12 Major Key Ideas of Postmodern Social Theory - Explained!

// 12MajorKeyideasofPostmodernSocialTheoryExplained!
12 Major Key ideas of

Postmodern Social
Theory Explained!
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The key ideas of postmodern social theory from the

works of Lyotard, Baudrillard, Foucault, Derrida and
Jameson. These social theorists include most of the
variants of postmodernism in their theories. There are
liberals among them and also radicals; there are
Marxist and also non-Marxist social theorists. If these
attributes of social theory have been partially or
largely incorporated in Indias kit of sociological
theory, we would be able to say that sociological
theories have also been challenged in India.
Some of the major key ideas are specified below:
1. Fragmentation:
Postmodernism seems to reveal in fragmentation,

ephemerality and discontinuity, preferring difference
over uniformity.
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2. Rejection of meta-narratives:
Postmodern social thinkers, such as Foucault and

Lyotard, attack any notion that there might be a meta-
language, meta-narrative or meta-theory through
which all things can be connected, represented or
explained.
3. Attack on scientific truth:
Lyotard was asked to submit a report on the state of

knowledge with reference to science. He argued that
scientific knowledge or the knowledge generated by
science is largely a myth. It is limited by the
institutions in which it is created. Philosophers and
historians tell more on truth than science. He,
therefore, also rejects science narratives.
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4. Emphasis on local narratives:
The contemporary society is plural, fragmented,

territorial and diverse. The postmodernists, therefore,
put an emphasis on local factors or partial
explanations, such as the micro-politics of power
relations in different social contexts and in relation to
specific discourses, language games or interpretative
communities. All in all, they stand for local narratives
or the narratives of the grass roots people.
5. Stress on multiple, local and autonomous

struggles:
The issues of labour unrest and class war have been

abandoned by the postmodernists. Politically, they are
now engaged in multiple, local, autonomous struggles
for liberation, rejecting the imperialism of an
enlightened modernity that presumed to speak for
others such as ethnic groups, religious minorities,
women and weaker sections with a unified voice.
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6. Deconstruction:
Some of the postmodernists are influenced by

structuralism. Important among them is Derrida.
Deconstruction is associated with him and it has
become a major feature of postmodernism.
Modernists had resolved the problem of
communication.
They presupposed a tight and identifiable relation

between what was said (the signified or message) and
how it was being said (the signifier or medium)
whereas poststructuralists see these as continually
breaking apart and reattaching in new combinations.
Deconstructionism views cultural life as insecting
texts; deconstructive cultural analysis is concerned
with reading texts by deconstructing them or
breaking down the narrative to show how it is
composed to different textual elements and fragments.
7. Popular culture:
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The postmodernists including their liberal and radical

variants condemn the elite and high-brow authority
over cultural tastes. The elite culture is replaced by
popular culture. Pop music, pictures of gods and
deities, calendars of all kinds and pictures of film stars
are example of new popular culture.
8. Development of sub-culture:
There are various groups of youths and ethnic

minorities who develop their own sub-culture. In
India, one can see the youths wearing earrings and
girls swinging their hips under tight skirts. It is
common to see these youths consuming gutkha and
other such intoxicants. Postmodernism encourages
sub-culture among members of the new generation.
9. Cultural logic of late capitalism:
Some Marxists such as Jameson maintain that the

development of culture in postmodern society is in the
interest of the extension of capitalism. Culture, in fact,
for postmodernists is an economic activity.
10. Development of micro-politics:
Some postmodernists have argued that the

contemporary society being highly fragmented and
diverse has developed a new politics, which can be
termed as micro-politics. This politics takes the form
of class and class war. Foucault has used his thesis of
power-knowledge relationship to explain micro-
politics. It is the politics of regions and sub-culture.
11. Denial of history:
Fukuyama observed in 1989 that there was end of

history. By this end, he meant that the decline of
socialism in former Russia has become a thing of the
past. There is no history; there is no alternate to
capitalism. Beyond Fukuyama, there are other
postmodernists who argue that in postmodern society
there is no place for history.
Anthony Giddens writes:
Post-modernity has been associated not only with the

end of foundationalism but with the end of history.
History has no intrinsic form and no overall teleology.
A plurality of histories can be written, and they cannot
be anchored by reference to the idea that history has
an evolutionary direction. The basic thing about post-
modernity is that when the society is plural, diverse
and fragmented, how it can have a coherent history.
All postmodernists have denied relevance of history
for postmodern society.
12. End of empiricism:
Empiricism in social science means experience

through sensory organs, particularly observation. It
came to sociology with the rise of positivism in 17th

century. It was a hard work for founding fathers to
establish sociology as a science. Science and
empiricism became the idiom of sociological methods.
Modernity with rationality as its logic of enquiry

established empiricism as sociologys tool of enquiry.
At a later stage, due to influence of statistical methods,
empiricism came to be identified with statistics.
Statistics and empiricism in developing countries
became synonymous.
The postmodernism considers science to be a myth. It

is a tool a handmaid of elites and trading class.
Postmodern social theory labels science as a little
science robbed off its earlier glory. For it, empiricism
ceases to be a methodological naturalism.
We have categorized some of the key ideas of social

theory of post-modernity. These key ideas actually
work as parameters or attributes of social theory. Now,
we apply these parameters to evaluate Indias
acceptance or rejection of social theory of post-
modernity to the established sociological theories.
It may be reiterated that we want to analyze the

impact of postmodern social theory on the prevalence
of functional and conflict theories in India. In simple
words, we want to find out answer to the question:
have social theories of post-modernity replaced
sociological or foundational theories found in vogue in
India?
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// 12MajorKeyideasofPostmodernSocialTheoryExplained!

12 Major Key ideas of

The key ideas of postmodern social theory from the

Some of the major key ideas are specified below:

Postmodernism seems to reveal in fragmentation,

Postmodern social thinkers, such as Foucault and

3. Attack on scientific truth:

Lyotard was asked to submit a report on the state of

Grammar & Spelling Check

Correct Grammar Errors and

4. Emphasis on local narratives:

The contemporary society is plural, fragmented,

5. Stress on multiple, local and autonomous

The issues of labour unrest and class war have been

Some of the postmodernists are influenced by

They presupposed a tight and identifiable relation

The postmodernists including their liberal and radical

There are various groups of youths and ethnic

9. Cultural logic of late capitalism:

Some Marxists such as Jameson maintain that the

10. Development of micro-politics:

Some postmodernists have argued that the

11. Denial of history:

Fukuyama observed in 1989 that there was end of

Anthony Giddens writes:

Post-modernity has been associated not only with the

12. End of empiricism:

Empiricism in social science means experience

came to sociology with the rise of positivism in 17th

Modernity with rationality as its logic of enquiry

The postmodernism considers science to be a myth. It

We have categorized some of the key ideas of social

It may be reiterated that we want to analyze the

Before publishing your

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