling knowledge in the forms of images and signs. Unlike signs in the past, signs today bear no relation to physical reality.

-Signs stand for themselves, instead of being symbolic of some other thing in reality- simulacra. For example, newspaper articles on TV shows are signs about signs, concerned with ficticious characters, rather than reality.

-Hyper-reality: Signs seem more real than reality and, thus, become a substitute. Because these signs don't represent anything real they're meaningless. Baudrillard is critical of Tv as it is the main source of simulacra and our ability to fail to distinguish between image and reality.

-The media produce everchanging images of images, values and versions of the truth. As a result, culture becomes unstable and fragmented because there's not one set of beliefs or values for society.

-The array of different messages and ideas undermines people's faith in metanarratives.

-Futhermore, given the failure of metanarratives ro deliver a better soicety people lose faith in the possibility of rational progress. Identity also becomes destabilised as people can constantly change their image from a wide range of influences presented in the media. As we change our media consumption, our identity can change.

-Baudrillard is pessimistic about the postmodern condition. Media left us unable to differenitate between image and reality. This makes it hard to improve society because we can't grasp the truth of it.

-Political activity to improve the world is impossible, and so is the central goal of the enlightenment project.

Philo and miller:

-Postmodernism ignores power inequality. For example, the idea that media images are unconntected with reality ignores the ruling classes' use of media as a form of domination.

-Similarly, the claim that we can freely construct our identities ignores the impact of poverty.

-Postmodernists are wrong to claim that we can't distinguish between what is real and what isn't.

-By assuming that all views are equally true, it can lead to normally morally indefensible situations being affirmed.

-Lyotards theory is self defeating, why should we believe a theory that claims all theories are false?

Best and Kellner:

-Postmodernism fails to explain how features of today's society came about

-Postmodernists are criticsed for their pessimism about the enlightenment project; their view that objective knowledge is impossible and nothing can improve society. Harvey states that political movements do make a difference.

-While postmodernism has identified some important features of today's society it is poorly equipped to explain them.

-Giddens: Disembedding is "lifting out of social relations from local contexts of interaction."

-In high modern society, tradition and custom become less important in telling us how we should act. As a result of this, we become individualistic and reflexive. We constantly monitor, control and modifty our actions now tradition isn't influential. This means that we have to consider risks and opportunity ourselves (reflexive modernisation). Reflexivity means we are constantly re-evaluating our ideas and theories, so nothing is fixed and society becomes unstable.

-Disembedding and reflexivity account for the rapid and widespread nature of social chamge in high modernity.

-Beck: In the past, nature was the cause of issues in society, but today it tends to be humans. This is called risk society. Like Giddens, Beck sees late modernity as a period of growing individualisation.

-Risk consciousness becomes increasingly central to culture; we become increasingly aware of risks and seek to avoid or minimise them.

-Giddens: Disembedding is "lifting out of social relations from local contexts of interaction."

-In high modern society, tradition and custom become less important in telling us how we should act. As a result of this, we become individualistic and reflexive. We constantly monitor, control and modifty our actions now tradition isn't influential. This means that we have to consider risks and opportunity ourselves (reflexive modernisation). Reflexivity means we are constantly re-evaluating our ideas and theories, so nothing is fixed and society becomes unstable.

-Disembedding and reflexivity account for the rapid and widespread nature of social chamge in high modernity.

-Beck: In the past, nature was the cause of issues in society, but today it tends to be humans. This is called risk society. Like Giddens, Beck sees late modernity as a period of growing individualisation.

-Risk consciousness becomes increasingly central to culture; we become increasingly aware of risks and seek to avoid or minimise them.

-Baudrillard rejects the enlightenment projoect, yet Beck disagrees because we can use rationality to overcome the scientific risks that we face and overcome them

-Not everyone has the chance to change and modify their lives. For example, a poor person wouldn't have the economic opportunity to move out of a polluted area.

-Rustin: Capitalism is the source of risk, not technology.

-Hirst: Rejects Beck's view that movements such as environmentalism will bring about significant change because society is too fragmented to change.

-Flexible accumulation

This invovles the use of information technology, an expanding service and finace sector and the need of worker flexibility.

-Permits the production of customised products for small 'niche' markets and easy switch between product production.

-These changes brought about cultural changes for society: production of customised products for niche markets promotes cultural diversity and easy switches of production from one product to another encourages constant shifts in fashion.

Politics and Progress

-Flexible accumulation has brought about political changes like weakening the working class and socialist movements. In their place, oppositional political movements have emerged, such as environmentalism, womens liberation etc.

-However, Harvey and Jameson want to create a 'rainbow alliance' to evoke change.