Proletarian Postmodernism?
They reject the rugged individualism typical of Western society. They embrace group cohesion, find truth and meaning communicated most clearly through relationship, and often devalue traditional rational constructs. They have a moral cynicism that can often be interpreted as moral ambiguity and relativism.
Am I talking about the postmodern generation? Actually, I'm not. These are characteristics of the disenfranchised proletarian class as enumerated in Reinhold Niebuhr's Moral Man and Immoral Society. The interesting fact is that this book was written in 1932, long before postmodernism ever hit the scene. Now, I realize that I may be mixing my metaphors, so to speak, but I find the connection between these worldviews to be striking.
The question immediately raised in my mind is this: could postmodernism rise from the influence of class struggle? If your sociology takes on a Marxist flavor, you would say yes, all social movements evolve from the dialectical progression of history as expressed in class conflict. However, there are other reasons I am exploring this relationship. For one, I am noticing more and more that there are several different threads of postmodernism under the blanket of the term. There is the postmodernism that most recongnize, the radical deconstructive and relativistic type. This rises more from the musings of upper class intellectuals. But there is also the "subconscious postmodernism" that exists beneath the surface of many peoples' worldviews. This worldview does not attempt to categorize, theorize and write doctrinal statements like the other type. Instead, it is more of a postmodernism of praxis, manifested in behaviors and attitudes that have become more second nature than conscious thought. And nowhere have I seen this more prevalent than among the more disenfranchised members of society. These include people who may not be directly suffering from economic peril, but recognize the tenuous nature of our current economic system. They are looking for something beyond the status quo into which they have been indoctrinated.
Niebuhr's book is strangely prophetic for a day like today. Although I do not agree with many of his conclusions, altogether his observations are very sound. The connection between postmodernism and economic class struggle may be a link yet to be explored further.
Am I talking about the postmodern generation? Actually, I'm not. These are characteristics of the disenfranchised proletarian class as enumerated in Reinhold Niebuhr's Moral Man and Immoral Society. The interesting fact is that this book was written in 1932, long before postmodernism ever hit the scene. Now, I realize that I may be mixing my metaphors, so to speak, but I find the connection between these worldviews to be striking.
The question immediately raised in my mind is this: could postmodernism rise from the influence of class struggle? If your sociology takes on a Marxist flavor, you would say yes, all social movements evolve from the dialectical progression of history as expressed in class conflict. However, there are other reasons I am exploring this relationship. For one, I am noticing more and more that there are several different threads of postmodernism under the blanket of the term. There is the postmodernism that most recongnize, the radical deconstructive and relativistic type. This rises more from the musings of upper class intellectuals. But there is also the "subconscious postmodernism" that exists beneath the surface of many peoples' worldviews. This worldview does not attempt to categorize, theorize and write doctrinal statements like the other type. Instead, it is more of a postmodernism of praxis, manifested in behaviors and attitudes that have become more second nature than conscious thought. And nowhere have I seen this more prevalent than among the more disenfranchised members of society. These include people who may not be directly suffering from economic peril, but recognize the tenuous nature of our current economic system. They are looking for something beyond the status quo into which they have been indoctrinated.
Niebuhr's book is strangely prophetic for a day like today. Although I do not agree with many of his conclusions, altogether his observations are very sound. The connection between postmodernism and economic class struggle may be a link yet to be explored further.