1. Globalisation, Modernity and Post-Modernity
A2 Theory and Methods
Globalisation, Modernity and Post-Modernity

2. To what extent can it be argued that society today is modern or postmodern?
Grade E: know some of the reasons for trends towards globalisation
Grade C: understand the differences between modernity, postmodernity and late modernity.
Grade A(*) evaluate these perspectives and draw comparisons between the them including the above elements.

3. Modernity and Globalisation
Most of the theories studied so far can be placed under the heading of modernism.
Modernist theories are part of the enlightenment project – the idea that society can progress through the use of human reason.
Rationality and science will enable us to discover true knowledge about society and the natural world.

4. 2. Capitalism – the economy of modern societies is capitalism.
Modern Society
First emerged in
Western Europe in
the late 18th
Century. It has a
number of
characteristics.
.1. The Nation State – political unit in modern society, ruled by a powerful centralised state. The world is made up of a series of separate societies, each with it’s own state.
2. Capitalism – the economy of modern societies is capitalism.
Capitalism brought about industrialisation and huge increases in wealth, wealth distribution is unequal, resulting in class conflict.
3. Rationality, science and technology – Rational, secular scientific ways of thinking dominate and the influence of magico-religious explanation of the world.

5. Modern Society
First emerged in
Western Europe in
the late 18th
Century. It has a
number of
characteristics.
4. Tradition, custom and ascribed status become less important as the basis for our actions.
We experience grater personal freedom and can increasingly choose our own course in life and define our own identity.
However structural inequalities such as class remain important in shaping peoples identity and restricting choice.

6. Globalisation
Until recently, the nation-state provided the basis framework for most peoples lives.
However many sociologists argue that we are now increasingly affected by globalisation.

7. Globalisation Four related changes have brought about globalisation
1. Technological changes – we can now cross countries in a matter of hours, or exchange information across the globe with a click of a mouse. Satellite communications, the internet and global television networks have helped to create time-space compression, closing the distance between people.
Technology also brings risk on a global scale, for example, greenhouse gases.
Beck (1992) argues that we are now living in a ‘risk society’ – where increasingly the threat to our well being come from human-made technology rather than natural disasters. – more about this later.

8. Globalisation
2. Economic changes – economic factors play a huge part in globalisation. The economy is increasingly an electronic economy.
Instead of producing physical goods, much activity now involves the production of information such as music and TV programmes. These are produced, distributed and consumed through global electronic networks.
In the electronic economy, money never sleeps. Transactions can take place 24 hours a day.
This contributes to the ‘risk society’.

9. Globalisation
Economy-Another major economic force pushing globalisation forward is Trans-national companies (TNCs)
Most TNCs are Western-based such as Coca-Cola. The largest 500 companies account for half of the total value of commodities produced in the whole world.
Slair 2003 – this small group of elite companies are so powerful that Slair claims they now form a separate global capitalist class.

10. Globalisation
3. Political changes – some sociologists claim that globalisation has undermined the power of the nation-state.
Ohmae 1994 – argues that we live in a ‘borderless world’ in which TNCs and consumers have more economic power than national governments.
States are less able to regulate the activities of large capitalist enterprises.
Lash and Urry describe this as ‘disorganised capitalism’

11. Globalisation
4. Changes in culture and identity – Globalisation makes it much harder for cultures to exist in isolation from one another.
A major reason for this is the role of information and communications technology (ICT), especially the mass media.
Today we find ourselves living in a global culture in which Western-owned media companies spread Western culture to the rest of the world. E.g. TNCs such as Nike selling the same consumer goods in many countries – helping to promote similar tastes.
Globalisation also undermines traditional sources of identity such as class.

12. Explaining the changes.
The changes that we have examined raise some important questions:
1. Do the changes mean we no longer living in modernity – are we now a new postmodern society?
2. Do we need new theories to understand society as we now find it, or can we use existing modernist theories to explain it?
3. Is the enlightenment project still viable – can we still hope to achieve objective knowledge and use it to improve society? Or have the rapid changes associated with globalisation made society too chaotic for us to understand and control?

13. Postmodernism Theories of late modernity
We can identify three theories that offer answers to these questions:
Postmodernism
Theories of late modernity
Marxist theories of postmodernity

14. Postmodernism Lazy teaching 
4:34
10:46
7:26
Produce a presentation from pages 254, 255 and 256.
You will need to present this to the class.

15. KNOWLEDGE What exactly is postmodernism?
1950s onwards – sociologically interesting since 1970s
RELATIVISM – ANTI FOUNDATIONALISM (FOUCAULT)
Progress is at an end. Relative truths, sociology cannot improve society – or can any other GRAND THEORY/META-NARRATIVE
All accounts of reality are equally valid – J.F Lyotard
KNOWLEDGE

16. BAUDRILLARD – SIMULACCRA/HYPERREALITY
Signs no longer stand for any underlying reality –e.g First Gulf War did not happen
Postmodern societies are based around the production of signs rather than material goods
Media Saturated reality, no ‘reality’ outside of this
The line between reality and fiction has become increasingly blurred

17. CUTLURE IDENTITY AND POLITICS
The global village
‘’The self’ has become unstable – in modernity it was fixed, in postmodernity it is fluid
The lines between cultures has become less obvious, modernist categories are blurred
Old political allegiances have died and new ones formed – ex Labour voters supporting UKIP

18. Theories of late modernity
Unlike postmodernism, theories of late modernity argue that the rapid changes we are witnessing are not the dawn of a new era. On the contrary, these changes are actually a continuation of modernity itself.
However theories of late modernity do recognise that something is happening. In their view, key features of modernity that we always present have now become intensified.
For example, social change has always been a feature of modern society, but now the pace of change has gone into overdrive.
In other words we are still within modernity but we have entered its ‘late’ phase.

19. Theories of
late
modernity
In this view if we are still in the modern era, then the theories of modernist sociology can still be useful.
Unlike postmodernist, theories of late modernity do subscribe to the Enlightenment project – they believe we can discover objective knowledge and use it to improve society.

20. According to Giddens we are now at a stage of late or high modernity.
Theories of
late
modernity
Giddens – Disembedding & Reflexivity
According to Giddens we are now at a stage of late or high modernity.
One feature of late modernity is disembedding which is the “lifting out of social relations from local contexts or interaction”.
In other words, today we no longer need face-to-face contact in order to interact – disembedding breaks down geographical barriers and makes interaction more impersonal.
Can you think of any examples of how interaction has become more impersonal?

21. Theories of late modernity
Giddens – Disembedding & Reflexivity
Giddens argues that tradition and custom become much less important and no longer serve as a guide to how we should act, and we become more individualistic.
For example sons are no longer expected to follow the same occupation as their fathers but are free to pursue their own individual goals instead.

22. Theories of late modernity
Giddens – Disembedding & Reflexivity
Because tradition no longer tells us how to act, we are forced to become reflexive..
That is, we have to constantly monitor, reflect on and modify our actions in the light of information about the possible risks and opportunities that they might involve.
Consequently, reflexivity means that nothing is fixed or permanent, everything is up for a challenge.

23. Theories of late modernity
Giddens – Disembedding & Reflexivity
Together, disembedding and reflexivity account for the rapid and widespread nature of social change in high modernity.
In particular, by enabling social interaction to spread rapidly across the globe, they help to drive the process of globalisation.

24. Theories of late modernity
Beck: Risk society
Beck believes that todays late modern society – which he calls “risk society” – faces new dangers.
Today these dangers are manufactured risks result from human activities, such as global warming and pollution.
Also like Giddens, Beck sees late modernity as a period of growing indivualisation, in which we become increasingly reflexive. Tradition no longer governs how we act. As a result we have to think for ourselves and reflect on the possible consequences of our actions. This means we must constantly take account of the risks attached to the different courses of action open to us.

25. Theories of late modernity Beck: Risk society
As a result. “risk consciousness” becomes increasingly central to our culture – we become more aware of perceived risks and seek to avoid or minimise them.
For example, we read of the dangers or benefits of this or that food and change our eating habits accordingly. However a great deal of our knowledge about risks comes from the media, which often give a distorted view of the dangers we face.

26. Task – you will need your laptop
In a period of growing individualism, there is less certainty in terms of expectations about personal relationship and family life.
Collect some examples of problem pages from different magazine/newspapers. What aspects of ‘risk society’ do the letters reveal?

27. Risk, politics and progress
Postmodernists such as Bauldrillard reject the Enlightenment project, with its belief in the possibility of progress through action based on rational knowledge.
Beck disagrees with this position. Although he is sceptical about scientific progress because of the risks it has brought, he still believes in our ability to use rationality to overcome them.
Because we are capable of reflexivity , we can evaluate risk rationally and take political action to reduce them.
For example Beck looked to new political movements such as environmentalism to challenge the direction of technological and industrial development.

28. Evaluation of theories of late modernity
The concept of reflexivity suggests that we reflect on our actions and then are free to re-shape our lives accordingly to reduce our exposure to risks.
However not everyone has this option – the poor are generally exposed to more environmental risk because they are more likely to live in heavily polluted areas, but may not be able to afford to somewhere more healthy.

29. Evaluation of theories of late modernity Mike Rustin 1994
Criticises Beck idea that technology is the cause of risk, he believes it is capitalism, with its pursuit of profit, that is the cause of risk
Paul Hirst 1993
Rejects Beck’s view that movements such as environmentalism will bring about signification change, because they are too fragmented to challenge capitalism

30. However Evaluation of theories of late modernity
Theories of late modernity do provide a sociological alternative to postmodernism.
They also recognise that, while our knowledge may never be perfect, we can still use it to improve society and reduce the risks we face.

31. Task Marxist Theories of postmodernity
Homework – learn the information on page 258
Also write the essay.