Basics of Western Social Science Reader—Postmodernism (Second Edition)

Author: (Canada) Leon / Guo Weigui
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-12-01
Features: This series is jointly launched by Jilin People's Publishing House and McGraw-Hill, the world's largest educational publishing giant. It aims to help the general public quickly grasp the basic knowledge of Western social sciences through the fundamental principles of social sciences, making it a "literary primer" in the field of philosophy and social sciences. This series has been used as a basic textbook in universities in Europe and America for 20 years, written entirely by leading scholars from various fields in the West, and has been continuously updated to keep pace with the times. It has become one of the most authoritative basic reading materials in social sciences recognized in the West and a stepping stone for young scholars to enter the of social sciences. Some of its books, such as Liberalism and Postmodernism, have become bestsellers with astonishing sales, not only welcomed by the Western intellectual community but also favored by the public.
We eagerly hope that this series can also win the acclaim it once received in Europe and America in China. The vitality of sociology, and indeed social sciences, largely depends on the keen response to social and cultural changes. In this regard, David Leon, a sociology professor at Queen's University in Canada, has set an example for social science workers. His research, writing, and teaching interests all revolve around major social changes in the modern world. Technology, society, and (post)modernity are his focal points; relatedly, the information society, globalization, secularization and religion, electronic surveillance and privacy, and of course, (post)modernity, are the themes of his works. These works mainly include: Surveillance After 9/11 (2003), Surveillance as Social Sorting: Privacy, Risk, and Digital Discrimination (2002), Surveillance Society: Monitoring Everyday Life (2001), Rethink Church, State and Modernity: Canada Between Europe and America (co-edited with Marguerite Vandi, 2000), Jesus in Disneyland: Religion in Postmodern Time (2000), Computers, Surveillance and Privacy (1996, co-edited with Ella Zureik), The Electronic Eye: The Rise of Surveillance Society (1994), The Information Society (1988), and so on. Postmodernism naturally belongs to the aforementioned "keen response" series. This small book was first published in 1994 and republished with revisions and supplements in 1999. The author's intention is very clear: to make a "keen response" to some important issues of contemporary social and cultural change through postmodernism. He says, "Now, anyone who wants to map the cultural changes and, if the views in this book are correct, understand contemporary social phenomena, must center on the issue of postmodernism. Because the issue of postmodernism provides an opportunity to reassess modernity; it shows that the current signs can be understood as modernity itself being changeable and unpredictable, and it seems to be abandoning the promises it made about the future at the time." (Quoted from page 127 of the book) "The concept of postmodernism is valuable because it alerts us to a series of major issues. It enhances our sensitivity and helps us treat certain debates as issues to be explained. It forces our perspective to move beyond narrow technological and specific debates, and to address historical changes from a broader perspective." (See page 9 of the book) Unlike the common perception of postmodernism as an "antagonistic" phenomenon like heresy or rebellion, the author does not consider it an idle academic fabrication or populist propaganda. Instead, he views postmodernism (ity) as a subjective discourse for grasping the changes of a specific era, just as modernity (ity) marks the world since the Enlightenment. Indeed, compared to the era of Marx, Weber, Simmel, and Nietzsche (who are considered precursors of postmodern thought), the world we live in today has undergone great "transformations." Information and communication technologies not only bring new forms of the macro world, such as the information society, globalization, and the global village, but they are also constantly reconstructing and shaping micro-level forms of individuals, communities, nations, and gender; biogenetic technology brings revolutionary changes to the external forms of the economy and society, while also prompting a redefinition of the human body, even of humanity itself, and rehighlighting the issues of human value and meaning; television, images, and advertising flood every corner of the world, and the tide of consumerism affects every rich and poor soul, making consumers and consumption, rather than workers and production, the focus of social analysis. Baudrillard says that adhering to Marx's production model analysis cannot fully understand the consumer society. To a large extent, this information society, this consumer society, this fantastical image world, this fleeting "hyperreal" world, lies outside the grand narrative of modernity. The new era needs new symbols and new thinking. Precisely in examining social phenomena like new technologies and consumerism within the context of cultural changes, Leon makes us believe that using "postmodernism (ity)" to mark this new era and new thinking is appropriate. In this sense, we are in the postmodern era. However, this does not mean abandoning modernity. In Leon's view, postmodernism is not a radical break from modernity, just as modernity was not a radical break from tradition. The development of human society often finds new vitality in the "wisdom of the past." The new postmodern situation makes timeless values and meanings, such as those of people, society, and the future, increasingly acute. So, how should we respond? To this, Leon disagrees with Nietzsche's nihilistic view that the loss of ethical, value, and meaning resources in modernity has plunged humanity into an irreparable abyss of nihilism. On this point, Leon aligns with Habermas, arguing that modernity has not died and that there are still wisdom resources to be mined within it. Even Leon says that even in the postmodern era, people can recycle and utilize the wisdom resources of the pre-modern—i.e., tradition—in the form of religion and ethics. This fully demonstrates Leon's broad historical perspective. He proposes that we "acknowledge postmodernism, reassess modernity, and recycle and utilize the pre-modern." (See page 134 of the book) In this perspective, each era is relativized and contextualized, and thus, the future of humanity need not be the "apocalyptic" disaster scenario envisioned by millenarians. China, in its transition period (from tradition to modernity), is in a "thirsty" state for modernity. So, is postmodernism a luxury? A careful reading of Leon's interpretation of postmodernism reveals the answer: who can deny that these "postmodern conditions" like new technologies and consumerism are vividly unfolding around us? In the context of globalization and informatization, although postmodernism is not the "mainstream" in China, who can deny that this "branch stream" can reflect the "mainstream" and help us more clearly assess the modernization cause? Moreover, in my view, the current "classic reading movement" is precisely a manifestation of the Chinese people's growing confidence, as they seek remedies for the current spiritual crisis from tradition. We are experiencing tradition, modernity, and postmodernism synchronically. Therefore, do we not have even more reason to "acknowledge postmodernism, reassess modernity, and recycle and utilize the pre-modern"? Of course, it should be noted that as a Western scholar, Leon maintains his own perspective on some issues. In his works, he discusses the connection between postmodernism and Marxism several times and uses Marx's critique of capitalism as a characteristic of postmodernism, which is clearly forced and stems from the author's lack of deep understanding of Marxism. On the other hand, the author's critique of modernity also appears overly harsh. Although these shortcomings do not diminish the value of the work, we must maintain a critical attitude and make reasonable choices while reading.