U1250882 Mauro Tupiniquim Bina

UNIVERSITY OF EAST LONDON: ASSESSMENT 1 (1000 WORDS). U1250882 Mauro Tupiniquim Bina Prof. Jeremy. Considering two distinct terms post-modernism and post-modernity, the former can be described in terms of an attitude or way of thinking that get over the modernist idea of improving or of a project for the future, and considers that the current historical moment not necessarily have to be better or worse than a previous one. However, post-modernity, just like modernity, can be interpreted as a historical moment, that includes cultural, social, economical and political contexts. Thus, to comprehend post-modernity it is necessary to evaluate this historical moment, how to describe it, when use this term and what are the problem of using it (Jeremy,2010). A post-modern period could be argued as a period that starts after the 1970 and that is marked by the end of a conflict between capitalism and communism, the appearance of neoliberalism, post-Fordism and its cultural consequences (Jeremy, 2010; Harvey, 2005; Hobsbawn, 1994). The neoliberal policies started to be implanted and get strength in the end of 70s being announced as a solution to a global stagflation of the economy suffered in the early 70s. This market policy spread the world through important world leaders such as Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan. Essentially the ideological claim was that the state, too strong, was interfering and impairing the global market; more than that; this model was compromising people personal choices and alienating personal freedom. Actually, this policy emerged in times of economic stagnation and diminution of class power (the 1% more rich of US economy was loosing economic and political power) and its interventions worked mainly in reconquering and increasing, at historical levels, class power and social inequities (Harvey, 2005). The main claim of neoliberalism is freedom and individualism. This policy is not merely a new version of old liberalism as its pragmatic actions are centred in a strong state intervention to produce free market, most of them related to informational products or big soft companies (computers, banking, marketing, finance business, services, media etc) that works according to post-Fordism ideals. The public services are generally dismounted giving space to private services, which are considered to provide a more efficient service, attending to individuals needs (Harvey, 2005). As Margaret Thatcher claimed: there are no such thing as society, only individuals, men, women and their families. The modern times was marked by a innovative system that drove production in a very large scale, the Fordism, characterized by mass production, disciplined workers, good wages, big factories, large amount of employers and zero unemployment. Moreover, this system required large amount of workers in

U1250882 Mauro Tupiniquim Bina a very committed and disciplinary scheme. The disciplined workers were extremely important, without them the whole productive chain could be simply interrupted (Murray, 1989, Hart and Negri, 2000) The Fordism system not only gave to its workers good wages and exhausting jobs, but also gave to them political power to conquer further rights such as old pensions, work stability, health care and good education to the next generation (Murray, 1989). However, in the next generation, the perspective of performing a job for life was not so interesting for a group of young who had lived in a time of prosperity and good education. This perspective, before considered ideal for his parents, now was claimed as boring, repetitive and limiting. It was that generation, claiming for civil rights, freedom and a dynamic future, that, by denying undertaking the disciplinary work, pressed the capitalism system to change its production model (Hobsbawn, 1994). As Murray (1989) marks: productivity fells as the result of workplace resistance Also, the one fits wall products generated by the Fordism did not accomplish the specific demands of the big variety of groups. People that before were simply excluded were now claiming more social representation (Women, Gays, Black people etc). This combined to a slump in capitalism, when the modern work was extremely expensive, strong trade unions, state extremely present and the small profits may have created a scenario propitious to implant a new system(Hart and Negri, 2000). The post-Fordism emerged as an innovative productive system. Basically accounting with the boom in informational technology development, it could now produce goods and services in a demand-oriented scale, with less workers (machine replacement) and more personalized product. In such new context, zero unemployment rates were no longer a reality. Most of the jobs were now found in retail or bank sectors, a disciplined little prepared worker was no longer needed, or was need in much less proportion for a much cheaper price (third world). Job for life was no long available and a past planned future was now uncertain. Apart to some people who performed core jobs, most of the workers were now fragile, under sub-contracts in franchises (Murray, 1989). It was the Fordism itself who gave the work class the possibility to achieve better life conditions and, later on, turn against this same production regimen. The post-Fordism seems to have been, after all, the capitalism adjustment to manage the new work classes generated by a Fordism past (Hart and Negri, 2000). Hobsbawn (1994) describe post-modernity as a period when a cultural revolution based on the dissolution of the family and its traditional values (patriachalism, life experience valorisation, hierarchy through different ages, etc) and the replacement to a legal-oriented competitive system, where individualism is the main world and personal freedom the main claim. This led to a society with

U1250882 Mauro Tupiniquim Bina no specific rigid convention. There are multiple groups with multiples perspectives and views of life (religions, values, costumes, sexuality) that cohabits in the same period and space. This starts to resemble the idea of a postmodernist artistic attitude, where everything is fluid and mix multiple historical periods and conceptions. In the undeveloped countries, called third world, the twentieth century was marked by the creation of hundreds of new states (before colonies) and the desire of these governments to industrialize themselves, by a forced state oriented industrialization that not only aggravated social inequities but also globalized cultures that before were rural and traditional. That seems to have produced, among other things, massive migration, cultural resistance (fundamentalist religions and traditional values) combined with massive illegality (workforce) and raised intellectual groups who tent to oppose to imperialism and claim for social development. Among all, in most of the third world the globalization led to the emergence of conflicts by the most various reasons (cultural, politic and economic), characterizing this period by disorder in most of the countries (Hobsbawn, 1994).

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References

Murray R (1989). Fordism and Post-Fordism. New Times: The changing face of politics in the 1990s. 1st ed. London: Lawrence and Wishart. Hobsbawn E (1994). Cultural Revolution. The Age of Extremes: the short twentieth century. 1st ed. Middlesex: Penguin Books. Hobsbawn E (1994). The Third World. The age of Extremes: the short twentieth century. 1st ed. Middlesex: Penguin Books. Hart M, Negri A (2000). Resistance, Crisis and Transformation. Empire. 1st ed. London: Havard University Press. Harvey D (2005). Freedoms just another word. A Brief History of Neoliberalism. 1st ed. New York: Oxford University Press. Jeremy A (2010). Modernity and post-modernity. Available at https://uel-sso01.uel.ac.uk/uelDirect/index.page?sso=true