Modern? Postmodern? De Tijdsdiagnose van Zygmunt Bauman

Samenvatting

Modern? Postmodern? Zygmunt Bauman's Diagnosis of Our Times. An essay on a series of eight works written since 1987 by the Polish-British sociologist Zygmunt Bauman. It is noted that sociologists perhaps have not always appreciated the value of Bauman's unorthodox approach, ie, his view that the incongruities of life are best shown in analysis moving between perspectives without forcing a synthesis. He demonstrates little respect for the boundaries of academic disciplines. His basic thesis is that the social order of modernity has been broken up by a postmodern pluralization of authority. His primary interest is the effect of this breakup on the chances for developing a personal morality. His conclusions show that the centralized mechanisms and predominant constructs of modernity effectively neutralized individual moral responsibility when it was most needed. He has assessed the possibility for moral growth under postmodernism both positively and negatively. Under the consumerist paradigm, freedom of choice can lose sense and meaning. The relevance of modern sociology to these issues is stressed. Adapted from the source document.