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ostmodcrnity

PIII( ^PIIIS^

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LO|OO| NWYO|H
First published by Verso 1998
Perry Anderson 1998
/ rights res erved
:`
Reprinted 1998, :
T he moral rights of the author have been asserted
t8O
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Contcnts
OrcWOrd
1. rOdrOmcs
Z. LrystaizatOn
3. Lapturc
4. Ptcr-cccts
ndcX

Y1
3
15
47

139

. .
f
J

!orcvord
Jhis cssay startcd Whcn Was askcd tO intrOducc a ncW
cOcctiOn O Writings by rcdric amcsOn, The Cultural Turn.
n thc cvcnt, it bccamc tOO Ong Or thc purpOsc. n pubishing
it as a tcXt by itsc, hOWcvcr, havc nOt Wantcd tO atcr its
Orm. it is bcstrcadincOnunctiOnWiththcvOumcthatinspircd
it. PthOugh havc ncvcr Writtcn abOut a bOdy O WOrk that
did nOt, in Onc Way Or anOthcr, admirc, an ccmcntOrcsistancc
Was in thc past aWays an ingrcdicnt in thc impusc tO dO sO.
ntccctua admiratiOn is in any casc Onc thing, pOitica sym-
pathy anOthcr. Jhis shOrt bOOk trics dO sOmcthing csc, Which
havc aWays Ound dihcut. tO cXprcss a scnsc O thc achicvc-
mcnt Oa thinkcrWith WhOm, it might bc said, ack thc sacty
O suhcicnt distancc. havc nO assurancc that havc succccdcd.
Lut sOmc argcr dcbatc arOund amcsOn`s WOrk in gcncra is
Ovcrduc, andthisattcmptmayatcasthcptOcncOuragcit.
hc titc O thc tcXt has a tWO-Od rccrcncc. Jhc principa!

aim O thc cssay is tO Ocr a mOrc histOrica accOunt O

Origins Othc idca O pOstmOdcrnity than is currcnty avaIa
Onc that trics tO sct its dicrcnt sOurccs mOrc prcciscy in
spatia, pOitica and intccctua scttings, and With
attcntiOn tO tcmpOra scqucncc - asO tOpica Ocus - than
bccOmc custOmary. Lny against this backgrOund, myargumcut
gOcs, dOcs thc pccuiar stamp OamcsOn`s cOntributiOn cmcrgc
inurcic. P sccOndarypurpOsc istO suggcst, mOrctcntativcy,
sOmc O thc cOnditiOns that may havc rccascd thc pOstmOdcrn
- nOt as idca, but as phcnOmcnOn. n part, thcsc arc cOmmcnts
that scck tO rcvisc an caricr attcmpt tO skctch thc prcmiscs O

VH
FOREWORD
mOdcrnism in thc prcviOus fn de siecie, and in part thcy try
tO cngagc With thc ivcy cOntcmpOrary itcraturc On thcsc

qucstIOns.
WOud ikctOthankthchcp OthcisscnschatskOcg,Lcrin,
Whcrc ths WOrk Was cOmpctcd, and its cXccptiOna brarians;

and cXprcss my dcbts gcncray tO JOm Ncrtcs and my studcnts

in !Os Pngccs.

N1
:

Irodromcs
Lima - Madrid - London
`OstmOdcrnism` as tcrm and idca suppOscs thc currcncy O
`mOdcrnism` . LOntrary tO cOnvcntiOna cXpcctatiOn, bOth Wcrc
bOrn in a distant pcriphcry rathcr than at thc ccntrc O thc
cutura systcm O thc timc. thcy cOmc nOt rOm !urOpc Or thc
!nitcd Statcs, but IrOm an c OWc thc cOinagc
```*`` "
O mOdcsm`s an acsthctc mOvcmcnttO a ^icaraguan pOct,
Writingina Luatcmaan Ourna, Oa itcrarycncOuntcr incru.
KubcnLarO`sinitiatiOn in 1d Oa sc-cOnsciOuscurrcntthat
tOOk thc namc O modernismo drcW On succcssivc rcnch
schOOs- rOmantc, parnassian, symbOst- Or a `dccaratiOnO
cutura indcpcndcncc` rOm Span that sct n mOtiOn an cman
cpatiOn rOm thc past O Spanish cttcrs thcmscvcs, in thc
cOhOrt O thc 1 d`s.' hcrc in !ngish thc nOtiOn O `mOdcrn-
ism` scarccy cntcrcd gcncra usagc bcOrc mid-ccntury, in
Spanish t Was canOnica a gcncratiOn caricr. crc thc
Ward piOnccrcd thc tcrms OmctrOpOitan advancc - much

:
thc nnctccnth ccntury, `bcraism` Was an invcntOn O
Spansh risng against rcnch OccupatiOn in thc cpOch
^apOcOn, an cXOtc cXprcssiOnrOm Ladiz at hOmc Ony mucb
atcrnthc draWng-rOOmsO aris Or !OndOn.
SO tOO thc idca O a `pOstmOdcrnism` hrst suraccd in thc

'Ricardo Palma', Obras Completas, Vol 2, Madrid 1950, p. 19: 'the new spirit
that animates a small, but proud and triumphant, group of writers and poets in
Spanish America today: moderism'.
3
THE ORI GI NS OF POSTMODERNITY
.1 ispanic intcr-WOrd O thc 1Jd` s, a gcncratiOn bcOrc its
appcarancc in !ngand Or Pmcrica. t Was a ricnd O!namunO
and Lrtcga, cdcricO dc Lns, WhOstruckOthctcrmpostmod
ernismo. c uscd it tO dcscribc a cOnscrvativc rcluX Within
mOdcrnism itsc. Onc Which sOught rcugc rOm its Ormidabc
yrica chacngc in a mutcd pcrcctiOnism O dctai and irOnic
humOur, WhOsc mOst Origina caturc Was thc ncWy authcntic
cXprcssiOn it aOrdcd WOmcn. Lc Lns cOntrastcd this pattcrn
- shOrt-ivcd, hc thOught - With its scquc, an ultramodernismo
that intcnsihcd thc radica impuscs O mOdcrnism tO a ncW
pitch, in a scrics O avant-gardcs that Wcrc nOW crcating a
`rigOrOusy cOntcmpOrary pOctry` O univcrsa rcach. Lc Lns`s
amOus anthOOgy OSpanishanguagc pOcts, Organizcd accOrd
ing tO this schcma, appcarcd in Nadrid in 1J+, as thc !ct
tOOk Ohcc in thc Kcpubic amid thc cOunt-dOWn tO thc Livi
.
ar. Lcdicatcd tO PntOniO NachadO, its panOrama O `utra
mOdcrnism` cndcd With !Orca and \acO, LOrgcs and ^cruda.
Nintcd by LcLns,thcidca Oa `pOstmOdcrn`stycpasscd intO
thc vOcabuary O ispanOphOnc criticism, i rarcy uscd by
subscqucnt Writcrs With his prccisiOn;` but it rcmaincd WithOut
Widcr cchO. t Was nOt unti sOmc tWcnty ycars atcr that thc
tcrm cmcrgcd in thc PngOphOnc WOrd, in a vcry di1crcnt
Federico de Onls, Antologfa de la Poesfa Espanola e Hispanoamericana
(1882-1932), Madrid 1934, pp. xiii-xxiv. For De Onls's view of the specifcity of
Hispanophone modernism, whose representative thinkers he believed to be Mart!
and Unamuno, see ' Sobre el Concepto del Modernismo', La Torre, April-June
1953, pp. 95-103. There is a fne synthetic portrait of Dario himself in Antologfa,
pp. 143-152. During the Civil War, friendship with Unamuno restrained De Onls,
but his basic outlook can be found in his commemoration of Machado: 'Antonio
Machado (1875-1939), La Torre, January-June 1964, p. 16; and for recollections
of his stance at the time, see Aurelio Pego, ' Onls, el Hombre', La Torre,
January-March 1968, pp. 95-96.
The infuence of this usage was not confned to the Spanish-speaking world, but
extended to the Luso-Brazilian as well. See, for a curious example, Bezerra de
Freitas, Forma e Expressio no Romance Brasileiro - Do perfodo colonial u epoca
c:-mcurnt:la, Rio de Janeiro 1947, where Brazilian modernism is dated from
the Semana de Arte Moderna in Sao Paulo in 1922, under the impact of futurism,
and associated essentially with the rupture of Mario de Andrade, and postmodern
ism held to have set in with an indigenist reaction by the thirties: pp. 319-326,
344-346.
4
`'

PRODROMES
cOntcXt - as an cpOcha rathcr than acsthctic catcgOry. nthc
hrst vOumc O his Study of History, asO pubishcd in 1J+,
PrnOd JOynbcc argucd that thc cOncurrcncc O tWO pOWcru
Orccs, ndustriaism and ^atiOnaism, had shapcd thc rcccnt
histOry O thc cst. Sincc thc ast quartcr O thc ninctccnth
ccntury, hOWcvcr, thcy had cntcrcd intO dcstructivc cOntradic
tiOnWith cach Othcr, as thc intcrnatiOna scac Oindustry burst
thc bOunds O natiOnaity, yctthc cOntagiOn OnatiOnaism itsc
sprcad dOWnWards intO cvcr smacr and css viabc cthnc
cOmmunitics. Jhc Lrcat ar had sprung rOm thc cOnlict
bctWccn thcsc trcnds, making itunmistakcaby ccar that an agc
had Opcncd in Which natiOna pOWcr cOud nO Ongcr bc sc-
suhcicnt. t Was thc duty O histOrians tO hnd a ncW hOrizOn
apprOpriatc tO thc cpOch, Which cOud Ony bc Ound at thc
highcr cvc O civiizatiOns, bcyOnd thc OutWOrn catcgOry O
natiOn-statcs. Jhis Was thc task JOynbcc sct himsc in thc siX
vOumcs O his Study pubishcd - but sti incOmpctc - bcOrc
1J.
Lythc timc hcrcsumcd pubicatiOn htccn ycars atcr, JOyn-
bcc`s OutOOk had atcrcd. Jhc SccOnd Ord ar had vindi
catcd his Origina inspiratiOn - a dccp hOstiity tO natiOnaism,
and guardcd suspiciOn O industriaism. LccOOnizatiOn, tOO,
hadcOnhrmcdJOynbcc`s sccpticavicWOcstcrnimpcriaism.
Jhc pcriOdizatiOn hc had prOpOscd tWcnty ycars caricr nOW _
tOOk On ccarcr shapc in his mind. n his cighth vOumc

pubishcd in 1J+, JOynbcc dubbcd thc cpOchIhaJhad Opcncd

With thc rancO-russian ar th( `Cst-mOdcrn a_`. Lut his
dchnitiOn O it rcmaincd csscntiaycgatvc`
_
cstcrn cOm-

munitics bccamc mOdcrn` ` , hc WrOtc, `ust as sOOn as thcyha

succccdcd in prOducing a bOurgcOisic that Was bOth nuc

cnOugh and cOmpctcnt cnOugh tO bccOmc thc

,,
ccmcnt in sOcicty` . ` Ly cOntrast, in thc pOstmOdcrn agc
middc cass Was nO Ongcr inthc saddc. JOynbcc Was css

dchnitc abOut What OOWcd. Lut ccrtainy thc pOstmOdcrn agc

WasmarkcdbytWOdcvcOpmcnts.thcriscOanindustriaWOrking
cass inthc cst, andthc bid Osucccssivcintcigcntsias Outsidc
4 A Study of History, Voll, London1934, pp. 12-15.
5 A Study of History, VolS, p. 33S.

:
/

J
2
THE ORI GI NS OF POSTMODERNI TY
thc cst tO mastcr thc sccrcts O mOdcrnity and turn thcm
against thc cst. JOynbcc`s mOst sustaincd rclcctiOns On thc
cmcrgcncc O a pOstmOdcrn cpOch Ocuscd On thc attcr. is
cXampcs Wcrc Ncii apan, LOshcvik Kussia, cmaist Jurkcy,
and- ustbOrn- NaOist Lhina.
JOynbcc WasnO particuar admircr O thc rcsutant rcgimcs.
LuthcWas scathing O thchubristiciusiOns Othcatcimpcria
cst. Pt thc cOsc O thc ninctccnth ccntury, hc WrOtc, `an
unprcccdcnty prOspcrOus and cOmOrtabc cstcrn middc-
cass Wastakingit as a mattcrOcOursc thatthc cnd OOnc agc
O Onc civiizatiOn`s histOry Was thc cnd O istOry itsc - at
cast as ar as thcy and thcir kind Wcrc cOnccrncd. Jhcy Wcrc
imagining that, Or thcir bcncht, a sanc, sac, satisactOry
NOdcrn !ic had miracuOusy cOmc tO stay as a timccss
prcscnt`. LOmpctcy aWry in thc cpOch, `in thc !nitcd ing

dOm, Lcrmanyandthc ^Orthcrn!nitcd Statcsthc cOmpaccncy

O a pOst-NOdcrncstcrn bOurgcOisic rcmaincd unshakcn unIi

thc Outbrcak O thc hrst pOst-NOdcrn gcncra War in P. L.
:
11+` . Our dccadcs atcr, cOnrOntcd With thc prOspcct O a
third - nuccar - War, JOynbcc dccidcd that thc vcry catcgOry
OciviizatiOn, With Which hc had sct Out tO rcWritc thc pattcrn
O human dcvcOpmcnt, had Ost pcrtincncc. n Onc scnsc,
cstcrnciviizatiOn- as thc unbridcd primacy OtcchnOOgy-
had bccOmc univcrsa, but as such prOmiscd Ony thc mutua
ruin O a. P gOba pOitica authOrity, bascd On thc hcgcmOny
O Onc pOWcr, Was thc cOnditiOn O any sac passagc Out Othc
LOd ar. Lut in thc Ong run, Ony a ncW univcrsa rcigiOn -
Which WOud ncccssariy bc a syncrctistic aith - cOud sccurc
thcuturcOthcpanct.
Shaanx - Angkor - Yucatan
JOynbcc`s cmpirica shOrtcOmings, and vatic cOncusiOns, cOm
bincd tO isOatc his WOrk at a timc Whcn cOmmitmcnt tO thc
battc against LOmmunism Was cXpcctcd tO bc css ncbuOus.
6 A Study of History, Vo! 8, pp.339-346.
7 A Study of History, Vo!9, London 1954, p.420.
A Study of History, Vo! 9, p.421.
6
1
J

PRODROMES

Ptcr initia pOcmics, i tWas quicky OrgOttcn, and With i tthc

caim taII tWcnticth ccncOud arcady bc dcscribcd as a
pOsI
g
Od

agc. Such WasnOt tO bc thc casc With thc virtuay

-~
cO0lcmpOrancOus- inpOint Oact, sighty caricr- OriginatiOn
O thc tcrm in ^Orth Pmcrica. Lharcs LsOn, Writing tO his
cOW-pOct KObcrt Lrcccy On rcturn rOm Aucatan in thc
summcr O 1J1, startcd tO spcak Oa `pOst-mOdcrnWOrd` that
ay bcyOnd thc impcria agcOthcLiscOvcrics and thc ndustria
KcvOutiOn. `Jhc hrst ha O thc tWcnticth ccnIury`, hc WrOtc
sOOn atcrWards, Was `thc marshaing yard On Which thc
mOdcrnWasturncd tO WhatWc havc, thc pOst-mOdcrn, Or pOst
cst` . " Ln + ^Ovcmbcr 1JZ, thc day !iscnhOWcr Was ccctcd
rcsidcnt, LsOn - Ostcnsiby suppying inOrmatiOn Or a biO-
graphica dircctOry O Twentieth Century Authors - sct dOWn a
apidary manicstO, bcginning With thc WOrds `Ny shit is that
takc it thc prcscnt is prOOguc, nOt thc past`, and cnding With a
dcscriptiOn O that `gOing ivc prcscnt`` as `pOst-mOdcrn, pOst
humanist,pOst-histOric`
_3 .-
Jhc scnsc O thcsc tcrms camc rOm a distinctivc pOctic
prOcct. LsOn` s backgrOund ay in thc ^cW Lca. Pctivc in
KOOscvct`s Ourth rcsidcntia campaign as hcad Othc Orcign
^atiOnaitics LivisiOn O thc LcmOcratic ^atiOna LOmmittcc,
LsOn Was Wintcring in cy cst in cary 1+J With cOW
party Ohcias atcr ccctOra victOry, aWaiting prccrmcnt in thc
ncW administratiOn. Jhcrc, suddcny changing thc cOursc O his
ic, hc startcd tO pan ancpic cntitcd West, cOvcring thcWhOc
histOry O thc Lccidcnta WOrd rOm Ligamcsh - atcr Ldys
scus - tO thc Pmcrican prcscnt, and WrOtc a pOcm, Originaj
cntitcd Telegram, rcnOuncing pubic Ohcc, thOughnOtpI
rcspOnsibiity. `thc a!airs O mcn rcmain a chic
Kcturning tO ashingtOn, LsOn WrOtc On Ncvic
dccndcd Ound; and WOrkcd Or Lskar !angc - a IID
9 Chales Olson and Robert Creeley, The Complete Correspondence, Vol 7, Santa
Rosa 1987, pp. 75, 115, 241, letters dated 9/8/51, 20/8/51 and 3/10/51. The last is
an extended statement Olson entitled 'The Law', where the act of nuclear terror
ends the modern age. ' Quite recently a door went bang shut', Olson writes. 'Bio-
. chemistry is post-modern. And electronics is already a science of communication -
the "human" is already the "image" of the computing machine' : p. 234.
'Twentieth Century Authors -FirstSupplement, New Y ork,1955, pp. 741-742.
7

THE ORI GI NS OF POSTMODERNI TY

|r|:nJ, now Po||sh AmeassaJor to th: \ |oeey|n th:
aJm|n|strat|on|or th: n:wov:rnm:nt |nWarsaw>ha|:n ey
th: nu.|:ar eome|n o| H|rosh|ma anJ Naasa||, h: oppos:J
Truman's r:nom|nat|on as a J:|:at: to th: D:mo.rat|. Con-
v:nt|on|n94
j

By th: t|m: h: was r:aJy t o ta|: up h|s :p|. th:m:, |ts

.ompass haJ a|t:r:JIn m|J4
j
, h: wrot: |n Notes for the
Proposition: Man is Prospective: '>pa.: |s th: mar| o| n:w
h|story, anJth: m:asur: o|wor|nowa|oot|sth:J:pth o|th:
p:r.:pt|on o| spa.:, eoth as spa.: |n|orms oej:.ts anJ as |t

.onta|ns, |n ant|th:s|sto t|m:, s:.r:ts o|a human|tas :as:J out

+

o| .ont:mporary narrows Manas oej:.t, not man as mass

or :.onom|. |nt::r, |s th: eur|:J s::J |n a|| |ormu|at|ons o|

.o||:.t|v: a.t|onst:mm|n|romMarxTh|s s::J, not|tstact|.

wh|.hm:r:|ys:.ur:s|tvot:sor.oupsJ':tat, |sth:s:.r:to|th:
pow:r anJ .|a|m o| .o||:.t|v|sm ov:r m:n's m|nJsIt |s th:
|
, ra|n |n th: pyram|J, anJ || |t |s a||ow:J any |on:r to rot
`
unr:.on|r:J, .o||:.t|v|sm w||| rot as |t J|J |n nar|sm anJ as
z
, .ap|ta||sm has ey a |||: ant|nom|an |aw,AJJ th: p:rs|st|n
~Ia||ur: to .ount what As|a w||| Jo to .o||:.t|v|sm, th: m:r:
quant|ty o|h:rp:op|: :nouh to mov: th: :arth, |:av|nas|J:
th:mora|ra.:o|su.ho|h:r|:aJ:rsasN:hru,Mao,>jahr|r'

O| th:s: |ast, on: was o| :sp:.|a| mom:nt to O|sonln 944,

||a|s|nw|thth:Wh|t:Hous:|orth:O|h.:o|Warln|ormat|on,
h:haJ e::nan:r:Jeyth: e|as o|U>po||.ytowarJsth:KMT
r:|m:|nCh|na, anJhost|||tytoth:Commun|st eas:|nY:n an
A|t:r th: war, two |r|:nJs |:pt h|m |n tou.h w|th Ch|n:s:
J:v:|opm:nts ):an R|eouJ, a youn Ir:n.h ean|:r a.t|v: |n
th: R:s|stan.:, now an asso.|at: o| Cart|:rBr:sson |n N:w
Yor|, anJRoe:rtPayn:,anEn||shwr|t:ro|Ma|rauv|an.ast,
|:.tur:r|nKunm|nJur|nth:>|no)apan:s:WaranJr:port:r
|rom Y:nan a|t:r |t, whos: J|ar|:s o||:r an |nJ:||e|: |ma: o|
th:mora|.o||aps:o|Ch|anKa|sh:|'sr:|m:, anJth:r|s: o|
Mao'sa|t:rnat|v:to|tonth::v:o|th:C|v||War

See Tom Cl ark, Charles Olson. The Allegory of a Poet's Life, New York 1991,
pp. 84-93, 107-1 1 2, 138.

7
'Notes for the Proposition: Man is Prospective', boundary 2, B, 1-2, Fall
1973-Winter 1974, pp. 2-3.

Robert Payne, Forever China, New York 1945; China Awake, New York 1 947.
b
PRODROMES
Ln thc ast day O anuary 1+, atcr a pcaccu sicgc,
LOmmunist trOOps marchcd intO Lciing, cOmpcting thc ibcra-
tiOn O ^Orth-!ast Lhina. PmOst immcdiatcy, LsOn startcd
tO cOmpOsc a pOcm cOnccivcd as a rcspOnsc tO !iOt`smOdcrnist
mastcrpiccc - n his OWn WOrds, an Anti- Wasteland. '` c
hnishcd a hrst drat bcOrc thc !P crOsscd thc Aangtzc. Jhc
pOcm Was cOmpctcd in thc summcr at Lack NOuntain. Shang
hai had acn, but LuangzhOu and LhOngqing Wcrc sti undcr
NJ cOntrO; thc cOpc`s Kcpubic had nOt yct bccn prO
caimcd. The Kingfshers, WithitsgrcatmOnOsyabiccXOrdium.
hatdOcsnOtchangcisthcWitO changc
paccs thc Lhincsc rcvOutiOn nOt undcr thc sign O thc ncW, but
O thc ancicnt. Jhc pOcm Opcns With thc cgcnd O PngkOr
at`s tradc inthc buc-grccn pumagc Othc kinghshcr and thc
cnigma O utarch`s rOck at Lcphi, intcrsccting NaO`s rcpOrt
tOthcLL- timcand spacc incOuntcr-pOintcd baancc.
thOughtOthc!Onthc stOnc, and OWhatNaOsaid
`aumicrc
butthckinghshcr
`dc` aurOrc
butthc kinghshcrlcWWcst
`cst dcvantnOus!`
hc gOtthccOlOrOhisbrcast
rOmthchcatOthcsctting sun!
Jhc yrica transusiOn is bric. OrnithOOgy dispcs thc @@@
J
attributcs OthcFour Quartets.
Jhccgcnds arc
lcgcnds. cad,hung up, thckinghshcr
WillnOtindicatcaavOringWind,
14 For Olson's manuscript note defning his poem against Eliot's, see George
Butterwick's magisterial essay, 'Charles Olson's "The Kingfshers" and the Poetics
of Change', American Poetry, `,No 2, Winter 1989, pp. 56-57.
9
THE ORI GI NS OF POSTMODERNI TY
or avcrtthcthundcrbot. ^or, by its ncsting,
stilthcWatcrs, With thcncWycar,orscvcn days.
PWay rOm any currcnt, dccp in thc tunnc O a bank, thc
Wcstcring bird crcatcs a Ou ncst rOm thc rcmains O its prcy.
hatis acriaandiridcsccntisnurturcd inhthanddarkncss.
Lnthcscrccctamcnta
(asthcy accumuatcthcyormacupshapcd
structurc) thc young arc born.
Pnd, asthcyarccdandgroW, this
ncstocXcrcmcnt, and dccaycd hsh bccomcs
adrippingctid mass
Naoconcludcd.
nousdcvons
nouslcvcr
ctagir!'`
JhcpOcm, hOWcvcr, cOmprchcnsivcypcrsists.

JhclIghtisinthccast.Acs.PndWcmustrIsc,act.Act
inthcWcst, dcspitc thcapparcntdarkncss (thc Whitcncss
Whichcovcrs al) iyou look, iyoucan bcar, iyoucan,
ongcnough
as longasitWasncccssaryorhim,myguidc
to ookintothcycloWothatlongcst-astingrosc,
soyoumust
Or thc OrIgina pcOpcs O Pmcrica Oncc camc rOm Psia, and
thcir civiizatiOns - hOWcvcr sOmbrc - Wcrc css bruta than
thOsc O thc !urOpcans WhO cOnqucrcd thcm, cavIng tO thcir
dcsccndants runcs O a Ic stI tO bc rccOvcrcd. !chOing a Inc
15 Mao's call forms the fnal words of his Report to the meeting of the Central
Committee of the CCP held on 25-28 December 1947 at Yangjiagou in Shaanxi,
See The Present Situation and Our Tasks', Selected Works, Vol 4, Beijing 1969,
p, 173. Olson cited them in the French translation of the speech passed to him by
Jean Ri boud,
10
!
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:

?
PRODROMES
lrom Neruda' s Alturas de Macchu-Picchu, rranslared a lew
monrhsbelore~
Noronedearhburmany,
noraccumularionburchange,rheleed-backproves,
rheleed-back is
rhelaw
rhe poem ends wirh rhe search lor a lurure hidden in grubs
andruins.
Iposeyouyourquesrion.
shallyouuncoverhoneywheremaggorsare?
hunramongsrones
Olson's aesrheric manilesro, Projective Verse, appeared rhe
lollowing year. Irs advocacy ol open-neld composirion as a
developmenr ol rhe obj ecrivisr line ol Pound and Williams
became his mosr inlluenrial sraremenr. Bur rhe receprion ol ir
generally lailed ro respecrrhe morro he adopredlrom Creeley
'lormisnevermorerhananexrensionolconrenr'' ro Olson's
poerryirsell. Iewpoershavebeen rreared more lormally since.
In lacr, Olson's rhemes make up a complexio oppositorum
unlike any orher. Anerce criric olrarionalisrhumanism 'rhar
peculiar presumprion by which wesrern man has inrerposed
himsell berween whar he is as a crearure ol narure and rhose

orher crearions ol narure which we may, wirh no derogarion,

callobjecrs'' Olson could seem closero aHeideggeriansei; _,
ol Being as primal inregriry. Yer he rreared auooil
domesric lamiliarsin his verse, and was rhe nrsr poer ro

.
on Norberr Wiener' s cybernerics. He was much arrracre
ancienr culrures, Mayan orpre-Socraric, regarding rhe birrh o
archaeologyas adecisiveprogressinhumanknowledge,because
ir couldhelprecoverrhem.Burhesawrhelurureas acollecrive
16 'Projective Verse', Selected Writings of Charles Olson, edited by Robert Creeley,
New York 1966, p. 16.
17 ' Projective Verse', p. 24.
11
THE ORI GI NS OF POST MODERNI TY
projecr ol human sell-dererminarion man as 'prospecrive' .
Anaximanderlayar oneendol hisimaginarion,Rimbaudarrhe
orher. A democrarand anri-lascisr, Olson assumed rhepersona
olYearsrodelendPoundlromprison,andasaparriorproduced
perhaps rhe only unmysrined poem on rhe US Civil War. '
Conremporaryrevolurioncame lromrhe Easr, burAmericawas
subjoined ro Asia. rhe colours oldawninChina and ol llighr
inro rhe Wesr rellecred rhe lighr ol a single orbir. The phrase
Olson used ro describe himsell 'alrer rhe dispersion, an
archaeologisrolmorning' carchesmosrolrhesemeanings.
Irwashere,rhen,rharrheelemenrsloranalnrmariveconcep-
rion ol rhe posrmodern were nrsr assembled. In Olson, an
aestheric rheory was linked ro a propheric hisrory, wirh an
agenda allyingpoericinnovarionwirhpoliricalrevolurioninrhe
classic rradirion ol rhe avanr-gardes ol pre-war Europe. The
conrinuiry wirh rhe original Stimmung ol modernism, in an
elecrricsenseolrhepresenraslraughrwirhamomenrouslurure,
is srriking. Bur no commensurare docrrine crysrallized. Olson,
who rhoughr ol himsell as rimorous, was inrerrogared by rhe
IBI lor suspecr war-rime associarions in rhe early nlries. Black
Mounrain College, olwhichhe was rhe lasr Principal, shurirs
doorsin 1J+. In rheyearsolreacrion,hispoerrybecamemore
srragglingandgnomic.Therelerenrolrheposrmodernlapsed.
C^ York - Harvard - Chicago
By rhe end ol rhe nlries, when rhe rerm reappeared, ir had
passedinro orher more or lesscasual hands, as a negarive
marker olwhar was /css, nor more, rhan modern. In 1J C.
Wrighr Mills and Irving Howe nor coincidenrally. rhey
belonged ro a common milieu ol rhe New York Ielr borh
emloyed ir in rhis sense. The sociologisr, in more causric
lashion, used rhe rerm ro denore an age in which rhe modern
ideals ol liberalism and socialism had all bur collapsed, as
1
8 Anecdotes of the Late War, which starts: 'the lethargic vs. violence as alternatives
of each other/for los americanos', and ends: 'Grant didn't hurry./He just had the
most.! /More of the latter died: Compare the well-meaning pieties of For the Union
Dead.
12

`
7
A
r
1

PRODROMES
reasonandlreedomparredcompanyinaposrmodernsocieryol
blind drilr and empry conlormiry. The criric, in milderrones,
borrowedirro describeaconremporaryncrionunablerosusrain
modernisr rension wirh a surrounding sociery whose class
divisions had become increasingly amorphous wirh posr-war
prosperiry. A year larer Harry Ievin, drawing on Toynbee's
usage,gaverheideaolposrmodernlorms amuchsharperrwisr,
ro depicranepigone lirerarure rharhad renounced rhesrrenuous
inrellecrual srandards olmodernism lor a relaxed middle-brow
synrhesis rhe sign ol a new compliciry berween arrisr and
bourgeois, ar a suspecr cross-roads berween culrure and com-
m
erce.' Herelayrhebeginningsolanunequivocallypej orarive
versionolrheposrmodern.
Inrhesixries, ir changed as srill largely advenririous sign
again. Hall-way rhrough rhe decade rhe criric Ieslie Iiedler,
remperamenralanrirhesisolIevin, addressed aconlerencespon-
sored byrhe Congress olCulrural Ireedom, ser up byrhe CIA
lor work on rhe inrellecrual lronr ol rhe Cold War. In rhis
unlikelyserring, hecelebraredrheemergence olanewsensibiliry
among rhe younger generarion in America, who were 'drop-
ours lromhisrory` culruralmuranrswhose values olnoncha-
lance and disconnexion, hallucinogens and civil righrs, were
nnding welcome expression in a lresh posrmodern lirerarure.
19 'We are at the ending of what is called The Modern Age. Just as Antiquity was
followed by several centuries of Oriental ascendancy, which Westerners provincially
call the Dark Ages, so now The Modern Age is being succeeded by a postmodern
period': C. Wright Mills, The Sociological Imagination, New York 1 959,
pp. 1 65-167.
Z
Irving Howe, 'Mass Society and Post-Modern Fiction', Partisan Review, Su
rll e>i
1959, pp. 420-436; reprinted in Decline of the New, New York
pp. 190-207, with a postscript. Howe's article, although it makes no rebrellS
Mills's work, is clearly dependent on it, especially White Collar: see in
his description of a 'mass society' that is 'half-welfare and half-garrison', in
'coherent publics fall apart'.
2
1
'What was Modernism?', The Massachusetts Review, August 1960, pp. 609-630;
reprinted in Refractions, New York 1966, pp. 271-295, with a prefatory note.
ZZ
'The New Mutants', Partisan Review, Summer 1 965, pp. 505-525; reprinted in
Collected Papers, Vol 2, New York 1971, pp. 379-400. Howe, as might be
expected, complained about this text in a querulous survey, 'The New York
Intellectuals', Commentary, October 1968, p. 49; reprinted in The Decline of the
New, pp. 260-261.
13
THE ORI GI NS OF POSTMODERNI TY
This,IiedlerlarerexplainedinPlayboy, wouldcrossclassesand
mixgenres, repudiaring rheironies and solemniries olmodern-
ism,norrospeakolirsdisrincrionsberweenhighandlow,inan
uninhibired rerurn ro rhe senrimenral and burlesque. By 16
Iiedler'srendirionolrheposrmoderncouldbeseen,inirsclaims
ol demoric emanciparion and insrincrual release, as ollering a
prudenrly depoliricized echo ol rhe srudenr insurgency ol rhe
rime, orherwise scarcely ro be arrribured wirh indillerence ro
hisrory. A similar relracrion can be derecredinrhe sociology
ol Amirai Erzioni, larer lamous lor his preaching ol moral
communiry, whosebook The Active Society dedicared ro his
srudenrs ar Columbia and Berkeley in rhe year ol campus
rebellion presenred a 'posr-modern' period, darablelrom rhe
end ol rhe war, in which rhe power ol big business and
esrablished elires was declining, and sociery could lor rhe nrsr
rime become a democracy rhar was 'masrer ol irsell'. The
inversionolrheargumenrolThe Sociological Imagination isall
burcomplere.
Bur il rhe usages ol Howe and Mills were reversed wirh
disciplinary symmerry by Iiedler and Erzioni, all were srill
rerminological improvisarion or happensrance. Since rhe
modern aesrheric or hisrorical is always in principle whar
mighrbecalled apresenr-absolure,ircrearesapeculiardilnculry
lorrhedennirion olanyperiod beyondir, rharwould converrir
ro a relarive pasr. Inrhis sense, rhemakeshilr ola simple prenx
denoring what comes alrer is virrually inherenr in rhe
concepr irsell, one rhar could be more or less counred on in
advancerorecurwherever asrrayneedloramarkerolremporal
dillerence mighr be lelr. Resorr olrhis kind ro rhe rerm 'posr
modern' has always been ol circumsranrial signincance. Bur
rheorerical developmenr is anorher marrer. The norion ol rhe
posrmodern did nor acquire any wider dillusion rill rhe

sevenrres.
23 'Cross the Border, Close the Gap', Playboy, December 1969, pp. 151, 230,
252-258; reprinted in Collected Papers, Vo12, pp. 461-485.
24 The Active Society, New York 1968, pp. vii, 528.
14

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CrystuIIizutiL1
Athens - Cairo - Las Vegas
Thereal rurning-poinrcame wirhrhe appearanceinlall 1Z ar
Binghamron ola j ournal expressly subrirled aJournal of Post
modern Literature and Culture rhe review boundary /. The
legacy ol Olson had re-surlaced. The key-nore essay inrhe nrsr
issue, by David Anrin, was enrirled. 'Modernism and Posr-
Modernism. Approaching rhe Presenr in American Poerry'.
Anrin raked rhe whole canon running lrom Elior and Tare
ro Auden and Iowell, wirh glancing nre even ar Pound, as
a surrepririously provincial and regressive rradirion, whose
merrical-moral propensiries had norhing ro do wirh genuine
inrernarional modernism rhe line ol Apollinaire, Marinerri,
Khlebnikov, Iorca, |zsel, Neruda whose principle was dra-
mariccollage. In posr-war America, irwasrhe BlackMounrain
poers, and above all Charles Olson, who had recovered irs
energies.' The viraliry ol rhe posrmodern presenr, alrer
break-down ol an enleebled poeric orrhodoxy in rhe
owed everything ro rhis example. A year larer,
devored a double-issue ro 'Charles Olson. e m: : cen
'The appearance of Olson and the Black Mountain poets was the beginning of the
end for the Metaphysical Modernist tradition, which was by no means a "modern
ist" tradition but an anomaly peculiar to American and English poetry. It was the
result of a collision of strongly anti-modernist and provincial sensibilities with the
hybrid moderism of Pound and the purer modernism of Gertrude Stein and
William Car/os Williams': boundary 2, I, No 1, p. 120. Antin took Olson's great
'As the Dead Prey Upon Us' as his emblem of the new poetics.
15
THE ORI GI NS OF POST MODERNITY
Essays, Reviews' rhe nrsr lull-scale appreciarion snce his
dearh.
Irwas rhisreceprionrharlorrhe nrsrrime srabilized rheidea
ol rhe posrmodern as a collecrive relerence. In rhe process,
however,irunderwenranalrerarion. Olson'scallloraproj ecrive
lirerarure beyond humanism was remembered and honoured.
Bur his polirical arrachmenr ro an unbidden lurure beyond
capiralism rhe orher side ol Rimbaud's 'courage' salured in
The Kingfshers passedourolsighr. Norrharboundary / was
devoid olradical impulse. Irscrearor,William Spanos, decided
ro lound rhe j ournal as a resulr ol his shock ar US collusion
wirh rhe Creek|unra, while avisiringreacher arrheUniversiry
ol Arhens. He larer explained rhar 'ar rhar rime, Modern"
meanr, lirerally, rhe Modernisr lirerarure rhar had precipirared
rhe New Criricism and rhe New Criricism which had denned
Modernism in irs own aurorelic rerms' . InArhens he sensed 'a
kind ol compliciry' berween rhis esrablished orrhodoxy, in
which he had been rrained, and rhe callous olncialdom hewas
wirnessing. Onrerurning roAmerica, heconceived boundary /
as a breakwirhborh.ArrheheighrolrheViernamWar,hisaim
was ro 'ger lirerarure back inro rhe domain ol rhe world', ar a
rimeol 'rhe mosr dramaric momenr olAmerican hegemony and
irs collapse', and ro demonsrrare rhar 'posrmodernism is a kind
ol rejecrion, an arrack, an undermining olrhe aesrheric lormal-
ismandconservarivepoliricsolrheNewCriricism' .
Burrhecourseolrhej ournalwasneverquirerocoincidewirh
irs inrenrion. Spanos's own resisrance ro rhe Nixon Presidency
was nor in doubr he was locked up lor a demonsrrarion
againsrir. Burrwenry years ol Cold War had maderheclimate
unpropiriousloralusionolculruralandpoliricalvision. Olson's
uniry was nor rerrieved. Boundary / irsell remained, in irs
ediror'sownrerrospecr, essenriallyalireraryj ournal,marked by
2 'A Conversation with William Spanos', boundary 2, Summer 1990, pp. I-3,
16-17. This interview, by Paul Bove - Spanos's successor as editor of the joumal
is a fundamental document for a history of the idea of the postmodem. After
speaking of his arrest in protest against the bombing of Cambodia, Spanos
acknowledges that 'I didn't quite associate what I was doing as a citizen with my
literary, critical perspective. I don't want to say that they were absolutely dis
tinguished, but I wasn't self-conscious of the connections'.
16

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c
7
CRYSTALLIZATI ON
an exisrenrialism originally Sarrrean i n symparhy, and rhen
increasingly drawn ro Heidegger. The resulr was ro inllecr
Olson's obj ecrivism rowards a Heideggerian meraphysics ol
Being,rharinduecoursebecame adominanr srrandinboundar
/. The inrra-mundane space ol rhe posrmodern was rhereby
so ro speak lelr vacanr. Ir was soon, however, occupied by a
lareral enrranr. Among early conrriburors ro rhe j ournal was
Ihab Hassan, a criric who had published his nrsr essay on
posrmodernism jusr belore ir was launched. An Egyprian by
birrh sonolanarisrocraricgovernorberweenrhewars,lamous
lor repression ol a narionalisr demonsrrarion againsr Brirish
rurelage and engineer by rraining, Hassan's original inreresr
hadlainina high modernism pared ro an expressive minimum.
wharhecalled a 'lirerarure olsilence',passingdownlromKalka
ro Beckerr. When he advanced rhe norion olposrmodernism in
11, however, Hassan subsumed rhis descenr inro a much
wider specrrum ol rendencies rhar eirher radicalized or relused
leading rrairs ol modernism. a conngurarion rhar exrended ro
rhevisualarrs,music,rechnology,andsensibiliryarlarge.`
An exrensive enumerarion ol rrends and arrisrs lollowed,
lrom Mailer ro Tel Quel, Hippies ro Conceprualism. Wirhin a
hererogeneous range, however, a core clusrer was discernible.
Threenamesrecurredwirhspeciallrequency.|ohnCage,Roberr
RauschenbergandBuckminsrerIuller. Allolrhesewereassoci-
aredwirhBlack Mounrain College. Absenr, onrheorherhand,
In 1930 Ismael Sidky, backed by the Palace and the British, closed the Egyptian
parliament. Riots broke out across the country and were met with force. Casualties
were particularly heavy at El Mansura. 'By the day's end, six people lay dead in
streets, four students in their teens. No one counted the wounded . . . I
loyalties torn between my father and his foes. Three years later, Mustafa el
became prime minister of Egypt. My father was forced to resign': Ihab Hassan, ..
of Egypt. Scenes and Arguments of an Autobiography, Carbondale 1
pp. 46-48: in more than one way, a suggestive memoir. For an anguished eye
witness account of the massacre, seen as an eleven-year-old from a balcony above
it, compare the very different memoir of the Egyptian feminist Latifa Zayyat: The
Search, London 1996, pp. 41-43. The background to these events is set out by
Jacques Berque, L'Egypte - Imperialisme et Revolution, Paris 1967, pp. 452-460.
4 'POSTmoderISM: a Paracritical Bibliography', New Literary History, Autumn
1971, pp. 5-30; reprinted with some small alterations in The Postmodern Turn,
Ithaca 1987, pp. 25-45.
THE ORI GI NS OF POST MODERNITY
was Olson. Hi s place was, as ir were, occupied by a lourrh
ngure Marshall McIuhan. Inrhis combinarion, rhepivor was
clearly Cage. close lriend ol Rauschenberg and Iuller, and
warm admirer ol McIuhan. Cage was also, ol course, rhe
leading aesrherician ol silence, his composirion +/JJ` lamously
exceeding rhe gesrure ol any wordless drama. When Hassan
concluded hissurvey olrhemorleyindices olposrmodernism
runninglrom SpaceshipEarrhrorheClobalVillage,lacrionand
happening,alearoryreducrionandparodicexrravaganza,imper-
manenceand inrermedia and soughrrosynrhesizerhemas so
many 'anarchies ol rhe spirir`, playlully subverring rhe alool
veriries olmodernism, rhe composer was one ol rhe very lew
arrisrswhocouldplausiblybeassociaredwirhmosrolrhebill.
Insubsequenressays, Hassanenlisred Ioucaulr`snorion olan
episremic break ro suggesr comparable shilrs in science and
philosophy, in rhe wake ol Heisenberg or Nierzsche. In rhis
vein, hearguedrharrheunderlyinguniry olrheposrmodernlay
in 'rheplay olindererminacy andimmanence`, whoseoriginar-
ing geniusinrhearrshadbeenMarcelDuchamp.Thelisrolhis
successors included Ashbery, Barrh, BarrhelmeandPynchonin
lirerarure, Rauschenberg, Warhol, Tinguely in rhe visual arrs.
By 1d, Hassan had annexed virrually a complererosrer ol

posrsrrucruralisr morils inro an elaborare raxonomy ol rhe

dillerence berween posrmodern and modern paradigms, and
expanded his Corha olpracririoners yer lurrher.` Bur a larger
problemremained.Isposrmodernism,heasked, 'onlyanarrisric
rendencyoralsoa socialphenomenon?`,and 'ilso, howarerhe
variousaspecrs olrhisphenomenon psychological,philosoph-
ical, economic,polirical j oined or disjoined?` . To rhese ques-
rions, Hassanrerurnednocoherenranswer,rhoughmakingone
signincanr observarion. 'Posrmodernism, as a mode ol lirerary
change, could be disringuished lrom rhe older avanr-gardes
, Cubism, Iururism, Dadaism, Surrealism erc\ as well as lrom
modernism`,hewrore. 'NeirherOlympianandderachedlikethe
5 Respectively: 'Culture, Indeterminacy and Immanence: Margins of the (Postmod
ern) Age', Humanities in Society, No 1, Winter 1978, pp. 51-85, and 'The Question
of Postmodernism', Bucknell Review, 1980, pp. 117-126; reprinted in The Post
modern Turn, pp. 46-83, and (revised as 'The Concept of Postmoderism')
pp. 84-96.
1 8

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1
CRYSTALLIZATI ON
|att:rnorBoh:m|ananJ |ra.t|ous |||:th:|orm:r, postmoJ:rn
|sm su:sts a J|||:r:nt ||nJ o| a..ommoJat|on e:tw::n art
an
Jso.|:ty'
What||nJ? I|th: J|||:r:n.: was to e: :xp|or:J, |t wou|J e:
J||h.u|tto avo|J po||t|.s But h:r:HassanJr:wea.|. 'I .on|:ss
to som: som: J|stast: |or |J:o|o|.a| ra: ,th: worst ar: now
|u|| o|pass|onat: |nt:ns|tyand |a.| a|| .onv|.t|on anJ |or th:
h:.tor|n o| r:|||ous anJ s:.u|ar Jomat|sts aJm|t to a
.:rta|n ame|va|:n.: towarJs po||t|.s, wh|.h.an ov:r.rowJ our
r:spons:s to eoth art anJ |||:'. H: was soon mor: sp:.|h.
aeout h|s J|s|||:s, atta.||n Marx|st .r|t|.s |or suem|ss|on to
'th: |ron yo|: o||J:o|oy' |n 'th:|r .on.:a|:J so.|a| J:t:rm|n-
|sm, .o||:.t|v|st e|as, J|strust o| a:sth:t|. p|:asur:'Pr:|:rae|:
ey |ar, as a ph||osophy |or postmoJ:rn|ty, was 'th: e|u||
to|:ran.: anJ optat|v: sp|r|t o| Am:r|.an pramat|sm', aeov:
a|||nth::xpans|v:, .:|:eratory shap:o|W||||am)am:s, whos:
p|ura||sm o||:r:J :th|.a| ea|m |or .urr:nt anx|:t|:s As |or
po||t|.s, th: o|J J|st|n.t|ons haJ |ost v|rtua||y any m:an|n
T:rms |||: '|:|t anJr|ht, eas: anJ sup:rstru.tur:, proJu.t|on
anJr:proJu.t|on,mat:r|a||smanJ|J:a||sm'haJe:.om:'n:ar|y
uns:rv|.:ae|:,:x.:pttop:rp:tuat:pr:juJ|.:'
Hassan's .onstru.t|on o|th: postmoJ:rn, p|on::r|n thouh
many o| |ts p:r.:pt|ons w:r: h: was th: hrst to str:t.h |t
a.ross th: arts, anJtonot:w|nmar|s |at:r w|J:|y a..:pt:J~
thus haJaeu||t|n||m|t th:mov:toth:so.|a|wasearr:J Th|s
was sur:|y on: r:ason why h: w|thJr:w |rom th: h:|J at th:
:nJ o| th: :|ht|:s. But th:r: was anoth:r, |nt:rna| to h|s
a..ount o| th: arts th:ms:|v:sHassan's or||na| .omm|tm:nt
was to :xasp:rat:J |orms o|.|ass|. moJ:rn|sm Du.hamp
B:.|:tt just what D: On|s haJ pr:s.|:nt|y t:rm:J
moJ:rn|sm' |n th: th|rt|:s. Wh:n h: start:J to :xp|or:
.u|tura| s.:n: o| th: s:v:nt|:s, Hassan .onstru:J |t p:|n
nant|y throuh th|s pr|sm. Th: strat:|. ro|: |:|| to vanuarJs
tra.:ae|: ea.| to th: matr|x o| B|a.| Mounta|n. >u.h aa
6 'The Question of Postmodernism', pp. 122-124; the last sentence does not appear
in the revised version published in The Postmodern Turn, pp. 89-91.
7 'Pluralism in Postmodern Perspective' (1986), in The Postmodern Turn, p. 178.
"The Postmodern Turn, pp. 203-205, 232.
9 The Postmodern Tur, p. 227.
19

THE ORI GI NS OF POSTMODERNITY

esrimare had much ro be said lor ir. Bur rhere was always
anorher aspecr olrhe view Hassan wasrryingro describe, rhar
was lar closer ro rhe languid or decorarive involurion ol
modernisr elan whichDe Onis had conrrasred as 'posrmodern-
ism'.Warholcouldsrandasshorr-handlorrhissrrand.
Hassan'soriginal conspecrusincludedir, ilwirhouremphasis.
Overrime,however,hesensedrharrhiswasperhapsrheoverall
direcrioninwhichrheposrmodernwasrending.Armid-decade,
a design exhibirionin rhe Crand Palais, Styles 85, displaying a
vasr array ol posrmodern obj ecrs 'lrom rhumbracks to yachrs' ,
led him ro a cerrain revulsion. 'Walking rhrough rhe brighr
larrago, hecrares olesprit, parody, persillage, Ilelrrhe smile on
mylipslreeze'.'Whenhe came ro wrire rheinrroducrionrohis
collecred rexrs on rhe ropic, The Postmodern Turn in 1, he
made irclear rherirlewas also akind ollarewell. 'Posrmodern-

ism irsell has changed, raken, as I seeir, rhewrongrurn. Caughr

berween ideological rruculence and demysrilying nugaciry,
caughrin irs own kirsch, posrmodernism has become a kind ol
eclecricraillery,rherennedprurienceolourborrowedpleasures
andrrivialdisbeliels' . ''
In rhe very reason why Hassan became disabused wirh rhe
posrmodern,however, layrhesource olinspirarionlorrhemosr
prominenr rheorizarion olir ro succeed his own. Ironically, ir
wasrhearrrowhichhegaveleasrarrenrionrharnnallyprojecred
rhe rerm inro rhe public domain ar large. In 1Z Roberr
Venruri and his associares Denise Scorr Brown and Sreven
Izenour published rhe archirecrural manilesro ol rhe decade,
Learning from Las Vegas. Venruri had already made his name
wirh an eleganr cririque ol rhe purisr orrhodoxy ol rhe Inrer-
narionalSryleinrheage olMies, invokingMannerisr, Baroque,
Rococo and Edwardian masrerpieces as alrernarive values lor
conremporarypracrice.'Inrhenewbook,heandhiscolleagues
launched a much more iconoclasric arrack on Modernism, in
rhe name ol rhe viral popular imagery ol rhe gambling strip.
1
The Post modern Turn. p. 229.
1 1
The Post modern Turn, p. xvii.
1
2 Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture, New York 1966: 'Architects can
no longer afford to be intimidated by the puritanically moral language of orthodox
Modern architecture' - 'More is not less': p. 1 6.
20
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eR YSTALLI ZA TI ON
Here,rheyargued,wasrobeloundaspecracularrenewalolrhe
hisroric associarion ol archirecrure wirh painring, graphics and
sculprure an exuberanr primacy ol symbol over space rhar
Modernism had ro irs cosr loresworn. Ir was rime ro rerurn ro
Ruskin`s dicrum rhar archirecrure was rhe decorarion ol

consrrucrron.
Deliveredwirhanairolcasuallearning,rhelaid-backmessage
olLearning from Las Vegas resredonpremisesrharwouldhave
dumblounded Ruskin. 'The commercial srrip challenges rhe
archirecr ro rake a posirive, non-chip-on-rhe-shoulder view',
Venruri and his colleagues wrore. 'Ias Vegas`s values are nor
quesrioned here. The moraliry ol commercial adverrising, gam-
bling inreresrs, and rhe comperirive insrincr is nor ar issue` . '
Iormalanalysis olrhej oyousriorolsignsinrhedeserrskydid
nor necessarily preclude social j udgemenr, bur ir did rule our
one srandpoinr. 'Orrhodox Modern archirecrure is progressive,
il norrevolurionary,uropian and purisric. ir is dissarisnedwirh
existing condirions`. Burrhearchirecr`sprincipalconcern'oughr
nor ro bewirh oughr ro be burwirhwhar is` and 'how ro help
improve ir` .' Behind rhe modesr neurraliry ol rhis agenda
'wherher sociery was righr or wrong was nor lor us ar rhar
momenrroargue` ~ laya disarming opposirion. Conrrasringrhe
plannedmonoronyolmodernisrmegasrrucrureswirhrhevigour
andhererogeneiry olsponraneous urban sprawl,Learning from
Las Vegas summed uprhedichoromy berweenrheminaphrase.
'Building lor Man` vs. 'Building lor men ,markers\ ` ' The
simpliciry ol rhe parenrhesis says everyrhing. Here, spelr our
wirh beguiling candour, was rhe new relarionship berween arr
andsocieryHassansurmisedburlailedrodenne. , :_ ,.

Venruri`s programme, expressly designed ro supersede

modern, srill lacked a name. Ir was nor long coming. By

rhererm'posrmodern`~ anricipared adecadeearlierbyevs:
ro casrigare a weak hisroricism had enrered rhe arr world in
New York, where perhaps rhe nrsr archirecr ro use ir was
Venruri`s srudenr Roberr Srern. Bur rhe criric who made irs
Learning from Las Vegas, Cambridge, Mass. 1972, p. 0 [sic].
Learning from Las Vegas, pp.0, 85.
` Learning from Las Vegas, p. 84.
Zi
THE ORI GI NS OF POST MODERNI TY
lorrunewasCharles|encks, rhenrsredirionolwhoseLanguage
of Post-modern Architecture appeared in 1. Much more
polemical in his obsequy lor modernism allegedly consigned
ro oblivionin 1Z, wirhrherhedemolirionolahigh-riseinrhe
Mid-Wesr |encks was ar nrsr also more crirical rhanVenruri
olAmerican capiralism, and ol rhe collusion berween rhe rwo
in rhe principal rypes ol posr-war building commission. Bur,
while arguing rhe need lor a broader semioric range rhan
Venruri had allowed, ro include iconic as well as symbolic
lorms, his prescriprions were essenrially based on rhe ideas ol
Learning from Las Vegas inclusivevariery, popularlegibiliry,
conrexrual symparhy. Despire his rirle, |encks was inirially
hesiranrabourcallingrhesevalues'posr-modern',sincerhererm
was he conlessed 'evasive, lashionable and worsr ol all
negarive' . ' Hisprelerredarchirecrurewouldbe berrerdescribed
as 'radical eclecricism', even 'rradirionalesque', and irs only
accomplishedexemplarrodarewasAnronioCaudi.
Wirhin a year |encks had changed his minJ, lully adopring
rhe ldea olrheposrmodern andnowrheorizingirs eclecricismas
a sryle ol 'double-coding'. rhar is, an archirecrure employing a
hybrid ol modern and hisroricisr synrax, and appealing borh ro
educared rasre and popular sensibiliry. Ir was rhis liberaring
mrxrureolnew and old, high andlow,whichdennedposrmod-
ernism as a movemenr, and assured ir rhe lurure. In 1U
1
6
The Language of Post-Modern Architecture, New York 1977, p. 7. Prompted in
part by the work of the Marxist critic Malcolm MacEwan, a colleague of Edward
Thompson on The New Reasoner, at this stage Jencks offered a periodization of
'modes of architectural production' - mini-capitalist; welfare state capitalist;
monopoly capitalist, or the new, all-pervasive dominance of the commercial
developer. 'Several modern architects, in a desperate attempt to cheer themselves
up, have decided that since this is an inevitable situation, it must also have its good
points . . . "Main Street is almost all right", according to Robert Venturi' :
pp. 1 1-12, 35.
1
7 The Language of Post-Modern Architecture, revised and enlarged Edition, New
York 1978, pp. 6-8: 'Moderism suffers from elitism. Post-Modernism is trying to
get over that elitism', by reaching out 'towards the vernacular, towards tradition
and the commercial slang of the street' - 'architecture, which has been on an
enforced diet for ffty years, can only enjoy itself and grow stronger and deeper as a
result'. Discussion of the Pre-Modernist Gaudi was dropped from the new version,
on grounds of consistency.
22

\
CRYSTALLlZA TI ON
|encks helped organize rhe archirecrural secrion olrhe Venice
BiennalemounredbyPaoloPorroghesi, allamboyanrpioneer ol
posrmodern pracrice, enrirled 'The Presence ol Pasr', which
arrracred wide inrernarional arrenrion. By now |encks had
be
comearirelessenrhusiasrolrhecause,andprolincraxonomer
ol irs developmenr. ' His mosr signincanr move was ro dis
ringuish, early on, 'lare modern' lrom 'posr-modern' archirec-
rure. Dropping rhe claim rhar modernism had collapsed inrhe
early sevenries, |encks conceded rharirs dynamic srill survived,
ilinparoxysmic iorm, as an aesrheric olrechnologicalprowess
increasinglyderachedlromluncrionalprerexrs bursrillimper
vious ro rhe play ol rerrospecr and allusion rhar marked
posrmodernism. Iosrer and Rogers as againsr Moore and
Craves. This was rhe archirecrural equivalenr olrhe lirerarure
championedbyHassan ulrra-modernism.
Noring rhe parallel, |encks reversed rhe opposirion berween
De Onis'srerms wirhour qualms. No marrer how producrive ir
mighr seem likerhecross-bowinrhenrsr years olnre-arms
such ulrra-modernism was hisrorically a rearguard. Ir was
posrmodernism,irssymbolicresourcesansweringrorheconrem-
porary need lor a new spirirualiry, as once rhe exuberanr
baroqueolrheCounrer-Relormarionhaddone,rharrepresenred
rhe advanced arr ol rhe age. By rhe mid-eighries |encks was
celebraring rhe Posr-Modern as a world civilizarion ol plural
rolerance and superabundanr choice, rhar was 'making non-
sense' ol such ourmoded polariries as 'lelr- and righr-wing,
capiralisr and working class' . In a sociery where inlormarion
now marrered more rhan producrion, 'rhere is no longer an
arrisric avanr-garde', since 'rhere isnoenemyro conquer' inh
global elecrronic nerwork. In rhe emancipared condirions ,
roday's arr, 'rarher rhere are counrless individuals in T
New York, Berlin, Iondon, Milan and orher world

_
communicaring and compering wirh each orher, j usrasrhey are

b
He would later claim that 'the response to my lectures and articles was so forceful
and widespread that it created Post-Modernism as a social and architectural
movement' : Post-Modernism: the New Classicism in Art and Architecture, New
York 1987, p. 29.
Late Modern Architecture, New York 1 980, pp. 10-30.
23
THE ORI GI NS OF POSTMODERNI TY
inrhe banking world'.Ourolrheir kaleidoscopiccrearions, ir
was ro be hoped,mighr emerge 'a shared symbolic order olrhe
kind rhar a religion provides'' rhe ulrimare agenda olposr-
modernism. In aesrheric cross-dress, Toynbee's syncrerisric
dreamhadrerurned.
Montreal - Paris
The archirecrural caprure ol rhe blazon ol rhe posrmodern,
whichcanbedaredlrom1-, proveddurable.Theprimary
associarion ol rhe rerm has ever since been wirh rhe newesr
lorms ol builr space. Bur rhis shilr was lollowed, all bur
immediarely, by a lurrher exrension ol irs range, in an unex-
pecred direcrion. The nrsr philosophical work ro adopr rhe
norionwas|ean-IranoisIyorard'sLa Condition Postmoderne,
whichappearedinParisin 1. Iyorardhad acquiredrhererm
direcrly lrom Hassan. Three years earlier, he had addressed a
conlerence ar Milwaukee onrhe posrmoderninrhe perlorming
arrs orchesrrared by Hassan. Declaring 'rhe srakes ol posr-
modernism as a whole' were 'nor ro exhibir rrurh wirhin rhe
closure ol represenrarion bur ro ser up perspectives wirhin rhe
rerurn ol rhe will', Iyorard exrolled Michael Snow's lamous
experimenralnlm olanempryCanadian landscape scanned by
an immobile swivelling camera, and Duchamp's sparial projec-
rions. His new book was quire closero a rhemeinHassan
rhe episremological implicarions ol recenr advances in rhe
narural sciences. The immediare occasion ol La Condition
Postmoderne, however, was a commission ro produce a reporr
on rhe srare ol 'conremporary knowledge' lor rhe universiry
council ol rhe governmenr ol Quebec, where rhe narionalisr
parryolReneIevesquehadj usrcomeropower.
Ior Iyorard, rhe arrival ol posrmoderniry was linked ro rhe
Z
What is Post-Modernism?, London 1986, pp.44-47.
ZJ
What is Post-Modernism?, p. 43.
22
'The Unconscious as Mise-en-Scene', in Michael Benamou and Charles Caramello
( eds), Performance in Postmodern Culture, Madison 1977, p.95. Hassan gave the
key-note address at this conference. For the intellectual contact between the two at
this time, see La Condition Postmoderne, notes 1 , 121, 1 88, and The Postmodern
Turn, pp. 134, 162-1 64.
24

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CRYSTALLI ZATI ON
emergenceolaposr-indusrrialsociery rheorizedbyDanielBell
andAlainTouraine inwhichknowledgehadbecomerhemain
economic lorce ol producrion in a llow by-passing narional
srares,yerarrhesamerimehadlosrirsrradirional legirimarions.
Ior il sociery was now besr conceived, neirher as an organic
wholenor as a dualisricneld olconllicr, Parsons orMarx\ , bur
as a web ol linguisric communicarions, language irsell 'rhe
whole social bond' wascomposedolamulripliciryoldilierenr
games, whose rules were incommensurable, and inrer-relarions
agonisric. Inrhese condirions, science became j usrone language
game among orhers ir could no longer claim rhe imperial
privilege over orher lorms ol knowledge ro which ir had
prerended in modern rimes. In lacr, irs rirle ro superioriry as
denorarive rrurh over narrarive sryles ol cusromary knowledge
concealed rhe basis ol irs own legirimarion, which classically
resred onrwolormsolgrandnarrariveirsell.Thenrsr olrhese,
derivedlromrheIrenchRevolurion, rold arale olhumaniryas
rhe heroic agenr ol irs own liberarion rhrough rhe advance ol
know ledge, rhe second, descending lrom Cerman Idealism, a
rale ol spirir as rhe progressive unlolding ol rrurh. Such were
rhegrearj usrilyingmyrhsolmoderniry.
The denning rrair ol rhe posrmodern condirion, by conrrasr,
is rhe loss ol credibiliry olrhese mera-narrarives. Ior Iyorard,
rhey have been undone by rhe immanenr developmenr ol rhe
sciences rhemselves. onrhe onehand,byapluralizarionolrypes
olargumenr, wirhrhe prolilerarion olparadox andparalogism
anricipared wirhinphilosophybyNierzsche,Wirrgensrein and
Ievinas, and onrheorherhand, by arechnincarionolprool, in
which costly appararuses, commanded by capiral or rhe srar,
reduce'rrurh'ro'perlormariviry'.Scienceinrheserviceolpo

nnds a newlegirimarioninelnciency. Burrhegenuine,
olposrmodernscienceliesnorinrhepursuir olrheperlormar

bur in rhe producrion ol rhe paralogisric in micro-physics,

lracrals, discoveries ol chaos, 'rheorizing irs own evolurion as

disconrinuous,carasrrophic,nonrecrinableandparadoxical' .ll
rhe dreamolconsensusis arelicolnosralgialor emanciparion,
`La Condition Postmoderne. Rapport sur le Savoir, Paris 1979, p. 97. English
translation: The Postmodern Condition, Minneapolis 1984, p. 60.
Z
THE ORI GI NS OF POST MODERNITY
narrarives as such donor disappear, bur becomeminiature and
comperitive. 'rhelirrlenarrariveremainsrhequinressenriallorm
ol imaginative invenrion`. Irs social analogue, on which The
Postmodern Condition ends,is rhetrend towardsrhetemporary
conrracr in every area ol human exisrence. occuparional,
emorional, sexual, polirical ries more economica|, llexible,
crearive than rhe bonds ol moderniry. Ilrhis lorm is lavoured
by the 'sysrem` , it is nor entirely subject to ir. We should be
happyitis modesrandmixed,Iyorard concluded,becauseany
pure alternarive ro the system would larally come ro resemble
wharirsoughrtooppose.
Ar rheturn ol the sevenries, Hassan`s essays essenrially on
lirerature hadstillro becollected,|encks`swriringwaslimired
ro architecrure. In rirle and topic, The Postmodern Condition
wasthenrst book torreatpostmodernityasageneralchangeol
human circumstance. The vanrage-poinr ol rhe philosopher
assured it a wider echo, across audiences, than any previous
inrervention. ir remains to rhis day perhaps rhe mosr widely
cired work onrhe subjecr. Butrakenin isolarion asirusually
is rhe book is a misleading guide ro Iyotard`s disrinctive
inrellecrualposirion.IorThe Postmodern Condition, wrirtenas
an olncial commission, is connned essenrially ro the episremo-
logical lare ol rhe narural sciences abour which, as Iyorard
laterconlessed, hisknowledgewas less thanlimited.Whathe
readinrorhemwasacognitivepluralism, basedonrhenorion
lresh ro Callic audiences, il long sraled to Anglo-Saxon ol
dillerent, incommensurable language-games. The incoherence
ol Witrgenstein`s original conception, olren nored, was only
compounded by Iyotard`s claim thar such games were both
aurarchic and agonistic, as il rhere could be conllicr berween
wharhasnocommonmeasure. The subsequenrinlluence olrhe
book, in this sense, was in inverse relarion to irs inrellecrual
interesr, asir became rhe inspirarion ola streer-level relarivism
24 La Condition Postmoderne, p. 98; The Postmodern Condition, p. 60.
25 'I made up stories, !referred to a quantity of books I'd never read, apparently it
impressed people, it's all a bit of parody . . . It's simply the worst of my books,
they're almost all bad, but that one's the worst': Lotta Poetica, Third Series, Vol 1 ,
No 1 , January 1987, p. 82 an interview of more general biographical interest.
26

6 .

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eR YSTALLl ZATI ON
rhatolrenpasses i nrheeyes ollriends andloes alike lor rhe
hallmarkolposrmodernism.
Whatthe osrensibly scientinclrameworkolIyorard's 'reporr
on knowledge' lelr out ol view was either rhe arts or polirics.
The curiosiry ol rhe book lay in the lacr rhese were his rwo
principal passions as a philosopher. A miliranr in rhe lar-lelr
group Socialisme ou Barbarie lor a decade , I95464} during
which he was an outstandingly lucid commentaror on the
Algerian War, Iyorard remained active in irs split-ollPouvoir
Ouvrier lor anotherrwo years. Breakingwirhrhis groupwhen
hebecameconvincedtheproletariarwasnolongerarevolurion-
ary subject capable olchallenging capiralism, he was acrive in
rhe universiry lerment ar Nanterre in I96Sand srillreinrerpret-
ing Marxlorconremporaryrebels aslareas I969. Burwirhrhe
ebb ol insurgency tn Irance, Iyorard`s ideas shilred. His nrsr
majorphilosophicalwork,Discours, Figure , I97I} , advanced a
ngural rendering ol Ireudian drives, in opposirion to Iacan`s
linguisric accounr olrheunconscious, asrhe basislor a rheory
olarr,illusrrared bypoems andpaintings.
By rhe rime ol Derive a partir de Marx et Freud , I 973} , he
had arrived at a more drasric polirical energerics. 'Reason`, he
declared, 'is already in power in kapiral. We do not wanr ro
destroy kapiral because ir is nor rarional, bur because ir is.
Reason and power are all one`. Therewas 'norhing inkapital-
ism,nodialecricrharwillleadroirs supersession,irsovercoming
in socialism. socialism, ir is now plain ro all, is idenrical to
kapiralism.Allcririque,larlromsurpassing,merelyconsolidares
it.` Whar alone could desrroy capitalism was the world-wide
'drilr ol desire` among rhe young, away lrom libidinal invesr-
menr in rhe sysrem, ro sryles ol conduct 'whose sole guide
allective inrensity and the mulriplicarion ol libidinal OWY
Theroleoladvanced arrisrs once Opoj az,Iururism or 111
Russia, roday Rorhko, Cage or Cunningham 8 America was

to blow up rhe obsracles ro rhe unleashing ol rhis desire by

commirringrhelormsolesrablishedrealiryrorhellames.Artin
rhissenselaybeneath allinsurgenrpolirics. 'Aesrhericshas been
lor rhe political man I was , and renain? \ nor an alibi, a
26
Derive upartir de Marx et Freud, Paris 1973, pp. 12-13, 1 6-18.
27
THE ORI GI NS OF POS T MODERNITY
comlorrable rerrear, bur rhe laulr and nssure rodescend rorhe
subsoil ol rhe polirical scene, a vasr grorro lrom which irs
undersidecanbe seenupside-downorrurnedinside-our' .`
Wirh Economie Libidinale , I974\ , Iyorard wenr a srep
lurrher. No cririque ol Marx, by such naifs as Casroriadis or
Baudrillard,inrhenameolapiousculrolcreariviryornosralgic
myrh ol symbolic exchange, was olany avail. To unmask 'rhe
desire named Marx', a complere rranscriprion was needed ol
poliricalinrolibidinaleconomy,rharwouldnorshrinklromrhe
rrurh rhar exploirarion irsell was rypically lived even by rhe
early indusrrial workers as eroric enjoymenr. masochisric or
hysrerical delecrarion in rhe desrrucrion ol physical healrh in
mines and lacrories, or disinregrarion ol personal idenriry in
anonymous slums. Capiral was desired by rhose ir dominared,
rhen as now. Revolr againsr ir came onlywhenrhe pleasures ir
yielded became 'unrenable' , and rhere was an abrupr shilr ro
new ourlers. Bur rhese had norhing ro do wirh rhe rradirional
sancrimoniesolrheIelr.|usrasrherewasnoalienarioninvolved
inpopularinvesrmenrincapiral, soindisinvesrmenr'rhereisno
libidinal digniry, norlibidinalliberry,nor libidinal lrarerniry'
j usrrhequesrlornewaliecriveinrensiries.
The largerbackgroundroIyorard'srransirlrom arevolurion-
ary socialism rowards a nihilisrhedonism lay, olcourse, in rhe
evolurion olrheIilrh Republic irsell. The Caullisr consensus ol
rhe early sixries had convinced him rhar rhe working class was
now essenrially inregrared inrocapiralism. The lermenr olrhe
lare sixries gave him hope rhar generarion rarher rhan class
yourh acrossrhe world mighr be rhe harbinger ol revolr. The
euphoric wave olconsumerismrharwashed overrhecounrryin
rhe early and mid-sevenries rhen led ro ,widespread\ rheoriza-
rions ol capiralism as a srream-lined machinery ol desire. By
I976,however,rheSocialisrandCommunisrParrieshadagreed
on a Common Programme, and looked increasingly likely ro
win rhe nexr legislarive elecrions. The prospecr ol rhe PCI in
governmenr lor rhe nrsr rime since rhe onser olrhe Cold War
sowed panic in respecrable opinion, prompring a violenr ideo-
Derive upartir de Marx et Freud, p.20.
28 Economie Libidinale, Paris 1974, pp. 136-138.
Zb
CRYSTALLIZATI ON
logicalcounrer-ollensive. Theresulrwasrherockeringroprom-
inence ol rhe Nouveaux Philosophes, a group ol lormer
soixante-huitard publicisrs, parronized by rhe media and rhe
Elysee.
Inrhe vicissirudes olIyorard' spoliricalrraj ecrory, rherehad
always been one consranr. Socialisme ou Barbarie was vehe-
menrly anri-communisr lrom rhe nrsr, and wharever his orher
changes ol mood or convicrion, rhis remained an ineradicable
elemenrin his ourlook. In 1974 he connded ro srarrled lrends
in America rhar his Presidenrial choice was Ciscard, since
Mirrerrand relied onCommunisrsupporr. Asrhe 1978 elecrions
approached, wirh rhe danger ol acrual PCI parriciparion in
governmenr, he rherelore could nor bur leel ambivalence
rowards rhe Nouveaux Philosophes. On rhe one hand, rheir
luriousarracksoncommunismweresalurary, onrheorher,rhey
werevisiblya lighr-weighr corerie caughr up inacompromising
embrace wirh olncial power. Iyorard's inrervenrion in rhe pre-
elecroral debares, rhe sardonic dialogue Instructions P ai'ennes
( 1977) , accordingly borh delended and derided rhem. Ir was
here rhar he nrsr lormulared rhe idea ol mera-narrarives rhar
wasronguresoprominenrlyinThe Postmodern Condition, and
madeirs realrargerc(sral-clear.|usrone'masrernarrarive' lay
arrheoriginolrhererm. Marxism. Iorrunarely, irs ascendancy
was now ar lasr eroded by rhe innumerable lirrle ridings lrom
rhe Culag. Ir was rrue rhar in rhe Wesr rhere exisred a grand
narrarive ol capiral roo, bur ir was prelerable ro rhar ol rhe
Parry, since ir was 'godless' 'capiralism has no respecr lor
any one srory', lor 'irs narrarive is abour everyrhrng and
norhing'."

In rhe same year as rhis polirical manilesro, Iyorard ser
an aesrheric canon. Les Transformateurs Duchamp
rhecrearorolrheLarge Glass and Given asrhe crirical HI
rhe non-isomorphic, ol incongruences and incommensurabil
ries. Delending once again his accounr olrhe jouissance olrhe
earlyindusrrialprolerariarinirsgrindinglor,Iyorardconrended.
29 Instructions Pai'ennes, Paris 1 977, p. 55. Lyotard's frst use of the terms 'grand
narrative' and 'meta-narrative' identifes their referent without further ado as
Marxism: pp. 22-23.
29
THE ORI GI NS OF POST MODERNITY
'Il you describe rhe workers' lare exclusively in rerms ol
alienarion, exploirarion and poverry, you presenr rhem as vic-
rims who only sullered passively rhe whole process and who
only acquired claimslor larerrepararions , socialism\. Youmiss
rhe essenrial,whichisn'rrhegrowrholrhelorcesolproducrion
ar any price, nor even rhe dearh ol many workers, as Marx
olren says wirha cynicism adorned wirhDarwinism. You miss
rhe energyrhar larer spread rhrough rhe arrs and sciences, rhe
j ubilarion and rhe pain ol discovering rhar you can hold our
,live, work, rhink, be allecred\ in a place where ir had been
j udged senseless ro do so. Indillerenrro sense, hardness. ' Ir was
rhis hardness, a 'mechanical ascericism', ol which Duchamp's
sexualenigmas rookareading. 'The Glass isrhe delay" olrhe
nude, Given irs advance. Ir'sroo soon ro see rhe womanlaying
hersell bare on rhe Glass, and ir's roo lare on rhe srage ol rhe
Given. The perlormer is a complex transformer, a barrery ol
meramorphosis machines. Thereisno arr,becauserhere areno
obj ecrs. There are only rranslormarions, redisrriburions ol
energy.Theworldisamulripliciryolappararusesrharrranslorm
unirsolenergyinrooneorher. '
Theimmediarehinrerland behind The Postmodern Condition
was rhus much more inrensely charged rhan rhe documenr
composed lor rhe Quebecois srare irsell. The 'reporr onknowl-
edge' lelrrherwo quesrionsolmosr abidingconcernroIyorard
suspended.Wharwererheimplicarionsolposrmodernirylorarr
and polirics? Iyorard was quickly lorced ro reply ro rhe nrsr,
whereheloundhimsellinanawkwardposirion. Whenhewrore
The Postmodern Condition hewasquireunawareolrhedeploy-
menrolrhererm inarchirecrure, perhaps rhe onlyarr onwhich
he had never wrirren, wirh an aesrheric meaning anrirherical ro
everyrhing rhar he valued. This ignorance could nor lasr long.
By 1Z he was apprised ol |encks's consrrucrion ol rhe
posrmodern, and irs widespread receprion in Norrh America.
His reacrion was acrid. Such posrmodernism was a surrep-
ririous resrorarion ol a degraded realism once parronized by
Nazism andSralinismandnowrecycledasacynical eclecricism
30 Les Transformateurs Duchamp, Paris 1977, pp.23, 39-40.
30

CRYSTALLI ZATI ON
by
conr
emporary capiral. everyrhing rhe avanr-gardes had
lou
ghr
againsr. '
Whar rhis slackening ol aesrheric rension promised was nor
jusr rhe end ol experimenrarion, bur a cancellarion ol rhe
imperus ol modern arr as such, whose drive had always come
lrom rhe gap berween rhe conceivable and rhe presenrable, rhar
Kanr denned as rhe sublime as disrincr lrom rhe merely beauri-
lul.Whar rhen could aurhenric posrmodern arr be? Preempred
by a usage he execrared, Iyorard's answer was lame. The
posrmodern did nor come alrerrhe modern, bur was a morion
olinrernalrenewalwirhinirlromrhenrsr rharcurrenrwhose
response ro rhe sharrering ol rhe real was rhe opposire ol
nosralgia lor irs uniry. rarher a j ubilanr acceprance ol rhe
lreedom ol invenrion ir released. Bur rhis was no luxuriance.
The avanr-garde arr Iyorard singled our lor approval a year
larerwasMinimalism rhe sublime asprivarion. Whar buoyed
rhearrmarker, byconrrasr,wasrhekirschcelebraredby|encks.
'amalgamarion, ornamenrarion, pasriche llarreringrhe rasre"
olapublicrharcanhavenorasre'.
IlIyorard' sprobleminrheorizingaposrmodernarrlayinrhe
rurnolaesrhericrrendsawaylromrhe direcrionhe had always
championed lorcing him ro declare arrisric posrmoderniry a
perennial principle, rarher rhan periodic caregory, in parenr
conrradicrion ol his accounr ol scienrinc posrmoderniry as a
srage olcognirive developmenr his dilnculry in consrrucring a
posrmodern polirics became in due course analogous. Here rhe
discomnrure came lrom rhe course ol hisrory irsell. In The
Postmodern Condition Iyorard had announced rhe eclipse oF
all grand narrarives. The one whose dearh heabove all
rocerrilywas,olcourse,classical socialism. Insubsequenr
he would exrend rhe lisr ol grand narrarives rhar were

deluncr. Chrisrian redemprion, Enlighrenmenr progress,

ian spirir, Romanric uniry, Naziracism, Keynesian equilibrium.
31 'Reponse a la question: qu'est-ce que le postmoderne?', in Le Postmoderne
explique aux enfants, Paris 1 986, pp. 29-33. English translation, 'Answering the
Question: What is Postmoderism?', appended to The Postmodern Condition,
pp. 73-76.
32 'Le sublime et l'avant-garde' (Berlin lecture 1 983) , in L'Inhumain. Causeries sur
le Temps, Paris 1988, p. 1 1 7.
31
THE ORI GI NS OF POST MODERNITY
Bur rhe commanding relerenr always remained communism.
Whar, rhen, olcapiralism? ArrherimeIyorardwaswriring, ar
rhe rail-end olrheCarrerera,rheWesr rhenenrering a severe
recession was in larlrom boisrerous ideological mood. Hence
he could suggesr wirh ar any rare a semblance ol plausibiliry
rhar conremporary capiralism was validared bynomore rhan a
perlormance principle, which was a mere shadow ol real
legirimarion.
Wirh rhe sharp change ol conj uncrure in rhe eighries rhe
euphoria ol rhe Reagan boom, and rhe rriumphanrideological
ollensive olrheRighr, culminaring inrhecollapseolrheSovier
blocarrhe end olrhe decade rhis posirionlosrall credibiliry.
Iar lrom grand narrarives having disappeared, ir looked as il
lorrhenrsrrimeinhisroryrheworldwaslallingunderrhesway
olrhe mosr grandiose olall a single, universalsroryolliberry
and prosperiry, rhe global vicrory ol rhe marker. How was
Iyorardroadjusrrorhisuncovenanreddevelopmenr?Hisinirial
reacrion was ro insisr rhar capiralism, rhough ir mighrseem ro
represenra universalnnaliryolhisrory, inlacrdesrroyedany
since ir embodied no higher values rhan mere lacrual securiry.
' Capiral has no need lor legirimarion, ir prescribes norhing, in
rhe srricr sense ol an obligarion, ir does nor have ro posr any
normarive rule. Iris presenr everywhere, burasnecessiryrarher
rhan nnaliry'. Ar besr perhaps, ir concealed a quasi-norm
'saving rime' . bur could rhar really be regarded as a universal
end?
This was anuncharacrerisrically weak nore ro srrike. By rhe
end olrhe nineries, Iyorard had lound a srronger exirlrom his
dilnculry. Capiralism,hehad srarred ro arguemuchearlier,was
nor ro be undersrood primarily as a socio-economic phenom-
enonarall. ' Capiralism is, moreproperly, angure.Asasysrem,
capiralismhasasirshearsourcenorrhelabourlorceburenergy
irsell, physics ,rhe sysrem is nor isolared\ . As ngure, capiralism
derives irs lorce lrom rhe Idea ol innniry. Ir can appear in
humanexperienceasrhedesirelormoney,rhedesirelorpower,
or rhe desire lor novelry. All rhis can seem very ugly, very
33 'Memorandum sur la legitimite' ( 1984), in Le Postmoderne explique aux enfants,
p. 94.
32

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CRYSTALLI ZATI ON
disquiering. Burrhesedesiresarerheanrhropologicalrranslarion
olsomerhingrharis onrologicallyrhe insranriarion" olinnniry
in rhe will. This insranriarion" does nor rake place according
ro social class. Social classes are nor perrinenr onrological
caregories'.` The subsrirurion ol hisrory by onrology was a
way-srarion, however. wirhin a lew years, Iyorard had moved
roasrro-physics.
Therriumpholcapiralism overrivalsysrems,henowargued,
wasrheourcomeolaprocessolnaruralselecrionrharpre-dared
human lile rsell. In rhe incommensurable vasrness ol rhe
cosmos, where all bodies are subjecr ro enrropy, an aboriginal
chance a 'conringenrconsrellarionolenergylorms' gaverise
in one riny planer ro rudimenrary living sysrems. Because
exrernal energy was limired, rhese had ro compere wirh each
orher, ina perperually lorruirous parh olevolurion. Evenrually,
alrer millions ol years, a human species emerged capable ol
words and rools, rhen 'various improbable lorms ol human
aggregarion arose, and rhey were selecred according ro rheir
abiliry ro discover, caprure and save sources ol energy'. Alrer
lurrher millennia, puncruared by rhe neolirhic and indusrrial
revolurions, 'sysrems called liberal democracies' proved rhem-
selves besrarrhisrask,rrouncingcommunisrorislamisrcomper-
irors, andmoderaringecological dangers. 'Norhing seemed able
ro srop rhe developmenr ol rhis sysrem excepr rhe inelucrable
exrincrionolrhesun.Burromeerrhischallenge,rhesysremwas
alreadydevelopingrheprosrhesesrharwouldallowirrosurvive
alrer solar sources ol energy were wiped our'.All conrempor-
ary scienrinc research was ulrimarely working rowards rhe
exodus, lour billion years hence, ol a rranslormed human -
specieslromrheearrh.

`
Whennrsradumbraring rhis vision, Iyorard rermedir a

decor'. Resorr ro rhe language ol scenography side-srepd

any hinr ol narrarive il ar rhe cosr ol unwirringly suggesring

rhe srylizarion ol rhe posrmodern orherwise mosr disliked. Bur
34 'Appendice svelte al a question postmodere' ( 1982), in Tombeau de l'intellectuel
et autres papiers, Paris 1984, p. 80.
35 Moralites Postmodernes, Paris 1993, pp. 80-86.
36 'Billet pour un nouveau decor' ( 1985), in Le Postmoderne explique aux enfants,
pp. 131-134.
33
THE ORI GINS OF POSTMODERNITY
when complered, hepresenred iras 'rhe unavowed dream rhe
posrmodernworld dreams abour irsell' 'a posrmodernlable' .
Bur,heinsisrs, 'rhelablei srealisricbecauseirrecounrsrhesrory
ol a lorce which makes, unmakes and remakes realiry'. Whar
rhe lable depicrs is a conllicr berween rwo energy processes.
' Oneleadsrorhe desrrucrionolallsysrems,allbodies,livingor
nor,onourplanerandrhe solarsysrem. Burwirhinrhisprocess
olenrropy,whichis necessary and conrinuous, anorherprocess
rhar is conringenr and disconrinuous, ar leasr lor a long rime,
acrs in a conrrary sense by increasing dillerenriarion ol irs
sysrems. This movement cannor halr rhe nrsr ,unless ir could
nnd a means ro reluel rhe sun\ , bur ir can escape lrom
carasrrophe by abandoning irs cosmic habirar'. The ulrimare
moror olcapiralism is rhus nor rhirsr lor pronr, or any human
desire. ir is rarher developmenr as neguenrropy. 'Developmenr
is nor an invenrion ol human beings. Human beings are an
invenrionoldevelopmenr' .'
Whyisrhisnora quinressenriallymodern grandnarrarive?
Because, Iyorard mainrains, ir is a srory wirhour hisroriciry or
hope.The lable isposrmodernbecause 'ir has no nnaliry in any
horizon olemanciparion'. Human beings, aswirnessesoldevel-
opmenr, may serrheirlaces againsr a process olwhichrheyare
vehicles. 'Burevenrheircririques oldevelopmenr,olirsinequal-
iry, irs irregulariry, irs laraliry, irs inhumaniry, are expressions
oldevelopmenrandconrribureroir.'Universalenergericsleaves
no space lor parhos osrensibly. Yer Iyorard also lreely
describes his srory as a 'rragedy ol energy' which 'like Oedipus
Rex ends badly', yer also 'like Oedipus at Colonnus allows an
ulrimareremission' .
Theinrellecruallragiliryolrhislareconsrrucrionhardlyneeds
emphasis. Norhing in Iyorard's original accounr ol mera-
narrarives connned rhem ro rhe idea olemanciparion which
was only one ol rhe rwo modern discourses ol legirimarion he
soughr ro rrace. The posrmodern lable would srill be a grand
narrarive, even were ir exempr lrom rhe rheme. Bur in lacr, ol
course, ir is nor. Whar else would escape ro rhe srars be rhan
37 'Une fable postmoderne', in Moralites Postmodernes, pp. 86-87.
38 'Une fable postmodere', pp. 91-93, 87.
34

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emanciparionlromrheboundsoladyingearrh?Morepoinredly
srill, in rhe orher inrerchangeable regisrer ol Iyorard's
narrarive, capiralismnororiouslyspeaksrhelanguageoleman-
ciparion more conrinually and conndenrly rhan ever belore.
Elsewhere, Iyorard is lorced ro acknowledge rhis. Indeed, he
admirs. 'Emanciparion is no longer rhe rask ol gaining and
imposing liberry lrom rhe ourside' rarher ir is 'an ideal rhar
rhe sysrem irsellendeavours ro acrualize inmosrolrhe areas ir
covers, such as work, raxarion, markerplace, lamily, sex, race,
school,culrure,communicarion' . Obsraclesandresisrancesonly
encourage ir ro become more open and complex, promoring
sponraneousunderrakings and 'rharisrangibleemanciparion' .
Il rhe j ob ol rhe criric is srill ro denounce rhe shorrcomings ol
rhe sysrem, 'such cririques, wharever lorm rhey rake, areneeded
by rhe sysrem lor discharging rhe rask ol emanciparion more
ellecrively' .
Theposrmoderncondirion, announced as rhe dearh olgrand
narrarive,rhusendswirhirs allburimmorralresurrecrioninrhe
allegory ol developmenr. The logic olrhis srrange denouemenr
is inscribed in Iyorard's polirical rrajecrory. Irom rhe sevenries
onwards, so long as communism exisred as an alrernarive ro
capiralism, rhe larrer was a lesser evil he could even sardoni-
callycelebrare ir as, byconrrasr, a pleasurable order. Once rhe
Sovier bloc had disinregrared,rhehegemony olcapiral became
lesspalarable. Irs ideologicalrriumphappearedrovindicarej usr
rhekind ollegirimaring narrarivewhoseobiruary Iyorard had
ser ourrowrire. Rarher rhan conlronring rhenewrealiry on a
polirical plane, his solurion was a meraphysical sublimarion ol
ir. Suirably projecred inro inrer-galacric space, his I

energericscouldpurcapiralism inro perspecrive asnomore

aneddy ola larger cosmic advenrure. The birrer-sweer
rionrhisalrerarionolscalemighrolleralormermiliranris
The 'posrmodern lable' did nor spell any nnal reconciliarion
wirh capiral. Onrhe conrrary, Iyorard now recovered accenrs
ol opposirion long mured in his work. a denunciarion ol
global inequaliry and culrural loboromy, and scornlor social-
democraric relormism,recallinghis revolurionary pasr. Burrhe
39 'Mur, golfe, systeme' ( 1990) , in Moralites Postmodernes, pp. 67-68.
35
THE ORI GINS OF POSTMODERNI TY
only resisrances rorhe sysrem rhar remained were inward. rhe
reserve olrhe arrisr, rhe indererminacy olchildhood, rhe silence
ol rhe soul.` Cone was rhe 'j ubilarion` ol rhe inirial breakage
ol represenrarion by rhe posrmodern, an invincible malaise
now denned rhe rone ol rhe rime. The posrmodern was
'melancholy'. `'
Frankfurt - Munich
The Postmodern Condition was published in rhe aurumn ol
I979. Exacrly a year larer, )iIrgen Habermas delivered his
addressModernity - an Incomplete Project inIranklurr, onrhe
occasion ol his award olrhe Adorno prize byrhecirylarhers.
The lecrure occupies a peculiar place in rhe discourse ol
posrmoderniry. Irs subsrance rouches only ro a limired degree
on rhe posrmodern, yer rhe ellecr was ro highlighr ir as a
hencelorrh srandard relerenr. This paradoxical ourcome was
largely, ol course, due ro Habermas's sranding in rhe Anglo-
SaxonworldaspremierEuropean philosopher olrheage.Burir
wasalsoaluncrionolrhecriricalsranceolhisinrervenrion.Ior
rhe nrsr rimesincerhe rake-ollolrhe idea olposrmoderniry in
rhe lare sevenries, ir received abrasive rrearmenr. Ilrhe emerg-
ence olaninrellecrual terrainrypicallyrequires a negarive pole
lor irs producrive rension, ir was Habermas who supplied ir.
40 See, in particular, 'A l'insu' ( 1 988) , 'Ligne generale' ( 1991) , and 'Intime est la
terreur' ( 1993) , in Moralites Postmodernes; and 'Avant-propos: de l'humain'
( 1988) , in L'Inhumain, where Lyotard confesses: 'The inhumanity of the system
now in the process of consolidation, under the name of development (among
others), must not be confused with that, infnitely secret, of which the soul is
hostage. To believe, as I once did, that the frst kind of inhumanity can relay the
second, give it expression, is an error. The effect of the system is rather to consign
what escapes it to oblivion': p. 10. More recently, in 'La Mainmise', Lyotard
reiterates the 'fable of development', but changes register: here it 'anticipates a
contradiction' - for 'the process of development runs counter to the human
design of emancipation', although it claims to be at one with it. To the question -
'Is there any instance within us that asks to be emancipated from this supposed
emancipation?' - Lyotard's answer is the 'residue' bequeathed by 'immemorial
childhood' to the 'gesture of witness' in the work of art: Un Trait d'Union, Paris
1993, p. 9.
41 Moralites Postmodernes, pp. 93-94.
36
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eR YSTALLIZA TI ON
However, a misundersranding has rradirionally been arrached
ro his rexr. Widely read as a response ro Iyorard' s work,
because ol rhe proximiry ol dares, in lacr ir was probably
wrirreninignoranceolrhelarrer.Habermaswasreacringrarher
ro rhe Venice Biennale exhibirion ol 1d, rhe show-case lor
|encks`s version ol posrmodernism` j usr whar Iyorard, lor
his parr, had been unaware ol when producing his own. An
ironic chasse-croise ol ideas srood ar rhe origin ol rhese
exchanges.
Habermasbeganbyacknowledgingrharrhespirirolaesrheric
modernity,wirhirsnewsense olrime asapresenrchargedwirh
a heroiclurure, borninrhe epoch olBaudelaire and reaching a
climax in Dada, had visibly waned, rhe avanr-gardes had aged.
Theideaolposrmoderniryowedirspowerrorhisinconresrable
change.Iromir, however,neo-conservariverheorisrslikeDaniel
Bell had drawnaperverseconclusion. The anrinomianlogicol
modernisr culrure, rhey argued, had come ro permeare rhe
rexrure ol capiralisr sociery, weakening irs moral nbre and
undermining irs work discipline wirh a culr ol unresrrained
subjecrivity, arrheverymomenrrharrhisculrurehad ceased ro
be a source ol crearive arr. The resulr rhrearened ro be a
hedonisric melr-down ol a once honourable social order, rhar
couldonlybecheckedbyarevivalolreligiouslairh~ inaworld
prolaned,arerurnolrhesacred.
This, Habermasobserved,wasroblameaesrhericmodernism
lorwharwasallrooobviouslyrhecommerciallogicolcapiralisr
modernizarionirsell.Thereal aporias olculrural moderniry lay
elsewhere. The Enlighrenmenr projecr ol moderniry had rwo
srrands. Onewasrhedillerenriarionlorrhenrsrrimeolscience,

moraliry and arr nolongerlusedin a revealed religion~ n

auronomous value-spheres, each governed by irs own norm

rrurh, j usrice, beaury.Theorherwasrhereleaseolrhe porenr

42 'Die Moderne - ein unvollendetes Projekt', Kleine politische Schriften (I-IV),

Frankfurt 1981, p. 444. This German address was signifcantly longer and sharper
in tone than the English version delivered by Habermas as a James Lecture in New
York the following year, published in New German Critique, Winter 1981,
pp. 3-15. Its opening remarks ask the blunt question: 'Is the moder as out-dated
as the postmoderns would have it? Or is the postmoder itself, proclaimed from so
many sides, merely phony [sic] ?' .
37

THE ORI GI NS OF POST MODERNITY

olrhesenewlyliberareddomainsinrorhesubj ecrivelluxoldaily
lile, inreracring roenrichir. Thiswas rhe programme rhar had
goneasrray. Iorinsread olenreringinrorhecommonresources
oleverydaycommunicarion,eachspherehadrendedrodevelop
inro an esoreric specialism, closed ro rhe world ol ordinary
meanings. Inrhe course olrhe ninereenrh cenrury arr became a
crirical enclave increasingly alienared lrom sociery, evenlerish-
izing irs own disrance lrom ir. In rhe early rwenrierh cenrury,
revolurionary avanr-gardes like surrealism had arrempred ro
demolishrheresulranrdivisionberweenarrandlilebyspecracu-
lar acrs ol aesrheric will Bur rheir gesrures were lurile. no
emanciparion llowed lrom desrrucrion ol lorms or desublima-
rionolmeanings norcouldlilehaveever beenrransnguredby
rheabsorprionolarralone.Tharrequiredaconcurrenrrecovery
ol rhe resources ol science and moraliry roo, and rhe inrerplay
olallrhreeroanimarerhelile-world.
The projecr ol moderniry had yer ro be realized. Bur rhe
ourrighrarremprronegareir a counseloldespair hadlailed.
The auronomy olrhevalue-spheres could nor be rescinded, on
painolregression.Theneedwassrillroreappropriarerheexperr
culrures each had produced inro rhe language ol common

experience. Iorrhis,however,rheremusr be barriersro prorecr

rhe sponraneiry olrhe lile-world lrom rheincursions olmarker
lorces and ol bureaucraric adminisrrarion. Bur, Habermas
gloomily conceded, 'rhe chances lor rhis roday are nor very
good. More or less everywhere in rhe enrire Wesrern world a
climare has developed rhar lurrhers currenrs crirical ol culrural
modernism' . ` No less rhan r!ree disrincr brands ol conserva-
rismwerenowonoller.Theanri-modernismol'young'conserv-
arives appealed ro archaic, dionysiac powers againsr all
43 To his German listeners, Habermas explained that a condition of 'a differentiated
recoupling of modern culture with everyday praxis' was not just 'the ability of the
life-world to develop institutions capable of limiting the internal dynamics of the
economic and administrative action-systems' but 'also the guiding of social modern
ization along other, non-capitalist paths' - 'wenn auch die gesellschaftliche Moder
nisierung in and ere nichtkapitalistische Bahnen gelenkt wurden kann'. Speaking to
his American audience, Habermas discreetly dropped this clause, leaving only its
anodyne pendant. Compare 'Die Moderne - ein unvollendetes Projekt', p. 462 with
'Modernity - an Incomplete Project', p. 13.
38

CRYSTALLI ZATI ON
rarionalizarion,i narradirionrunninglrom BarailleroIoucaulr.
Thepre-modernism ol 'old' conservarives called lor a subsran-
rive cosmological erhics ol quasi-arisrorelian sramp, along
lines inrimared by Ieo Srrauss. The posrmodernism ol 'neo-
conservarives' welcomed rhe reincarion ol separare value-
spheresinroclosed domains olexperrise armoured againsrany
demandsolrhe lile-world, wirhconceprions olscienceclosero
rhose olrheearlyWirrgensrein, olpoliricsborrowedlrom Carl
Schmirr, olarrakinro rhose ol Corrlried Benn. In Cermany, a
lurking blend olanri- and pre-modernism haunred rhe counrer-
culrure, while an ominous alliance olpre- and posr-modernism
wasrakingshapeinrhepoliricalesrablishmenr.
Habermas's argumenr, compacr in lorm, was neverrheless a
curious consrrucrion. His dennirion ol moderniry, uncrirically
adopred lrom Weber, essenrially reduced ir ro mere lormal
diilerenriarionolvalue-spheres rowhichherhensubjoined,as
an Enlighrenmenr aspirarion, rheir reconngurarion as inrer-
communicaring resources in rhe lile-world, an idea loreign ro
Weber and hard ro derecr in rhe Auf klarung ,as disrincr lrom
Hegel\ irsell. Wharisclear enough,however,isrharrhe'projecr'
ol moderniry as he skerched ir is a conrradicrory amalgam ol
rwoopposireprinciples. specializarionandpopularizarion. How
was a synrhesis ol rhe rwo ar any srage ro be realized? So
denned,couldrheprojecreverbecomplered?Burilinrhis sense
ir looks less unnnished rhan unleasible, rhe reason lies in
Habermas'ssocialrheoryasawhole.
Ior rhe rensions ol aesrheric moderniry reproducein minia-
rure rhe srrains in rhe srrucrure ol his accounr ol capiralisr
socieries ar large. On rhe one hand, rhese are governed
/,
'sysrems' ol impersonal coordinarion, mediared by rhe stee
mechanismsolmoneyandpower,which cannorberecovere
any collecrive agency, on pain ol regressive de-diueretitiatn
ol separare insrirurional orders marker, adminisrrarion, lav,

erc. On rhe orher hand, rhe 'lile-world' rhar is inregrared by

inrer-subj ecrive norms, in which communicarive rarher rhan
insrrumenral acrion prevails, needs ro be prorecred lrom 'colo-
nizarion' by rhe sysrems wirhour, however, encroaching on
rhem. Whar rhis dualism rules our is any lorm ol pop-
ular sovereignry, in eirher a rradirional or radical sense. The
39
THE ORI GI NS OF POSTMODERNITY
sell-governmentollreelyassociatedproducersisolltheagenda.
Whatisleltisthevelleityolanimpossiblereconciliationoltwo
unequal domains. Ior the Habermas ol The Theory of Com
municative Action the 'public sphere' would be the democratic
siteolanannealingbetweenthetwo yetonewhosestructural
decline he traced long ago. In Modernity - an Incomplete
Project, thereisnomentionolit. Butithasitsechoinhissingle
positive example olwhat a reappropriation ol art in everyday
existence might look like. the portrayal ol young workers in
pre-war Berlin discussing the Pergamon altar in Peter Weiss's
Aesthetics of Resistance, reminiscent ol the 'plebeian' equiva-
lentsolthe bourgeoispublicsphereevoked intheprelacetohis
lamous study ol the latter. But, ol course, this is not only a
nctiveillustration.Theaestheticreleasedisolclassicalantiquity,
not modernity, set in a time, at that, belore the avant-gardes
hadaged.
Themal a propos canbetakenasanindexoltheunderlying
slippage in Habermas's argument. There is a basic disj uncture
between the phenomenon it starts byregistering the apparent
decline ol aesthetic modernism and the theme it goes on to
develop the overspecialization olvalue-spheres. The dynamic
ol science has clearly not been allected by the latter. Why
should art be? Habermas attempts noanswer. inlact, does not
even pose the question. The result is a yawning gap between
problem and solution. The waning olexperimental vitality lies
at one end olthe address, thereanimation olthe lile-world at
theother,andthereisvirtuallynoreasonedconnexionbetween
them. The misconstruction has its displaced symptom in the
lancilul taxonomy with which it ends. Whatever the criticisms
to be made oltheintellectual descentlrom Bataille to Ioucault
,there aremany\ , itcannotbyanystretcholtheimagination be
described as 'conservative'.Vice-versa,howeverneo-conservative
the progeny ol Wittgenstein, Schmitt or Benn, not to speak ol
thinkers like Bell, to castigate them asvehicles ol'postmodern-
ism' is peculiarly aberrant. they have typically been among its
nercestcritics. Toalnxthelabeltosuchloeswastantamountto
obnubilatingthepostmodernaltogether.
This was not to be Habermas's last word on the subject,
however. Iessnoticed, butmore substantialwasthelecture he
40
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CRYSTALLI ZATI ON
delivered on 'Modernand PostmodernArchitecture' inMunich
a year later. Here Habermas engaged with the real stronghold
olpostmodernaesthetictheory,displayinganimpressiveknowl-
edgeandpassionabouthissubject.Hestarted byobservingthat
the modernmovement in architecture the only unilying style
sinceneo-classicism spranglromthe spiritolthe avant-garde,
yet had succeeded in creating a classic tradition true to the
inspiration ol occidental rationalism. Today, it was under
widespread attack lor the monstrous urban blight ol so many
post-war cities. But 'is the real lace ol modern architecture
revealed in these atrocities, or are they distortions ol its true
spirit' ?``Toanswerthis question, itwas necessaryto look back
attheoriginsolthemovement.
Inthenineteenthcentury, theindustrial revolution hadposed
three unprecedented challenges to the art ol architecture. It
required the design ol new kinds ol buildings both cultural
,libraries, schools, opera-houses\ and economic , railway-
stations, department stores, warehouses, workers' housing\ , it
allorded new techniques and materials ,iron, steel, concrete,
glass\ , anditimposednew socialimperatives ,marketpressures,
administrative plans\ , in a 'capitalist mobilization ol all urban
living conditions'.`` These demands overwhelmed the architec-
ture olthe time, whichlailedto produce anycoherentresponse
tothem, disintegrating instead into eclectic historicism orgrim
utility. Reacting to this lailure in the early twentieth century,
the modern movement overcame the stylistic chaos and lacti-
tious symbolism ol late Victorian architecture, and set out to
translorm the totality ol the built environment, lrom the most
monun:ental and expressive edinces to the smallest and

practi cal.

+
In doing so, it met the nrst two challenges olthe nds

revolution triumphantly, with extraordinary lormal creati

Butitwasnever able to master thethird.Architecturalmodern-

ism, virtually lrom the start, vastly overestimated its ability to
'Moderne und postmoderne Architektur', collected in Die Neue Uniibersicht
lichkeit, Frankfurt 1985, p. 15; English translation in The New Conservatism,
Cambridge, Mass. 1989, p. 8.
45 'Mod erne und postmoderne Architektur', p. 1 8.
41
THE ORI GI NS OF POST MODERNITY
re-shape rhe urban environmenr. a miscalcularion lamously
expressedinrhehubrisolrheearly,uropianIeCorbusier.Alrer
rhe war, rhis srrain ol naivere rendered ir helpless belore rhe
pressures ol capiralisr reconsrrucrion, rhar led ro rhe desolare
ciryscapes lor which ir larer had ro shoulder rhe blame. Arrhe
end ol rhis irinerary, |ay rhe backlash ol rhe presenr scene. a
conservarivereversiontoneo-hisroricism ,Terry\,aviralisr quesr
lor communiry archirecrure , Kier\ , and rhe llamboyanr srage-
sers ol posrmodernism proper ,Hollein or Venruri\ . In all, rhe
uniry ol lorm and luncrion rhar had driven rhe projecr ol
modernismwasnowdissolved.
This was cerrainly a more relling accounr ol rhe lare ol
aesrhericmoderniry,inrhemosrsociallysensiriveolallrhearrs,
rhan rhe Iranklurr lecrure. Bur rhe Munich address, rhough
much richer and more precise, srill posed rhe same underlying
problem. Whar had ulrimarely caused rhe downlall in public
esreemolrhemodernmovemenrinarchirecrure?Onrhesurlace,
rhe answer was clear. irs inabiliry ro resisr or ourllank rhe
consrrainrs ol posr-war money and power. 'rhe conrradicrions
olcapiralisrmodernizarion', asHabermasaronepoinrpursir.
Burhowlarwas architecrural modernism wirringlyorunwir
ringly complicir wirhrhese imperarives ? Habermas accords ir
some responsibiliry, lor misundersranding irs own original
dynamic. Hisrorically, rhe roors ol modernism lay in rhree
responses to cubism in rhe neld ol pure design. Russian con-
srrucrivism,DeSrijl,andrhecirclearoundIeCorbusier.Experi-
menral lorm engendered pracrical luncrion, rarher rhan rhe
orher way round. Bur as rhe Bauhaus acquired dominance, ir
lorgor irs origins and misrepresenred rhe new archirecrure as
'luncrionalisr'. In rhe end, rhis conlusion lenr irsell all roo
readilyro exploirarion by developers andbureaucrars,commis-
sioningandnnancingbuildingsrharwereluncrionalrorhem.
Burrhis unseeing berrayal olirsell, however serious, was nor
rheelncienrcause olrhe impasse olmodernism. Tharlayinrhe
insuperableconsrrainrs olirssocialenvironmenr.Arnrsrglance,
Habermas here appearedrobeindicringrherurhlessspecularive
logic olposr-war capiralism, scarrering bruralolnce blocks and
46 Ibid., p.23.
42
<
!

+ ^
1
%
eR YSTALLl ZATI ON
j erry-builrhigh-rises acrossrhe urbanlandscape. Ilrhiswereso,
rhen a radical social reversal could be imagined, inwhich rhe
dicrares olpronrweresweprawayandrhe urbanlabric healed
byrhecollecriveenablingolanarchirecrure olshelrer, sociabil-
iry, beaury. This, however, is j usr whar Habermas ellecrively
rulesour.Iorrheulrimareerrorolmodernism,heexplains,was
norsomuch lack olvigilance rowards rhe marker, asroo much
rrusr in rhe plan. Nor rhe commands olcapiral, bur necessiries
olmoderniry rhe srrucrural dillerenriarion ol sociery, rarher
rhanrhe pursuirolrenrorpronr condemnedirrolrusrrarion.
'The uropia ol preconceived lorms ol lile rhar had already
inspired rhe designs ol Owen and Iouriercouldnor be realized,
noronlybecause ola hopeless underesrimarionolrhediversiry,
complexiryand variabiliry olmodernsocieries,bur also because
modernized socierieswithrheirluncrional inrerdependencies go
beyondrhedimensionsollivingcondirionsrharcouldbegauged
byrheimaginarionolrheplanner' . ``
Here, in orher words, recurs rhe schema rraced by rhe
Iranklurr address, derivedlromrhe same paralysed dualism ser
up by Habermas's rheory ol communicarion acrion. inviolable
sysrems and inoperarive lile-worlds. Bur rhere ar leasr rhe
possibiliryolsomerecoveryolleewaybyrhelarrerisnominally
kepr open. Here, Habermas draws rhe consequences lrom his
premises more implacably. Irwasnorj usrmodernisrdreamsol
a humaneciryrharwere impracricable. The very idea ola ciry
aralliscondemnedroobsolescencebyrheluncrionalexigencies
olimpersonalcoordinarion,rharrenderanyarremprro recreare
coherenrurbanmeaninglurile. Once,'rhecirycouldbearchirec _

rurally designed and menrally represenred as a comprche

habirat'. Bur wirh indusrrialism rhe ciry became
absrracrsysremswhichcouldnolongerbecapruredUC.s
inaninrelligiblepresence'.
Iromrhebeginning,prolerarianhousingcouldneverbe n.te
rared inro rhe merropolis, and as rime wenr on, prolilerar
sub-zones ol commercial or adminisrrarive acriviry dispersed

yerlurrher inro anungraspable,learurelessmaze. 'Thegraphics

Ibid., p.2J.
'"Ibid., p.25.
43
THE ORI GI NS OF POST MODERNI TY
olcompanyrrade-marks and neon adverrisemenrs demonsrrare
rhar dillerenriarion musr rake place by means orher rhan rhe
lormallanguageolarchirecrure'.Thereisnorurning back lrom
rhislare. 'Urban agglomerarionshaveourgrownrheoldconcepr
olrhe ciry we srill keep in our hearrs. However, rhar is neirher
rhe lailure ol modern archirecrure, nor ol any orher archirec-
rure'.Iriswrirreninrorhelogicolsocialdevelopmenr,beyond
capiral or labour, as a requiremenr ol moderniry irsell. Nor
nnancial accumularion bur sysremic coordinarion, rhar cannor
becancelled,rendersurbanspaceindecipherable.
Here rhe parhos ol Habermas's larer rheory, which simul-
raneously realnrms rhe ideals ol rhe Enlighrenmenr and denies
rhem anychanceolrealizarion,nndsirspuresrexpression.whar
mighr be called, inverring Cramsci's lormula, eudaemonism ol
rhe inrelligence, delearism ol rhe will. Habermas ends by
expressing a guarded symparhy lor vernacular currenrs in
archirecrure rhar encourage popular parriciparion in design
projecrs, asarrendwhereinsomeolrheimpulsesolrheModern
Movemenr delensively survive. Bur jusr as in rhe wider
counrer-culrure 'nosralgia lor de-dillerenriared lormsolexisr-
ence besrows on rhese rendencies an air ol anri-modernism'.
rheir racir appeal ro a Volksgeist recalls rhe dire example,
howeverdisrincrinmonumenralinrenrion,olNaziarchirecrure.
IlHabermasconcedes,wirhourenrhusiasm,rharrhereisagood
deal ol 'rrurh' in rhis lorm ol opposirion, wharhe does nor
cannor sayisrharrhereisanyhopeinir.
There,in rheaurumnolI9SI, marrers srood.Thirryyearsalrer
a sense ol ir was nrsr aired by Olson, rhe posrmodern had
crysrallized ascommonrelerenr and compering discourse. Inirs
origins, rheideawasalways brushed byassociarions beyond rhe
Wesr China, Mexico, Turkey, even larer, behind Hassan or
Iyorard lay Egypr and Algeria, and rhe anomaly ol Quebec.
Space was inscribed in ir lrom rhesrarr. Culrurally, ir poinred
beyondwharhad becomeolmodernism,burinwhardirecrion,
rherewasno consensus, onlya serolopposirionsgoing backro
49 Ibid., p.26.
50 Ibid., p.27.
44

'
.

CRYSTALLIZATI ON
De Onis, and in whar arrs or sciences, only disconnecred
inreresrs and criss-crossing opinions. The coincidenr inrerven-
rions olIyorardandHabermaslorrhe nrsrrimesealedrheneld
wirh rhe sramp ol philosophical aurhoriry. Bur rheir own
conrriburions wereeachstrangelyindecisive.Theoriginalback-
ground ol borh rhinkers was Marxisr, bur ir is srriking how
lirrle ol ir rhey broughr ro rheir accounrs ol posrmoderniry.
Neirher arrempred any real hisrorical inrerprerarion ol rhe
posrmodern, capable oldererminingirinrimeorspace. Insread,
rhey ollered more or less lloaring or vacanr signiners as rhe
mark olirs appearance. rhe delegirimarion ol grand narrarives
, dareless\ lor Iyorard, rhe colonizarion olrhe lile-world ,when
was ir nor colonized?\ lor Habermas. Paradoxically, a concepr
bydennirionremporallacksperiodicweighrineirher.
Nor isrhe haze rhar envelops rhererm as social developmenr
dispelled by irs usage as aesrheric caregory. Borh Iyorard and
Habermas were deeply arrached ro rhe principles ol high
modernism, bur lar lrom rhis commirmenr enabling rhem ro
bring posrmodernism inro sharper locus, ir seems ro have
occluded ir. Recoiling lrom unwelcome evidence ol whar ir
mighr mean, Iyorard was reduced ro denying rhar ir was orher
rhan an inner lold ol rhe modernism irsell. Habermas, more
willing ro engage wirh rhe arrs in view, could acknowledge a
passage lrom rhe modernro rhe posrmodern, bur was scarcely
ableroexplainir.Neirhervenruredanyexplorarionolposrmod-
ernlorms ro comparewirhrhe derailed discussions olHassan
or|encks.Thenerellecrwasa discursivedispersion. onrheone
hand,philosophical overview wirhour signincanr aesrheric con-
renr, on+heorheraesrhericinsighrwirhourcoherenr
horizon.1 rhemariccrysrallizarionhadoccurred rhe
ern was now, as Habermas pur ir, 'on rhe agenda' .+
inrellecrualinregrarion.
The neld, however, did display anorher kind oluniry. ir was
ideologicallyconsisrenr. The idea olrhe posrmodern, asir rook
holdinrhisconjuncrure,wasinonewayoranorheranappanage
ol rhe Righr. Hassan, lauding play and indererminacy as hall-
marksolrheposrmodern,madenosecrerolhis aversionrorhe
sensibiliry rhar was rheir anrirhesis. rhe iron yoke ol rhe Ielr.
|encks celebrared rhepassing olrhemodernasrhe liberarion ol
45

THE ORI GINS OF POST MODERNITY

consumer choice, a quierus ro planning in a world where
painrers could rrade as lreely and globally as bankers. Ior
Iyorard rhe very paramerers olrhe new condirion were ser by
rhe discrediring ol socialism as rhe lasr grand narrarlve
ulrimare version ol an emanciparion rhar no longer held mean-
ing. Habermas, resisring allegiance ro rhe posrmodern, lrom a
posirion srill on rhe Ielt, neverrheless conceded rhe idea ro rhe
Righr, consrruing ir as a ngure ol neo-conservarism. Common
roallwassubscriprionrorheprinciples olwharIyorard once
rhe mosr radical called liberal democracy, as rhe unsurpass-
ablehorizonolrherimeTherecouldbenothingburcapiralism.
Theposrmodernwasasenrenceonalrernariveillusions.
46

'

I '
l

4 1
f -
6
'
t !

J
Cupturc
Such was rhe siruarion when Iredric |ameson gave his nrsr
lecrure on posrmodernism in rhe lall ol I9S2. Two works had
esrablished him as rhe world's leading Marxisr lirerary criric,
alrhough he had already made rhe rerms roo resrricrive. Marx
ism and Form , I97I \ was an original reconsrrucrion, rhrough
srudies ol Iukacs, Bloch, Adorno, Benjamin and Sarrre, ol
virrually rhe complere inrellecrual canon ol Wesrern Marxism
berween History and Class Consciousness and rhe Critique of
Dialectical Reason, lrom rhe srandpoinr ol a conremporary
aesrherics rrue ro irs many-sided legacy. The Prison-House of
Language , I972\ oliered a complemenrary accounr ol rhe
linguisric model developed by Saussure and irs proj ecrions in
Russian lormalism and Irench srrucruralism, concluding wirh
rhesemioricsolBarrhesand Creimas. anadmiringbursrringenr
surveyolrhemerirs andlimirsolasynchronicrradirionrharset
irslaceagainsrrheremprarionsolremporaliry.
Sources
|ameson'sowncommirmenrsasacriricwerenrmand\Q
They are perhaps besr caprured byhisAlrerwordro Aesthetics
and Politics , I976\ , a volumecollecringrhe classicdebaresrhat

had ranged Iukacs, Brechr, Bloch, Benjamin and Adorno

againsr each orher. Ior |ameson, wriring j usr as norions ol
posrmodernismwerebeginningrocirculareinlireraruredeparr-
menrs, whar was ar srake in rheseexchangeswas 'rhe aesrheric
conllicr berweenrealism andmodernism,whosenavigarionand
47
THE ORI GINS OF POST MODERNITY
renegoriarioni ssrillunavoidablelorusroday' . 'Ileachrerained
irs rrurh, yer neirher could any longer be accepred as such, rhe
emphasis ol|ameson'saccounrlell,subrlyburumisrakeably, on
rhe unregarded side ol rhe opposirion. While noring rhe
denciencies olIukacs'sarremprro prolongrradirional lormsol
realism inro rhe presenr, he poinred our rhar Brechr could nor
berakensimplyasamodernisranridore,givenhisownhosriliry
ro purely lormal experimenrarion. Brechr and Benjamin had
indeedlookedrowards arevolurionaryarrcapableolappropri-
aring modern rechnology ro reach popular audiences while
Adornohadmorespeciouslyconrendedrharrhelormallogic ol
high modernism irsell, in irs very auronomy and absrracrion,
was rhe onlyrrue reluge ol polirics. Bur rhe posr-war develop-
menrolconsumercapiralismhadsrruckawayrhepossibiliryol
eirher. rhe enrerrainmenrsindusrrymockingrhe hopes olBrechr
or Benjamin, while an esrablishmenr culrure mummined rhe
exemplaolAdorno.
Theresulrwasapresenrinwhich'borhalrernarivesolrealism
andmodernismseeminrolerablerous.realismbecauseirslorms
reviveanolderexperienceolakindollilerharisnolongerwirh
usinrhealreadydecayedlurureolconsumersociery,modernism
because irs conrradicrions have in pracrice proved more acure
rhan rhose ol realism'. Precisely here, ir mighr be rhoughr, lay
an opening lor posrmodernism as rhe arr ol rhe age. Whar is
srriking inrerrospecr,however,is norsomuchrharrhisresolu-
rion is avoided. Ir is considered and rejecred. 'An aesrheric ol
novelry roday alreadyenrhroned asrhedominanrcrirical and
lormalideology musrseekdesperarelyrorenewirsellbyever
more rapid rorarions ol irs own axis, modernism seeking ro
become posrmodernism wirhour ceasing ro be modern. ' The
signs ol such involurion were rhe rerurn ol ngurarive arr, as a
represenrarion ol images rarher rhan rhings in phoro-realism,
andrherevival olinrrigueinncrion,wirhapasricheolclassical
narrarives. |ameson's conclusion was a calculared denance ol
rhis logic, rurningirsrerms againsrirsell. 'Incircumsranceslike
1 'Reflections in Conclusion' to Ernst Bloch et aI., Aesthetic and Politics, London
1977, p. 196; reprinted as 'Reflections on the Brecht-Lukacs Debate', in The
Ideologies of Theor, Vol 1 , Minneapolis 1988, p. 133.
48
7
I

'3

F
l

CAPTURE
rhese, rhere i s some quesrion wherher rhe ulrimare renewal ol
modernism, rhe nnal dialecrical subversionolrhe now auroma-
rizedconvenrionsolanaesrhericolperperualrevolurion, mighr
norsrmplybe. . . realismirsell! ' . Sincerhe esrranging rechniques
ol modernism had degenerared inro srandardized convenrions
ol culrural consumprion, ir was rheir 'habir ol lragmenrarion'
rharnowrrsellneeded robe esrrangedin somelreshlyroralizing
arr. The debares olrheinrer-warperiod rhus had a paradoxical
lessonlorrhepresenr. 'Inanunexpecreddenouemenr,irmaybe
Iukacs wrong as hemighrhave beeninrhe I93Os who has
rheprovisionallasrwordlorusroday' . Theconrradicrorylegacy
olrhoseyears leaves conremporarieswirh aprecise bur impon-
derablerask. 'Ircannorolcourserelluswharourconceprionol
realismoughrrobe,yerirs srudy makesirimpossiblelorusnor
roleelrheobligarionroreinvenrone' .
|ameson's inirial glimpse olposrmodernism rhus rended ro
see ir as rhe sign ol a kind ol inner deliquescence wirhin
modernism, rhe remedy lor which layin a new realism, yer ro
be imaglned. The rensions wirhin rhis posirion lound lurrher,
and srill more poinred expression inrhe programmaricessayhe
ub|rshed on 'The Ideology ol rhe Texr' ar virrually rhe same
rrme. Ior rhis crirical inrervenrion opens wirh rhe words. 'All
rhesrrawsinrhewindseem ro connrm rhe wide-spread leeling
rhar modernrimes are now over" and rhar somelundamenral
divide, some basic coupure orqualirariveleap,nowsepararesus
decisively lrom whar used ro be rhe new world ol rhe early
rwenrrerh cenrury, ol rriumphanr modernism' . Among rhe
phenomenarharresrinedro 'someirrevocabledisrancelromrhe
immediare asr' alongside rhe role olcompurers, ol
.
olderenre, and orhers was 'posrmodernism in lirerarure
arr'. All such shilrs, |ameson remarked, rended ro

ideologres olchange, usually apologeric incasr,where a

capable olconnecrrng rhe currenr 'grearrranslormarion' ro
long-range desriny olour socio-econonic sysrem' was needed.
2 Aesthetics and Politics, pp. 21 1-213; The Ideologies of Theor, Vol 2, Minnea-
polis 1988, pp. 1 45-147.
,
3 'The Ideology of the Text', Salmagundi, No 31-32, Fall 1975-Winter 1 976,
pp. 204-205; revised version, The Ideologies of Theory, Vol 1, pp. 17-1 8.
49
+
THE ORI GI NS OF POSTMODERNI TY
Onesuch ideology,olparricularinreresr andinlluence, wasrhe
currenrideaolrexrualiry.
TakingBarrhes'ssrudyolBalzac'snovellaSarrasine asexem-
plary olrhe newsryleollirerary analysis Barrhes himsellas a
'lever-charr' olsuccessiveinrellecruallashions |amesonargued
rhar ir could be read as a kind ol replay ol rhe realism
modernism conrroversy. Translormedby Barrhesinroan oppo-
sirion berweenrhelegibleandrhescriprible, rhedualiryencour-
aged censorious j udgemenrs ol realisr narrarives, whose
moralism luncrioned ascompensarionloraninabiliryrosiruare
lormal dillerences in a diachronic hisrory, wirhour ideological
praise or blame. The besr anridore ro such evaluarions was ro
'hisroricize rhe binary opposirion, by adding a rhird rerm' . Ior
'everyrhing changes, rhe momenr we envisage a belore" ro
realism irsell' mediaeval rales, renaissance novellas, which
reveal rhe peculiar moderniry ol ninereenrh cenrury lorms
rhemselves, as a uniqueand unrepearablevehicle olrheculrural
revolurionneededroadaprhumanbeingsrorhenewcondirions
ol indusrrial exisrence. ln rhis sense, 'realism and modernism
musr be seen as specinc and dererminare hisrorical expressions
ol rhe rype ol socio-economic srrucrures ro which rhey corre-
spond, namely classical capiralism andconsumercapiralism. ' ll
rhis was nor rhe place lor a lull Marxisr accounr ol rhar
sequence, 'ir cerrainly is rhe momenr ro square accounrs wirh
rhe ideology ol modernism which has given irs rirle ro rhe
presen ressay'.
The signincance ol rhis passage was ro lie in irs revlsion.
|ameson'ssuppleandingenious cririque olBarrhesneverrheless
lelr a derecrable lacuna berween irs inirial premise and such 3
conclusion. Ior 'The ldeology ol rhe Texr' had srarred by
regisrering a lundamenral divide berween rhe presenr and rhe
rime ol modernism, now dlaed 'over' . ll rhar inruirion was
righr, howcouldoneol:hesymproms olrhischange, rheidea
olrexrualiry, belirrle morerhananideologyolwharpreceded
ir? lr was rhis logical gap rhar, when he revised rhe essay lor
book publicarion rwelve years larer, |ameson moved ro close.
Here, rerrospecrively, can be locared wirh grear precision rhe
4 'The Ideology of the Text', Salmagundi, No 31-32, pp. 234, 242.
50

+
+
-3

:
1

+
'
i
!
1
+ ~
~ f
I

`
1
'
1

i
l
L*
-
CAPTURE
rhresho|d ro be crossed lor a rurn ro rhe posrmodern. De|ering
rhe passage above, henow wrore. 'Thearremptro unserr|e rhis
seeming
|y ineradicab|e dua|ism by adding a rhird rerm, in rhe
lorm ol some c|assica| " or pre-capira|isr - narrariveproved
ro have on|y parria| success, modilying Barrhes`s working
carego
ries bur nor his lundamenral hisrorica| scheme. Ler 1
rher
elore arrempr ro disp|ace rhis |asr in a diilerenr
way, by
lnrroducing a rhird rerm as ir were ar rhe orher end of irs
rempora| specrrum. The concepr ol
p
ostmodernism in lacr
incorporaresa|lrhelearuresolrheBarrhesianaesrheric`. `
Thiswasrheviewrhar, ranra|izing|yc|ose,sri||remainedj usr
our ol reach in rhe |are sevenries. Orher rexrs ol rhe period
hesirare ar rhe same lord. Whar enab|ed |ameson ro make rhe
passage wirh such brio ar rhe Whirney - delivering a comp|ere
rheory, virrua||y ar a srroke - a lew years |arer? Some ol rhe
sources ol rhe change in direcrion were |arer ro be nored by
|ameson himse|l, orhers remain a marrer ior conjecrure. The
hrsr and mosr imporranr |ay ID his owu iniria| sense ol rhe
nove|ryolposr-warcapira|ism.TheveryhrsrpagesolMarxism
and Form srressedrhe sunderingola||conrinuirywirh rhe pasr
by rhe new modes ol organizarion oIcapita|. 'The realiry wirh
which rhe Marxisr criricism olrhe I93O` shadro dea| was rhar
oasimp|erEuropeand America,whichno |ongerexisr.Such a
wor|d had more in common wirh the |ilelorms ol ear|ier
cenruries rhan ir does wirh our own`
.
The reced|ng ol c|ass
conhicr wirhin rhe merropo|is, whi|e vio|ence was pro|ecred
wirhour,rhcenormousweighrl adverrisingandmedia ianrasy
in suppressing rhe rea|iries ol dvision and exp|oirarion, rhe
disconnexion ol privare and pub|ic exisrence ~ a|| rhis
creared asocierywirhourprecedenr. 'Inpsycho|ogica|rerm
may say rhar as a service economy we are hencelorrh so _

removed lrom rhe rea|ines of producrion and work rhar

inhabir a dream wor|d ol arrihcia|srimu|iandre|evisedexper

ence.neverinanypreviouscivi|izarionhaverhegrearmeraphys-

ica| preoccuparions, rhelundamenra| quesrions ol being and oI

rhemeaningol|ile,seemedsourrerlyremoreandpoinr|ess' .
The Ideologies of Theory, Vol l , p. 66. Written in the late eighties.
Marxism and Form, Princeton 1971, pp. xii-xiii.
i

THE ORI GI NS OF POST MODERNITY

Here, righr lrom rhe srarr, can beseenrhe origins olrhemes
rhar were ro ngure so largely in |ameson's larer work on
posrmodernism. Twoinlluences, byhis own accounr, helpedro
developrhem,enablinghimrosrageeachroquirenewellecrin
rhe eighries. One was rhe publicarion ol Ernesr Mandel's Late
Capitalism, which ol|ered rhe nrsr sysremaric rheory ol rhe
hisrory ol capiral ro appear since rhe war, providingrhe basis
empirical and conceprual lor undersranding rhe presenr as a
qualirarivelynewconngurarionin rherrajecroryolrhis mode ol
producrion. |ameson was ro express his debr ro rhis parh-
breaking work on many occasions. A second lesser, rhough
srill signincanr srimulus came lrom Baudrillard's wriring on
rhe role olrhe simulacrumin rheculruralimaginary olconrem-
porary capiralism. ` ThIs\as a line ol rhinking |ameson had
anricipared, bur Baudrillard' srime in SanDiegowhen|ameson
was reaching rhere cerrainly had an impacr on him. The
dillerence, olcourse,isrharbyrhisdareBaudrillard originally
close ro rhe Siruarionisrs vehemenrly dismissed rhe Marxisr

legacyrharMandelseroutrodevelop.
Anorherkindolcaralysrcanprobablyberracedro|ameson's
deparrure lor Yale ar rhe end ol rhe sevenries. Ior rhis, ol
course, wasrheuniversirywhoseArrandArchirecrure building,
designed by Paul Rudolph, doubling as dean ol rhe school ol
archirecrure, had been singled our byVenrurias an epirome ol
rhe null bruralism inro which rhe Modern Movemenr had
declined, and where Venruri, Scully and Moore all raughr
rhemselves. |ameson rhus loundhimsellin rhe vorrex olarchi-
recrural conllicrs berween rhe modern and rhe posrmodern. ln
good-humouredlyrecordingrharrhiswasrhearrrharawakened
For Jameson's acknowledgement of these sources, see 'Marxism and Postmodern
ism', in The Cultural Turn - Selected Writings on the Postmodern, 1 983-1998,
London-New York 1998, pp. 34-35. Baudrillard presents a special case for any
genealogy of the postmodern. For although his ideas certainly contributed to its
crystallization, and his style can be regarded as paradigmatic of its form, he himself
has never theorized postmodernism, and his single extended pronouncement on it is
a virulent repudiation: see 'The Anorexic Ruins', in D. Kamper and C. Wulf (eds),
Looking Back at the End of the World, New York 1989, pp. 41-42. This is a
thinker whose temper, for better or worse, is incapable of assent to any notion with
collective acceptation.
52

*
' ?
I
'

CAPTURE
himlrom 'dogmaric slumbers',|amesonnodoubrrelersrorhis
serring. lr mighr be berrer ro say rhar ir released him lor rhe
visual. Up ro rhe eighries, |ameson had concenrrared his arren-
rion allburexclusivelyon lirerarure. Therurnroa rheoryolrhe
posrmodern was, arrhe same srroke, ro be an arresring shilrro
rhe
range
ol arrs nearly rhe lull range beyond ir. This
involvedno drilrolpoliricalmoorings.lnrheimmediarecaseol
rhe builr environmenr, he had a signincanr resource ro hand
wirhin rhe legacy ol Wesrern Marxism in rhe work ol Henri
Ielebvre anorher guesr in Calilornia. |ameson was perhaps
rhenrsr ourside Irance ro make good use olIelebvre's corpus
olsuggesriveideas onrheurbanandsparialdimensionsolposr-
warcapiralism, as hewaslarerquickroregisrerrhelormidable
archirecrural wriring olrhe Venerian criric Manlredo Taluri, a
MarxisrolmoreAdorniansramp.
Iinally rhere was perhaps rhe direcr provocarion posed by
Iyorard himsell.When an Englishrranslarion olLa Condition
Postmoderne was ar lengrh ready in I 9S2, |ameson was asked
ro wrire an inrroducrion ro ir. Iyorard's assaulr on mera-
narrarives mighrhavebeen aimedspecincally arhim. Iorjusra
year belore he had published a major work ol lirerary rheory,
The Political Unconscious, whose cenrral argumenr was rhe
mosr eloquenr and express claim lor Marxism as a grand
narrarive ever made. 'Only Marxism can give us an adequare
senseolrhe essenrialmystery olrhe culruralpasr',hewrore~ a
'mysrery [rhar] can only bereenacredilrhe human advenrure is
one'. Only hus could such long-dead issues as a rribal rran-
shumance, a rheological conrroversy, clashes in rhe polis, duels
in ninereenrh cenrury parliamenrs, come alive again.
marrers can recover rheir urgency lor usonlyilrhey are rer:
wirhin rhe uniry ol a single grear collecrive srory, only iI
howeverdisguisedandsymbolicalorm,rheyareseenassn
a single lundamenral rheme lor Marxism, rhe collec

r
srrugglerowresrarealmolIreedomlromarealmolNecessiry,
only il rhey are grasped as viral episodes in a single vasr
unnnishedplor'.WhenIyorardlaunchedhisarrack,noMarx-
isrhadeveracruallypresenredMarxismasinessenceanarrarive
8
The Political Unconscious, Ithaca 1981, pp. 19-20.
53
THE ORI GI NS OF POSTMODERNITY
irwas more commonly undersrood as ananalyric. Bur rwo
years larer, as il on demand, |ameson ollered exacrly whar
Iyorard hadsupposed.
Burilinrhis senseThe Postmodern Condition musr,whenhe
came upon ir, have been rhe mosr direcrchallengero |ameson
conceivable, anorherside olIyorard' sargumenrwasuncannily
similar ro his own. Iorrhepremiseolborhrhinkers spelrour,
ilanyrhing,evenmoreempharicallybyIyorardrhan|ameson -
was rhar narrarive was a lundamenral insrance ol rhe human
mind.Theprovocarion olIyorard's accounrolposrmoderniry
musrrhus ro some exrenralso have acred as an ambivalenrloil
lor|ameson, quickening his own rellecrions onrhe subjecr. The
dilnculr rask olinrroducing a work wirh whose overall srance
hecanhavehad solirrlesymparhy,heacquirredwirhgraceand
guile. Iyorard's case was cerrainly srriking. Bur in irs concen-
rrarion on rhe sciences, ir said lirrle abour developmenrs in
culrure, and was nor very lorrhcoming abour polirics, or rheir
groundinchangesinsocio-economiclile.'Herewasrheagenda
rowhich|amesonwouldnowrurn.
Five Moves

The lounding rexr which opens The Cultural Turn, |ameson's

lecrure ro rhe Whirney Museum ol Conremporary Arrs in rhe
lall ol I9S2, which became rhe nucleus ol his essay 'Posrmod-
ernism rhe Culrural Iogic ol Iare Capiralism' published in
New Left Review inrhe spring olI9S4,redrewrhewholemap
ol rhe posrmodern ar one srroke a prodigious inaugural
gesrure rhar has commanded rhe neld ever since. Iive decisive
movesmarkedrhis inrervenrion. Thenrsr, andmosrlundamen-
ral, came wirh irs rirle ~ rhe anchorage ol posrmodernism in
obj ecrive alrerarions olrhe economic order olcapiralirsell. No
9 For Lyotard, not only was 'narration the quintessential form of customary
knowledge' before the arrival of moder science, but 'the little narrative remains
the quintessential form of imaginative invention, most particularly in science': La
Condition Postmoderne, pp. 38 and 98; The Postmodern Condition, pp. 19 and 60;
while Jameson viewed 'story-telling as the supreme function of the human mind':
The Political Unconscious, p. 123.
10 'Foreword' to The Postmodern Condition, pp. xii-xv.
54

CAPTURE
longer mere aesrheric break orepisremological shilr, posrmod-
erniry becomes rheculrural signal ola newsrageinrhehisrory
olrheregnanrmode olproducrion. lr is srriking rharrhis idea,
belore which Hassanhad hesirared andrhenrurned away,was
quire loreign ro Iyorard and Habermas, alrhough borh came
lromMarxisrbackgroundsbynomeansalrogerherexrincr.
Ar rhe Whirney, rhe rerm 'consumer sociery' acred as a kind
olpreliminary range-nnder lor a survey ar higher resolurion ro
come.lnrhe subsequenr version, lorNew Left Review, rhe'new
momenr ol mulri-narional capiralism' came more lully inro
locus. Here |ameson poinred ro rhe rechnological explosion ol
modern elecrronics, and irs role as leading edge ol pronr and
innovarion, rorheorganizarionalpredominanceolrransnarional
corporarions, oursourcing manulacruring operarions ro cheap-
wage locarions overseas, ro rhe immense increase in rhe range
olinrernarional specularion, and ro rhe rise olmedia conglom-
erares wielding unprecedenred power across communicarions
and borders alike. These developmenrs had prolound conse-
quences lor every dimension ol lile in advanced indusrrial
counrries business cycles, employmenrparrerns, classrelarion-
ships, regional lares, polirical axes. Bur in a longer view, rhe
mosr lundamenral change ol all lay in rhe new exisrenrial
horizon ol rhese socieries. Modernizarion was now all bur
complere, oblireraringrhe lasrvesrigesnoronly olpre-capiralisr
social lorms, bur every inracr narural hinrerland, ol space or
experience,rharhadsusrainedorsurvivedrhem.
In a universe rhus ablured olnarure, culrure has necessarily
expandedrorhepoinrwhereirhasbecomevirruallycoexrensive
wirh rheeconomyirsell, normerelyasrhesympromaricbasis

some ol rhe largesr indusrries in rhe world rourism

exceeding allorher branches olglobalemploymenr bur
more deeply, as every marerial objecr and immarerial
becomes inseparably rracrable sign and vendible
Culrure in rhis sense, asrhe inescapablerissue ollile under lare
capiralism, is now our second narure. Where modernism drew
irs purpose and energies lrom rhe persisrence olwhar was nor
yermodern,rhelegacyolasrillpre-indusrrialpasr,posrmodern-
ismsigninesrheclosureolrhardisrance,rhesarurarionolevery
pore ol rhe world in rhe serum ol capiral Marked our by no
55
THE ORI GI NS OF POSTMODERNITY
srarkpoliricalcaesura,nosuddensrorminrhehisroricalheavens,
rhis 'very modesr or mild apocalypse, rhe meresr sea-breeze'''
represenrsamomenrousrranslormarioninrheunderlying srruc-
ruresolconremporarybourgeoissociery.
Wharhavebeenrheconsequencesolrhischangeinrheobjecr-
world lor rhe experience ol rhe subjecr? |ameson's secopd
disrincrive move was explorarion ol rhe merasrases ol rhe
p_s new conjuncrure. Inirially broached as rerse
commenrary on rhe 'dearh olrhe subjecr', his developmenr ol
rhis rheme soon became perhaps rhe mosr lamous ol all lacers
ol his consrrucrion ol rhe posrmodern. In a series ol arresring
phenomenological descriprions, |ameson skerched rhe Lebens
welt characrerisric olrherime, asrhe sponraneouslormsolrhe
posrmodernsensibiliry.Thiswasapsychiclandscape,heargued,
whose ground had been broken by rhe grear rurmoil ol rhe
sixries when so many rradirional casings ol idenriry were
broken aparr by rhe dissolurion olcusromary consrrainrs bur
now, alrer rhe polirical delears ol rhe sevenries, purged ol all
radical residues. Among rhe rrairs ol rhe new subjecriviry, in
lacr, was rhe lso

+n,ucrivc scuse oI!is(qy, eirl:;as hope

![

r. The charged sense olrhe pasr as eiher zged

ol repressive rradirions, or reservoir ol rhwarred dreams, and
heighrenedexpecrancy olrhe lurure as porenrial caraclysm or
rransngurarion which had characrerized modernism, was
gone. Ar besr, lading backinro a perperualpresenr, rerro-sryles
andimagesprolileraredassurrogaresolrheremporal.
Inrhe ageolrhesarellireandopricalnbre,onrhe orherhand,
rhe sparial commands rhis imaginary as never belore. The
elecrronicunincarionolrheearrh,insriruringrhesimulraneiryol
evenrs acrossrheglobe as daily specracle, has lodged avicarious
geography in rhe recesses ol every consciousness, while rhe
encirclingnerworksolmulrinarionalcapiralrhar acruallydirecr
rhe sysrem exceed rhe capaciries olany perceprion. The ascen-
dency olspace over rime in rhe make-up olrhe posrmodern is
rhusalwaysoll-balance.rherealiriesrowhichiranswersconsri-
rurively overpowering ir ~ inducing, |ameson suggesrs in a
celebrared passage, rhar sensarionwhich is only ro be caprured
Postmodernism, or, the Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism, Durham 1991, p. xiv.
56

'

CAPTURE
by a sardonic updaring olrhe lesson olKanr. rhe 'hysrerical
sublim
e' .
Convenrionally hysreria denores anoverpirching ol emorion,
a hall-conscious leigningolinrensiryrhe berrerroconcealsome
inner numbness ,or psychoanalyrically, rhe orher way round\ .
Ior|ameson, rhis i sa general condirionolposrmodern experi-
ence,markedby a'waningolallecr'rharensuesasrhe bounded
sell ol old begins ro lray. The resulr is a new deprhlessness ol
rhe subjecr, nolonger heldwirhinsrable paramerers, where rhe
regisrers ol high and low are unequivocal. Here, by conrrasr,
psychic lile becomes unnervingly accidenred and spasmodic,
marked by sudden dips ol level orlurches olmood, rharrecall
somerhingolrhelragmenrarionolschizophrenia.Thisswerving,
srammeringlluxprecludes eirhercarhexis or hisroriciry. Signin-
canrly, ro rhe vacillarions ol libidinal invesrmenrin privare lile
has corresponded an erosion ol generarional markers in public
memory, as rhe decades sincerhe sixrieshave rended rollarren
our inro a learureless sequence subsumed under rhe common
rosrer olrheposrmodernirsell. Bur ilsuch disconrinuiryweak-
ens rhe sense ol dillerence berween periods ar rhe social level,
irs ellecrs arelar lrommonorone arrhe individual level. There,
on rhe conrrary, rhe rypical polariries ol rhe subjecr run lrom
rhe elarion ol rhe 'commodiry rush', rhe euphoric highs ol
specraror or consumer, ro rhe dejecrion ar rhe borrom ol 'rhe
deeper nihilisric void olour being',asprisonersolan order rhar
resisrsanyorherconrrolormeaning.
Having ser our rhe lorce-neld olposrmoderniry in srrucrural
changesollarecapiralism,andapervasiveladderingolidenriries
underrhem,|amesoncouldmakehisrhirdmove, onrhererrain
ol culrure irsell. Here his innovation vas ropical. Hi

every sounding ol rhe posrmodern had been secroral. :-
and Iiedler had derecred ir in literarure, Hassan enlarged
painring and music, il more by allusion rhan by explorarion,
|encks concenrrared on archirecrure, Iyorard dwelr onscience,
Habermas rouched onphilosophy.|ameson'swork has been oi
anorher scope a maj esric expansion olrhe posrmodern across
virrually rhe whole specrrum ol rhe arrs, and much ol rhe
Postmodernism, pp. 317.
57
THE ORI GI NS OF POST MODERNITY
discourse llanking rhem. The resulr is anincomparably richer
andmorecomprehensivemuralolrheagerhananyorherrecord
olrhisculrure.
Archirecrure, rhe spur ro|ameson'srurnbeyondrhe modern,
has always remained ar rhe cenrre ol his vision ol whar
succeeded ir. His nrsrexrended analysis ola posrmodernwork
was rhe grear ser-piece on Porrman's Bonaventure horel in Ios
Angeles, whosedeburisro beloundbelow onrheevidenceol
cirarion, rhe mosrmemorablesingle exercisein allrhe lirerarure
on posrmodernism. |ameson's larer medirarions have picked a
deliberare parh rhrough a crowded neld ol candidares lor
commenrary. nrsr Cehry, rhen Eisenmann and Koolhaas. The
paramounrcyolspaceinrhecaregoricallrameworkolposrmod-
ern undersranding, as he read ir, more or less ensured rhar
archirecrure wouldhave pride olplaceinrheculruralmurarion
ol lare capiralism ar large. Here, |ameson has consisrenrly
argued, explosive energies ol invenrion have been released,ina
range ol lorms lrom rhe spare ro rhe sumpruous, rhar no rival
arrroday canmarch,whilearrhesamerime also nguring, more
graphically rhan any orher arr, dillerenr kinds ol subsumprion
rorhenewworldeconomicsysrem, orarremprsroeludeir~ nor
onlyin rhepracrical dependence olirs airporrs, horels, bourses,
museuns,villasorminisrriesonesrimaresolpronrorwhimsol
presrige,burinrherangibiliryolirsshapesrhemselves.
Nexr in rhe sysrem ol posrmodern arrs comes rhe
+ )0
l
Surprising rhough irmay seem inrerrospecr,nlm was aconspic-
uous absence in earlier discussion ol posrmodernism. Norrhar
rhis silence was quire inexplicable. The principal reason lor ir
can probably be lound in a lamous remark ol Michael Iried.
'rhe cinema is nor, even ar irs mosr experimenral, a modernisr
arr'. He meanr in parr rhar nlm, as rhe mosr mixed ol all
mediums, was debarred lromrhar drivero apuriryolpresence
specinc ro each arr, absolved ol relerence ro any orher, rhar
Creenberghadheldro be rheroyalroad olrhe modern. Burrhe
j udgemenr could be raken in anorher, more widely lelr sense.
IorhadnorrherriumpholHollywoodrealismacruallyreversed
'''Art and Objecthood', Artforum, June 1 967; reprinted in G. Battcock (ed),
Minimal Art, Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1 995, p. 141.
58
CAPTURE
rhe rrajecroryolmodernism,Technicolor banishing rhe audaci-
riesolsilenrcinemarorhepre-hisroryolrheindusrry? Such, ar
anyrare,wasrhechallengerhar|amesoncamerorakeup.
His inirial inreresr was caughr by a nlmic genre rhar he
evenrually dubbed wirh a suggesrive oxymoron 'nosralgia lor
rhe presenr' . nlms like Body Heat or iu anorher key Star Wars,
oryeragainBlue Velvet, rharexpressevenmoredeeplyrhanrhe
waveolmode retro moviesproper- overrwodecades olourpur
now, lrom American Grafti ro Indochine rhe peculiarly
posrmodern loss olany sense olrhe pasr, in a hidden conrami-
narion olrhe acrual by rhe wisrlul, a rimeyearning lor irsellar
an imporenr, coverr remove. Il such lorms, surrogares or dis-
placemenrs olrrueperiodicmemory,rrace a corruprion olrhe
remporal, orhergenrescanbereadasresponsesrorhearrivalol
rheulrra-sparial.aboveall,rheconspiracynlm Videodrome or
The Parallax View, inrerprered as blind allegories olrheunre-
presenrable roraliry ol global capiral and irs impersonal ner-
worksolpower.
In due course, |ameson proceeded ro rhe luller rheorizarion
olrhehisroryolrhecinemawhichlayinrhelogicolhisenquiry.
There were rwo separare cycles in rhe developmenr olrhis arr,
he argued. Silenr nlm had indeed lollowed a parhlron realism
ro modernism, il one by reason ol irs riming as a rechnical
possibiliry our ol rhyrhm wirh rhe move lrom narional ro
imperialcapiralismrhar orherwisepresided over rhis rransirion.
Bur rhis developmenrwas cur ollby sound belore rhere could
be any chance ol a posrmodern momenr. A second cycle rhen
recapirulared rhe same phases ar a new rechnological level,
Hollywoodinvenringa screen realism wirha panoply olnarra-
rivegenresandvisualconvenrions allirsown,andrheEur
arr cinema ol rhe posr-war years producing a lresh wa
high modernism. Il rhe posrmodern cinema rhar had
appeared was sramped by rhe compulsions ol nosralgia,
lorrunes olrhe moving image in rhis periodwere by no means

locked on rhem alone. Indeed,videowasmorelikely ro emerge

as rhe peculiarly posrmodern medium wherher in rhe
dominanr lorms ol commercial relevision, in which enrerrain-
menr and adverrising were now virrually lused, or in rhe
opposirional pracrices ol underground video. Inevirably, rhe
59
THE ORI GI NS OF POST MODERNI TY
criricism olrhe lururewouldhaveroconcernirsellincreasingly
wirhrhese.
The world ol graphic design and adverrising, in rurn, now
increasingly inrerpenerrared wirh rhe nne arrs, as impulse ro
sryle or source ol marerial. ln picrorial space, posrmodern
dprhlessss had lound perlecred expression in rhe enervared
succs ofWarhol'swork, wirhrheir hypnorically empryalrer-
imagesolrhelashionpage, rhesupermarkershell, rherelevision
screen. Here |ameson was ro srage rhe mosr bravura ol all
juxraposirions berween high modern and posrmodern, in a
comparison ol Van Cogh's peasanr boors, emblems ol earrhly
labour redeemed in a pyre olcolour, and one olWarhol's sers
ol pumps, virreous simulacra wirhour rone or ground, sus-
pended in anicy void. The arrival olPopArrhad, inlacr,long
beennoredby|amesonasabaromerricwarningolarmospheric
changes under way presages ol a wider culrural anri-cyclone
ro come. Oncelullyin rhe posrmodern, however, his arrenrion
movedropracricesrharsoughrro ourrangerheconvenrionsrhis
momenrhadlelrbehind,inaconceprualarrbreakinglreeolrhe
picrorial lrame alrogerher. lnrhe insrallarions olRoberrCober,
reveries olunplaceable communiry, and Hans Haacke, barrle-
kirs ol lorensic insurgency, alrernarive kinds ol imaginarion
owing somerhing ro Emerson or Adorno wresr uropian
clearances our ol rhe clausrral pressures ol rhe posrmodern
irsell.
Such radical energies, released as rhe boundaries berween
painring and sculprure, building and landscape increasingly
dissolve, belong ro a wider producriviry, observable in many
more pliable lorms. Peculiar ro rhis culrure, |ameson remarks,
is a privilege olrhevisual rhar marks ir olllrom highmodern-
ism, in which rhe verbal srill rerained mosr ol irs ancienr
aurhoriry. Nor rhar lirerarure has been less aliecred by rhe
change olperiod, bur in|ameson's view less original work has
been generared by ir. Ior here, perhaps morerhanin any orher
arr, rhe mosr insisrenr moril ol rhe new was a playlul or
porrenrous parasirismonrheold. ln|ameson'srexrs,rhename
ol rhis device is _as_e. The source ol rhis usage lay in
Adorno's cririque olwhat he rook ro be rhe regressive eclecri-
cism ol Srravinsky in The Philosophy of Modern Music; bur
60
1

CAPTURE
|amesongaveiramorepoinreddennirion. Pasrichewasa'blank
parody', wirhour sariric impulse, ol rhe sryles ol rhe pasr.
Spreading lrom archirecrure ro nlm, painring ro rock-music, ir
hadbecomerhemosrsrandardizedsignarureolrheposrmodern,
acrosseveryarr.Burirmighrbearguedrharncrionwasnowrhe
domain ol pasriche par excellence. Ior here mimicry ol rhe
deluncr, unhampered by building codes or box olnce con-
srrainrs, could shulllenoronlysrylesburalsoperiodsrhemselves
ar will revolving and splicing 'arrincial' pasrs, blending rhe
documenrary and lanrasric, prolileraring anachronisms, in a
massive revival ol - whar musr perlorce srill be rermed rhe
hisrorical novel. |ameson sporred rhis lorm ar irs inceprion, in
an elegiac reading ol Docrorow's polirical ncrions ola radical
Americanpasr, now lorgorren,whererheimpossibiliry olhold-
ing sready any hisrorical relerenr shadows rhe very eclipse rhe
novelsmourn.
Alongside rhese changes in rhe arrs, and somerimes indeed
direcrly ar workwirhin rhen, rhe discoursesrradirionallycon-
cerned wirh rhe culrural neld have undergone an implosion ol
rheir own. Whar were once rhe sharply separare disciplines ol
arrhisrory,lirerarycriricism, sociology, polirical science,hisrory
srarred ro lose rheir clear edges, and crosswirh each in hybrid,
rransverse enquiries rhar could no longer easily be allorred ro
one or orher domain. The work ol Michel Ioucaulr, |ameson
nored,wasa loremosrexampleolsuchanunassignableoeuvre.
Whar was replacing rhe old divisions ol rhe disciplines was a
new discursIve phenomenon, besr indicared by irs American
shorr-hand. 'Theory'.Thedisrincrivelormolmucholrhiswork
rellecredrheincreasingrexrualizarionolirs objecrs whar.e..l
be called a revival, immensely more versarile, ol rhe anc
pracrice ol 'commenrary'. Ieading examples ol rhis sty
lirerarysrudieswere rhe deconsrrucrivewriring olPaul
and rhe 'new hisroricism' ol Walrer Benn Michael, bodies L1
work |ameson has submirred ro admiring bur severe criricism,
wirhour rej ecring rhe developmenr irsell ol which his own
workonAdorno couldin manyways be regarded as a remark-
ableexample.
Beyondirs immediare ellecrs, wharrhis reorganizarion olrhe
inrellecrual neld signalled was a more lundamenral break. The
61
THE ORI GI NS OF POS T MODERNITY
hallmark ol moderniry, Weber had classically argued, was
srrucrural dillerenriarion. rhe auronomizarion ol pracrices and
values, once closely mingled in social experience, inro sharply
separare domains.ThisisrheprocessrharHabermashasalways
insisred cannor be cancelled, on pain olrerrogression. On such
premises, rhere could be no more ominous symprom ol some
cracking inrhemodernrhanrhebreak-downolrhesehard-won
divisions. Thiswasrheprocess Iriedhadloreseen andlearedin
I967. A decade larer, ir had nor jusr spread lrom rhe arrs inro
rhe humaniries or social sciences, bur wirh rhe arrival ol rhe
philosophical posr-card and rhe conceprual neon-sign, was
eroding rhe line berweenrhem.Wharposrmoderniry seemedro
spell was somerhing rhe grear rheorisrs ol modernizarion had
ruledour.anunrhinkablede-dillerenriarionolculruralspheres.
Anchorage olposrmodernism in rhe rranslormarions olcapi-
ral, probing ol rhe alrerarions ol rhe subjecr, exrension ol rhe
span ol culrural enquiry ~ alrer rhese, |ameson could make a
logicallourrhmove.Wharwererhesocialbasesandgeopolirical
parrern ol posrmodernism? Iare capiralism remained a class
sociery, burnoclasswirhinirwasquirerhesameasbelore.The
immediare vecror ol posrmodern culrure was cerrainly ro be
lound in rhe srrarum ol newly allluenr employees and pro-
lessionals creared by rhe rapid growrh ol rhe service and
specularive secrors ol rhe developed capiralisr socieries. Above
rhis brirrle yuppie layer loomed rhe massive srrucrures ol
mulrinarional corporarionsrhemselves~ vasrservo-mechanisms
ol producrion and power, whose operarions criss-cross rhe
globaleconomy,and derermineirsrepresenrarions in rhecollec-
rive imaginary. Below, as an older indusrrial order is churned
up, rradirional class lormarions have weakened, while seg-
menredidenririesandlocalizedgroups,rypicallybasedonerhnic
or sexual dillerences, mulriply. On a world scale ~ in rhe
posrmodernepoch, rhe decisive arena~ nosrableclasssrrucrure,
comparablero rharolan earliercapiralism, has yercrysrallized.
Those above have rhe coherence olprivilege, rhose below lack
uniry and solidariry. A new 'collecrive labourer' has yer ro
emerge. These are condirions, srill, ol a cerrain verrical
indennirion.
Ar rhe same rime, rhe sudden horizonralenlargemenr olrhe
62

CAPTURE
s
ysrem
, wirh rhe inregrarion lor rhe hrsr rime olvirrually rhe
whole planer inro rhe world marker, means rhe enrry ol new
peoples onro rhe global srage, whose human weighr is rapidly
inc
reasing. The aurhoriry ol rhe pasr, consranrly dwlndllng
under pressures ol economic innovarion in rhe Iirsr World,
sinks inanorher waywirh demographic explosion inrheThird
World, aslreshgenerarionsolrhe livingcomeroournumberall
rheleglonsolrhedead.This expansionolrhe boundsolcapiral
inevirably dilures irs srocks olinheriredculrure. The resulr is a
characrerisric drop in 'level` wirh rhe posr modern. The culrure
ol modernism was inescapably elirisr. produced by isolared
exiles, disallecred minoriries, inrransigenr vanguards. An arr
ca
sr in heroic mould, ir was consrirurively opposirional. nor
sim
ply llouring convenrions ol rasre, bur more signihcanrly,
delyingrhesolicirarionsolrhemarker.
The culrure ol posrmodernism, |ameson has argued, is by
conrrasrlarmore demoric.Iorhere anorher and moresweeping
sorr ol de-dillerenriarion has been ar work. The bypassing ol
borders berween rhehnearrshas usually been a gesrure inrhe
unaccommodaring rradirion olrheavanr-garde. Thedissolurion
ol
lronriers berween 'high' and 'low' genres in rhe culrure ar
large, celebrared by Iiedler already ar rhe end ol rhe sixries,
answered ro a dillerenr logic. Irom rhe srarr, irs direcrion was
unequivocallypopulisr. lnrhis respecrrheposrmodernhas been
marked by newparrernsolborhconsumprion and producrion.
On rhe one hand, lor example, leading works ol hcrion ~
boosred by !avish adverrising and prize-publiciry~ could regu-
larly hir rhe besrseller lisrs, il nor rhe wide screen, in a way
earlier impossible. Onrhe orher, a signincanr range ollir r H
excluded groups ~ women, erhnic and orher minoriries,
granrs~ gainedaccessro rhe posr modernlorms, broadening
basis ol arrisric ourpur considerably. u qualiry, some
. -
ellecrwasundeniable.rherimeolrhegrearindividualsignarurc
and masrer-works olmodernismwas over. lnparrrhisrellecred
an overdue reacrion againsr norms ol charisma rhar were now
anachronisric. Buriralsoexpressedanewrelarionrorhemarker
~ rhe exrenr ro which rhis was a culrure ol accompanimenr,
rarherrhananragonism,rorheeconomicorder.
Therein, however, laypreciselyrhepowerolrheposrmodern.
63
THE ORI GI NS OF P OST MODERNITY
Whereas i nirs heyday modernism hadnever been much more
rhan an enclave, |ameson poinrs our, posrmodernism is now
hegemonic. This did nor mean ir exhausrs rhe neld ol culrural
producrion.Anyhegemony, asRaymondWilliams insisred,was
a 'dominanr'rarherrhanaroralsysrem,onevirruallyensuring
because olirs selecrive dennirions olrealiry rhe coexisrence ol
'residual' and 'emergenr' lorms resisranr ro ir. Posrmodernism
was a dominanr olrhis kind, and no more. Bur rhar was vasr
enough. Ior rhis hegemony was no local aliair. Ior rhe nrsr
rime,irwasrendenriallyglobalin scope. Norasapurecommon
denominaror olrhe advanced capiralisr socieries, however, bur
asrhe projecrion olrhe power ol one olrhem. 'Posrmodernism
may be said ro be rhe nrsr specincally Norrh American global
sryle'. '`
ll rhese were rhe principal coordinares ol rhe posrmodern,
whar was rhe appropriare srance rowards ir? |ameson's nnal
movewasperhapsrhemosroriginalolall. Hirherro,ircould be
said rhareverysignincanrconrriburionrorhe idea olposrmod-
erniryhadcarried a srrong negariveorposirive valuarionol
ir. The anrirherical judgemenrs ol Ievin and Iiedler, rhe lare
Hassan and|encks,Habermasand Iyorard, oller a serparrern.
Irom a range ol disrincr polirical srandpoinrs, rhe criric could
eirherlamenrrheadvenrolrheposrmodernas a corruprion ol
rhemodern, orcelebrareir as an emanciparion.Veryearly on
soon alter his Whirney lecrure |ameson mapped our an
ingenious combinarory ol such opposirions in 'Theories ol rhe
Posrmodern',reproducedin The Cultural Turn. Thepurposeol
his exercise was ro poinr rhe way our ol rhis closed, reperirive
space. |ameson's own polirical commirmenrs were well ro rhe
lelr olany olrhe ngures charredwirhinir. He alone had nrmly
idenrinedposrmodernismwirhanewsrage olcapiralism,under-
srood in classical Marxisr rerms. Bur mere excoriarion was no
more lruirlul rhan adhesion. Anorher kind ol purchase was
needed.
The remprarion ro be avoided, aboveall,was moralism.The
compliciry olposrmodernismwirhrhelogicolrhemarkerand
ol rhe specracle was unmisrakeable. Bur simple condemnarion
14 Postmodernism, p.2O.
6+

CAPTURE
oli rasa culrure was srerile. Againand again- rorhe surprise
olmany, onlelr and righr alike |ameson has insisred on rhe
luriliryolmoralizingabourrheriseolrheposrmodern.However
accurare mighr be rhe local j udgemenrs ir delivered, such mor-
alism was an'impoverishedluxury' rharahisroricalviewcould
nor allord. '`Inrhis,|amesonwas lairhlul ro long-helJ convic-
rions. Erhical docrrines presupposed a cerrain social homo-
geneiry, inwhichrheycould rewrire insrirurional exigencies as
inrerpersonal norms, and rhereby repress polirical realiries in
'rhe archaic caregories ol good and evil, long since unmasked
byNierzsche as rhe sedimenred rraces ol power relarionships' .
Well belore addressing himsell ro rhe posrmodern, he had
denned rhe posirion lrom which he would view ir. 'erhics,
wherever irmakesirsreappearance,mayberakenasrhesignol
an inrenr ro mysrily, and in parricular ro replacerhe complex
and ambivalenr j udgemenrs ol a more properly polirical and
dialecricalperspecrivewirhrhecomlorrablesimplincarions ola
binarymyrh'. '
Theseremarkswere aimedaraconvenrionalmoralismolrhe
righr. Bur rhey applied no less ro a moralism ol rhe lelr, rhar
soughr ro dismiss or rejecr posrmodernism en bloc. Moral
caregories were binary codes ol individual conducr, projecred
onrorheculruralplane, rheywere inrellecrually andpolirically
disabling. Nor were rhe rropes ol Kulturkritik ol any grearer
avail, wirh rheir racir llighr ro rhe imaginary ol one or orher
idyllic pasr, lrom whose balcony a lallen presenr could be
reproved. The enrerprise onwhich|amesonhadembarked he
.
srressed rhar ir required many hands - was somerhing else. A
genuine cririque ol posrmodernismcould nor be an eo
relusal olir. RarherrhedialecricaI

taskwas rowork ourwa

complerelyrhroughir,rharourundersrandingolrherime'
emerge rranslormed on rhe side. A roralizing
rhe new unlimired capiralism - a rheory adequare to rhe _iO
scale ol irs connexions and disj uncrions - remained rhe unre-

nouncable Marxisr projecr. lr precluded manichean responses

Postmodernism, p. 62.
1
6
Fables of Aggression - Wyndham Lewis, the Modernist as Fascist, Berkeley and
Los Angeles 1979, p. 56.
65
THE ORI GI NS OF POST MODERNITY
rorheposrmodern.Tocriricsonrhelelrinclinedrosuspecrhim
olaccommodarion,|amesonrepliedwirh equanimiry. The col-
lecrive agency necessary ro conlronr rhis disorder was srill
missing, bur a condirion ol irs emergence was rhe abiliry ro
graspirlromwirhin,asasysrem.
Outcomes
Wirhrheseparamerersinplace, acoherenraccounrolposrmod-
erniry had arrived. Hencelorward, one grear vision commands
rhe neld, serringrherermsolrheorericalopposirionin rhe mosr
srrikingimaginableway.Irisanormallareolsrraregicconceprs
ro besubjecrro unexpecredpoliricalcaprureand reversal, inrhe
course ol discursive srruggle over rheir meaning. Characrerisri-
cally, inrhis cenrury, rhe ourcome have been detournements ro
rhe Righr 'civilizarion', say, once a proud banner olprogres-
siveEnlighrenmenrrhoughr,becomingasrigmaoldecadencear
rhe hands ol Cerman conservarism, 'civil sociery', a rerm ol

cririque lor classical Marxism, now a cynosure in rhe idiom ol

conremporary liberalism. In rhe dominion over rhe rerm posr-
modernism won by |ameson, we wirness rhe opposire achieve-
menr. aconceprWhosevisionaryoriginswereallburcomplerely
:
ellaced in usages complicir wirh rhe esrablished order, wresred
away by a prodigious display ol rheorerical inrelligence and
energy lor rhe cause ol a revolurionary Ielr. This has been a
discursive vicrory gained againsr all rhe polirical odds, in a
period ol neo-liberal hegemony when every lamiliar landmark
ol rhe Ielr appeared ro sink benearh rhe waves ol a ridal
reacrion. Irwaswon, undoubredly, because rhe cognirivemap-
ping otrhe conremporary world ir olleredcaughrsounlorgerr-
ably ~ ar once lyrically and causrically rhe imaginarive
srrucrures and lived experience olrhe rime, andrheir boundary
condirions.
How should we siruare rhis achievemenr? Two answers
suggesr rhemselves. The nrsr relares ro rhe developmenr ol
|ameson's ownrhoughr. Hererhereis a norableparadox. The
vocabulary olrheposrmoderncame, asnoredabove, relarively
lare ro |ameson, alrer signs ol inirial reservarion. Bur irs prob-
lemaric was rhere very early, and unlolds rhrough successive
66

CAPTURE
works wirh asronishing conrinuiry. I n his nrsr monograph,
Sartre - The Origins of a Style ( 1961) , wrirren in his mid-
rwenries, hewas alreadywriring ol 'a socierywirhoura visible
lurure, asocierydazzled byrhemassivepermanence olirs own
i
nsri
rurions inwhich no change seems possible and rhe idea ol
pro
gress is dead' . '` Ten years larer, in Marxism and Form,
comparing rhe enchanred bric-a-brac ol surrealism wirh rhe
commodiries ol a posrindusrrial capiralism - 'producrs urrerly
wirhour deprh', whose 'plasric conrenr is rorally incapable ol
serving as a conducror ol psychic energy' - he asked 'wherher
wearenor here inrhe presence ol a culruralrranslormarion ol
signal proporrions, a hisrorical break ol anunexpecredlyabso-
lurekind? '
Marxism and Form ended byobserving rhar a new kind ol
m
odernism, arriculared by Sonrag and Hassan, had surlaced,
which nolonger- asanoldermodernismhad~ 'reckonedwirh
rhe
insrincrive hosriliry ol a middle-class public ol which ir
srood as a negarion', bur was rarher 'popular; maybe nor in
smallmid-Wesrernrowns,burinrhedominanrworldollashion
and rhe mass media' . The nlms ol Warhol, rhe novels ol
Burroughs, rhe plays ol Beckerr were ol rhis kind, and 'no
cririque can have any binding lorce which does nor submir ro
rhe lascinarion olall rhese rhings as stylizationsolrealiry'. A
nor dissimilarnore is srruck in The Prison-House of Language,
whererhe 'deeperjusrincarion' olrheuseollinguisric modelsin
lormalism and srrucruralism lay nor so much in rheir scienrinc
validiry, as in rhe characrer ol conremporary socieries, 'which
oller rhe specracle ol a world ol lorms lrom which narure as
such has beeneliminared,a world saruraredwirhmessagesa
n - ,,

inlormarion, whose inrricare commodiry nerwork may be

as rhe very prororype ola sysrem olsigns'. There was th
prolound consonance berween linguisrics as a merhodand
`
sysremarized and disembodied nighrmare which is our culrurc

roday'.

Sartre - The Origins of a Style, New York 1984 (secondedition), p. 8.
1
Marxism and Form, p. 105.
1>
Marxism and Form, pp. 413-414.
7
The Prison-House of Language, Princeton 1 972, pp. xviii-ix.
67

THE ORI GI NS OF POST MODERNI TY

Passageslikerhesesoundlikesomanyorchesrralrune-upslor
rhe symphony ro come. Bur il rhey anricipare so direcrly
leirmorils ol |ameson's presenrarion ol rhe posrmodern, rhere
was perhaps anorher indirecr presage olwhar lay ahead. Irom
rhe srarr|ameson seemsrohavesensed akindolperrincarionol
rhe modern as a serolaesrhericlorms, rhardrewhisinreresrro
aurhors who sidelined or manhandled rhem. Therwonovelisrs
ro whom he has devored lree-sranding srudies are |ean-Paul
Sarrre and Wyndham Iewis. One reason lor his arrracrion ro
rhem is cerrainly rhar borh were highly polirical wrirers, ar
opposire ends ol rhe specrrum. iconoclasric Ielr and radical
Righr. Anorher, whichhehimsellhassrressed, iswhar|ameson
calls rhe 'linguisricoprimism'rheyshared rheconndencerhar
anyrhing could be expressed in words, provided rhey were
unroward enough.' Bur equally imporranr, and nor unrelared,
was rhe angle ar which rhey srood ro rhe mainsrream ol
modernism Iewis isolared by his mechanisric expressionism,
Sarrre by his reversions ro rhe rrappings olmelodrama. lnvol-
unrarilyin rhe one case , Iewis's subsequenrneglecr preserving,
as in a rime-capsule, 'a lreshness and virulence' ol srylizarion
gone dead in rhe embalming ol his grearconremporaries\ , and
volunrarilyinrheorher , Sarrre' sdeliberarewaiverolrhe conse-
craredlormsand 'passive-receprivevocarions' olrhehighmod-
erns\,rhesewerewrirerswhoinrheirownlashionhadalready
bumped againsr rhe limirs ol modernism. There was a rime
when |ameson rhoughr some novel species ol realism mighr
emerge beyond rhem. Bur rhe space lor a salto mortale inrorhe
posrmodernwasalreadybeingcleared.
Viewed biographically, |ameson's movemenr rowards a
rheory ol posrmodernism rhus seems virrually inscribed in his
rrajecrory lrom rhesrarr~ as ilwirh rhe uncanny coherence ol
an 'original choice' in rhe Sarrrean sense. Bur rhere is anorhcr
way ollooking ar rhe same ourcome.|ameson's wriring on rhe
posrmodern belongs ro a specinc inrellecrual line. ln rlie years
alrerrheIirsrWorldWar,whenrhegrearwaveolrevolurionary
unresrin CenrralEurope had receded, and rhe Sovier srarewas
21 Sartre, p. 204; Fables of Aggression, p. 86.
22 Fables of Aggression, p. 3; Sartre, p. 219.
68

CAPTURE
already bureaucrarized and isolared, rhere developedi nEurope
a disrincrive rheorerical rradirion rhar evenrually acquired rhe
name ol Wesrern Marxism. Born ol polirical delear rhe
crushingolprolerarian insurgencies in Cermany, Ausrria, Hun-
gary andlralywhich irs nrsr grear rhinkers Iukacs, Korsch and
Cramsci had lived rhrough rhis Marxism was separared lrom
rheclassicalcorpus olhisroricalmarerialismbya sharpcaesura.
ln rhe absence ol a popular revolurionary pracrice, polirical
srraregylorrhe overrhrow olcapiralwaned, andoncerhegrear
depression had passed inro rhe Second World War, economic
analysisolirsrranslormarionsrendedrolapseroo.
ln compensarion, Wesrern Marxism lound irs cenrre ol
graviry in philosophy, where a series ol oursranding second-
generarion rhinkers Adorno, Horkheimer, Sarrre, Ielebvre,
Marcuse consrrucred aremarkableneld olcriricalrheory, nor
inisolarionlromsurroundingcurrenrs olnon-Marxisrrhoughr,
burrypicallyincreariverensionwirhrhem.Thiswasarradirion
deeplyconcernedwirh quesrions olmerhod rhe episremology
ol a crirical undersranding ol sociery on which classical
Marxism hadlelr lewpoinrers. Burirsphilosophicalscopewas
nor merely procedural. ir had one cenrral locus ol subsranrive
concern, which lormed rhe common horizon ol rhis line as a
whole. Wesrern Marxism was above all a ser ol rheorerical
invesrigarions ol rhe culrure ol developed capiralism. The pri-
macy ol philosophy in rhe rradirion gave rhese enquiries a
parricular casr. nor exclusively, bur decisively, rhey remained
rrue ro rhe concerns ol aesrherics. Wharever else ir included,
culrure signined, nrsr and loremosr, rhe sysrem ol rhe arrs.
Iukacs,Benjamin, Adorno, Sarrre, Della Volpelormedrherule

here, Cramsci or Ielebvre, wirh a more anrhropological

olculrure,rheexceprion.
Ior all irs common learures as a rradirion, Wesrern
wasi nmanywaysrelarivelyunawareolirsell. Onrhewhole,

leading rhinkers were scarcely apprised ol each orher across

linguisricboundarieswirhinEurope.Thenrsrworkro allordan
23 I have discussed the general background and character of this tradition in
Considerations on Western Marxism, London 1 '76: for the latter trait, see
pp.
75-78.
69
THE ORI GI NS OF POST MODERNITY
overview olirs reperroire did nor arrive rill rhe early sevenries,
lrom America. andir wasnoneorherrhanMarxism and Form.
Here, asinnopreviousrexr, rheuniryanddiversiryolWesrern
Marxism were pur on eleganr display. ll |ameson's book
concenrrared on Adorno and Benjamin, Bloch and Marcuse,
Iukacs and Sarrre, leaving Ielebvre and Cramsci each nored
aside, inrhis irkeprro rhe promise olirs rirle. The dominanr
srrandolrhisdescenrwasaesrheric.Iorrhenrsrrime,onemighr
say, Wesrern Marxism was racirly laced wirh irs rrnrh. Whar
did such roralizarion, however, signily lor rhe lurure ol rhis
rradirion? There were many, including mysell, who reckoned
rharrhe condirionswhich hadproduced irwerenowpasr, and
orherkindsolMarxism closerroclassicalmodels werelikely
roreplaceir.
This esrimare was based on rhe renewed radical lermenr in
Wesrern Europe olrhe lare sixries and early sevenries, and on
rhe visible rerurn ol inrellecrual energies rowards quesrions ol
polirical economy and srraregy rhar had dominared rhe older
agenda olhisroricalmarerialism.TheIrench upheaval olMay
I96S could be seen as a revolving beacon ol rhis change,
llashing our rhe signal rhar Wesrern Marxism was now over-
raken, passing rorherankolanhonourablelegacy.A shrewder
j udgemenr saw rhe May Revolr in a somewhar dillerenr lighr,
nor as rhe end bur rhe climax ol rhis rradirion. Perer Wollen's
Raiding the Icebox is rhe only work whose power bears
comparisonwirh|ameson'sasarouremapolrwenrierh-cenrury
culrure. A cenrral episode in irs narrarive is rhe srory ol rhe
Siruarionisr lnrernarional, rhe lasr ol rhe hisroric avanr-gardes
'whose dissolurion in I972 broughr ro an end an epoch rhar
began in Paris wirh rhe Iururisr Manilesro ol I9O9` . Bur
Siruarionism, nurrured on Iukacs, Ielebvre and Breron, was
nor only rhis. ln rheorerically igniring rhe explosion ol May
I96S, WolIenremarks, 'wecanequallysee irasrhe summarion
olWesrernMarxism'. Thiswas amoreplausiblereading. Bur
irs upshor was neverrheless quire similiar. The lessons olWesr-
Raiding the IceBox. Refections on Twentieth Century Culture, London 1993,
p. 124.
70

V
CAPTURE
ern
Marxism, as ol rhe classical avanr-gardes, needed ro be
learnr
andvalued,burrheirrimewasup ' aperiodhasended'.`
lr isrhisverdicr|ameson's work has soperlecrly belied. His
rh
eoriz
arion ol posrmodernism, srarring in rhe early eighries,
rakes irs place among rhe grear inrellecrual monumenrs ol
WesrernMarxism.lndeed, onecouldsayrharhererhisrradirion
reachedirsculminarion. Arisingonceagainlrom anexperience
ol polirical delear rhe quelling olrhe rurmoil olrhe sixries
and developing in crirical conracr wirh new sryles ol rhoughr
srrucruralisr,deconsrrucrive,neo-hisroricisr- larlromMarxism,
|ameson's work on rhe posrmodern has answered ro rhe same
basic coordinares as rhe classic rexrs olrhe pasr. Bur iltnrhar
sense ir isrheconrinuarionola series, irisalso a recapirularion
olrhe ser ar a second level. Ior here dillerenr insrrumenrs and
rhemes lrom rhereperroire olWesrernMarxism are blended in
alormidablesynrhesis.IromIukacs,|amesonrookhiscommir-
menr ro periodizarion and lascinarion wirh narrarive, lrom
Bloch, arespecrlorrhehopesanddreamshiddeninararnished
objecr-world, lrom Sarrre, an exceprional lluency wirh rhe
rexrures ol immediare experience, lrom Ielebvre, rhe curlosrry
abour urban space, lrom Marcuse, pursuir olrhe rrail olhigh-
rech consumprion, lrom Alrhusser, a posirive conceprion ol
ideology, as a necessary social imaginary, lrom Adorno, rhe
ambirionro represenrrheroraliry ol his objecr as norhing less
rhana'meraphoricalcomposirion'.
Such elemenrs do nor lie inerrly rogerher in lorced combi-
narion.Theyaremobilizedinanoriginalenrerprisewhichseems
ellorrlesslyroabsorbrhem.Twolearuresendowrhisworkwith
irs peculiar uniry. The nrsr is |ameson's prose irsell. He onc

remarkedrharolrherhinkersolWesrernMarxism,Adorno
'rhe supreme srylisr olrhemall '.Burrhere are rimes whe
reader mighr wonder wherher rhe descriprion does nor
or ar any rare more consisrenrly, apply ro himsell.
hisnrsrbookwirh rhewords. 'lr has always seemedro me rhar

a modern sryle is somerhing in irsell inrelligible, above and

25 Ibid.
26
See Marxism and Form, p. 7.
27 Marxism and Form, p. xiii.
71
THE ORI GI NS OF POST MODERNI TY
beyond rhe limired meaning ol rhe book wrirren i n ir, and
beyond even rhose precise meanings which rhe individual sen-
rences rharmakeitup are inrendedroconvey. ' Iurure srudies
ol|ameson's ownwriring could rake rhis as a morro. Ior rhe
momenr, ir is enough ro nore rwo learures ol a sryle ol
compelling splendour. The spacious rhyrhms ola complex, yer
supple synrax well-nigh |amesian in irs lorms ol address
enacrrheabsorprionolsomanyvariegaredsourcesinrherheory
irsell, while rhe sudden bursrs olmeraphoricinrensiry, exhilar-
aringngural leapswirha high-wireeclat allolrheirown, srand
as emblems olrhe bold diagonal moves, closerro a poeric rhan
analyric inrelligence, wirh which rhis work unexpecredly cross-
connecrs disparare signs olrhe roralphenomenonin view. We
aredealingwirhagrearwrirer.
Arrhe samerime,|ameson'swork on rhe posrmodernunines
rhe sources onwhichirdrawsinadeepersubsranrivesense.The
Wesrern Marxisr rradirion was arrracred ro rhe aesrheric as
involunrary consolarion lor impasses ol rhe polirical and econ-
omic. The resulr was a remarkable range ol rellecrions on
dillerenr aspecrs olrheculrure olmoderncapiralism. Burrhese
were never inregrared inro a consisrenr rheory ol irs economic
developmenr, rypicallyremaining ar a somewhar derached and
specialized angle ro rhe broader movemenr ol sociery. raxable
even wirh a cerrain idealism, lrom rhe srandpoinr ol a more
classical Marxism. |ameson's accounr ol posrmodernism, by
conrrasr, develops lor rhe nrsr rime a rheory ol rhe 'culrural
logic' ol capiral rhar simulraneously ollers a porrrair ol rhe
rranslormarions olrhis social lorm as a whole. This is a much
more comprehensive vision. Here, in rhe passage lrom rhe
secroral ro rhe general, rhe vocarion olWesrern Marxism has
reachedirsmosrcomplereconsummarion.
The condirions ol rhis widening were hisrorical. The view
rharrhe lare sixries marked a crirical break in rhe landscape ol
rhe Ielr was nor alrogerher wrong. lnrellecrually, as rhe very
rirle ol his landmark essay and book indicares, |ameson's rurn
ro a rheory olrhe posrmodern was enabled by Mandel's Late
Capitalism, an economicsrudyrharsiruareditsellin a classical
:s_
.
artre, p. N1.
72
."
7
>

:
4
+
1
1
|
I
\
.

.
.-
1

^
I
U

CAPTURE
rradiriondisrincrlrom any shadeolWesrernMarxism. Empiri-
cally, economic lile irsell had anyway become so pervaded by
rhe symbolic sysrems ol inlormarion and persuasion rhar rhe
norion ol an independenr sphere ol more or less a-culrural
producrionincreasinglylosrmeaning.Hencelorward,anymaj or
rheory olculrurewas boundro encompassmoreolrhe civiliza-
rion ol capiral rhan ever belore. The rradirional objecr ol
Wesrern Marxism was enormously magnined. So |ameson's
resumprionolirs heriragecouldyield amuchmore cenrral and
poliricaldescriprionolrhecondirionsolconremporarylile rhan
rheprecedenrsirdrewon.
Crucial ro rheellecr ol|ameson'saccounrhereisirssenseol
'epochaliry' . This way ol reading rhe signs ol rhe rime owes
much ro Iukacs. Bur Iukacs's principal exercises in epochal
analysis, The Soul and Forms and The Theory of the Novel,
remain aesrheric or meraphysical. When he moved ro rhe
polirical, in his remarkable shorr srudy Lenin, Iukacs denned
rhe epoch rhar had opened wirh rhe carasrrophe ol rhe Crear
War as one sramped above all by 'rhe acrualiry olrevolurion' .
When evenrs disappoinred rhis expecrarion, nolurrher descrip-
rion could lollow. lr was rhen Cramsci, rhe rhinker wirhin
Wesrern Marxism lrom whom |ameson has raken leasr, who
rried ro caprure rhe narure ol rhe consolidarion or counrer-
revolurions olcapiral berween rhe wars. His nores on Iordism
represenr, in lacr, rhe only real precedenr in rhis rradirion lor
|ameson's enrerprise. lr is no accidenr rharrhey gave rise ro so
much discussion alrer rhe Second World War, or various
arremprs ro skerch rhe learures ol a 'posr-Iordism' in rhe
sevenriesandeighries.
Bur, powerlul and original , ar rimes highly idiosyncra
rhey were, Cramsci's ideas abour Iordism embracing
producrion, rigorous work-discipline and high wage-le
rhe US, puriranism lor lower orders and liberrinage lor
srrara, secrarian religion in liberal America and corpora
organizarioninlascisrlraly neverrhelessremainedlaconicand
unsysremaric. lna sense,rheir'epochaliry'roomisnred.lnmany
respecrs ahead ol rhe rime, behind ir in a lew, rhese j orrings
proved ro be mainly suggesrive alrer rhe evenr. |ameson's
accounr ol rhe posrmodern conrains no comparable insighrs
73

THE ORI GI NS OF P OST MODERNITY

inro rhe labour process or producrion, relying as i rdoes on a
sell-srandingeconomic lirerarure olirs own. Burir is, olcourse,
enormouslymoredevelopedandderailedasrhe dennirionolan
epoch, and supporred by conremporary experience. Yer much
olrhecriricalchargeolrhisrheoryalsocomeslromirs rension
wirhrheveryclimareolrime ir depicrs. Ior, as we readinrhe
nrsrsenrenceolPostmodernism: 'lrissalesrrograsprheconcepr
olrheposrmodernasanarremprrorhinkrhepresenrhisrorically
inanagerharhaslorgorren howrorhinkhisroricallyinrhenrsr
place`-
ll,inallrheseways,|ameson`sworkappearslikeagrandiose
nnale olWesrernMarxism, in anorherway ir has signincanrly
exceeded rhis rradirion. Nurrured in Europe, rhe work ol irs
major rhinkers never moved lar beyond ir as an inrellecrual
lorce. Iukacswas knownin|apanbelore rhe war, and inexile
rheIranklurr School discoveredrheUnired Srares. Iarer, Sarrre
was readbyIanonandAlrhussersrudied inIarinAmerica. Bur
essenrially rhis was a Marxism whose radius ol inlluence
remained limired rorhe original core olrhe advanced capiralisr
world: Wesrern nor only inirs origins and rhemes, bur also irs
impacr. |ameson`s rheory ol rhe posrmodern has broken rhis
parrern. lrs inirial lormularions were locused principally on
NorrhAmerica. Buras his work onrhe quesrion developed, irs
implicarionswidened.posrmodernism, heconcluded,was- nor
addirionally, bur inrrinsically - rhe culrural erher ol a global
sysrem rharoverruled all geographical divisions. lrslogiccom-
pelledamajorrurnin|ameson`sownneldolenquiry.
Up ro rhe eve olrhe eighries, |ameson`scrirical pracrice was
exclusively lirerary and irs objecrs eminenrly Wesrern. Prousr,
Hemingway, Balzac, Dickens, Eichendorll, Ilauberr, Conrad ~
such were rhe ngures in rhe loreground ol his arrenrion. Wirh
rhe eighries, rhere is a sharp change. Visual lorms srarr ro
compere wirh wrirren, and rapidly come ro predominare - a
shilr evidenr in Postmodernism irsell. Simulraneouslyrhere is a
srriking movemenr ourwards, ro culrures and regions beyond
rhe Wesr. ln rhisperiod,|amesonwas ro rellecr on Soseki and
Kararaniin|apan, IuXunand Iao She inChina,Sembene in
Postmodernism, p. ix.
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Senegal andSol asor Barneri nCuba, EdwardYang olTaiwan
and Kidlak TahimikolrhePhilippines.ln The Cultural Turn,
discussions can be lound ol rhe nlms ol Paul Ieduc, Mexican
direcror ol a silenr movie ser in Venezuela, and Souleymane
Cisse lrom Mali. ls rhere any conremporarycriricwirhaneven
disranrlycomparablerange?
The sense olsuch inrervenrions has beenroencouragea 'geo-
poliricalaesrheric' adequare ro rhe enlargemenr ol rhe culrural
universe in posrmodern condirions. This has been no engage-
menrlromalar.|amesonnrsr serourhis ideas on posrmodern-
ismcomprehensivelyin alecrurecourseinBeijing in 1J, and
published acollecriononrhe subjecrinChinasomeyearsbelore
he produced one in America. His accounr ol 'Posrmodernism
andrheMarker'wasresredourinSeoul.Weowerhemajorrexr
on 'Translormarions ol rhe lmage' ro an address in Caracas.
Serringslikerhesewerenoramarrerolchance.|ameson'srheory
olposrmoderniryhaswonagrowingaudienceincounrriesonce
ol rhe Third or Second World because ir speaks ol a culrural
imaginary lamiliar ro rhem, parr ol rhe web ol rheir own
experience. A Marxism so narurally ar home in rhe grear
merropoliran cenrres ol rhe Sourh and rhe Easr is no longer
resrricrively Wesrern. Wirh rhis break-our lrom rhe Occidenr,
rhe idea ol rhe posrmodern has come lull circle back ro irs
original inspirarion, asarimewhenrhe dominance olrheWesr
would cease. Olson's visionary conndence was nor misplaced,
The Kingfshers couldvirruallybereadasabreverlor|ameson's
achievemenr.
Bur il rhar was possible, ir is also because |ameson shared
somerhing wirh Olsonrhar disringuishes him lrom rhe 1 11!
rual line lrom which he descends. ln one crucial
|ameson's work deparrs lrom rhe whole renor ol W
'See, respectively, 'Soseki and Western Modernism', boundar 2, Fall 1 991,
pp. 123-141; ' In the Mirror of Alternate Moderities', South Atlantic Quarterly,
Spring 1993, pp. 295-310; 'Third World Literature in the Era of Multinational
Capitalism', Social Text, Fall 1986, pp. 65-88; 'Literary Innovation and Modes of
Production', Modern Chinese Literature, September 1984, pp. 67-72; 'On Literary
and Cultural Import-Substitution in the Third World: the Case of the Testimonio',
Margins, Spring 1991, pp. 1 1-34; The Geopolitical Aesthetic, London 1 992,
pp. 1 14-157, 186-213.
75
THE ORI GI NS OF P OST MODERNI TY
Marxism. Thar was a rradirion whose major monumenrs were
in onewayoranorher,secrerlyoropenly, allallecredbya deep
hisroricalpessimism.'Theirmosroriginal andpowerlulrhemes
Iukacs's desrrucrion ol reason, Cramsci' s war ol posirion,
Benjamin's angel ol carasrrophe, Adorno's damaged subjecr,
Sarrre's violence ol scarciry, Alrhusser's ubiquiry ol illusion -
spoke nor olanalleviared lurure, burolanimplacablepresenr.
Tones varied wirhin a common range, lrom rhe sroic ro rhe
melancholy, rhe winrry rorhe apocalypric. |ameson'swriringis
ola dillerenrrimbre. Alrhoughhis ropichas cerrainlynorbeen
one olcomlorrro rhe Ielr, his rrearmenr ol ir has never been
acrimonious or despondenr. On rhe conrrary, rhe magic ol
|ameson's sryle is ro conjure inro being wharmighr be rhoughr
impossible alucidenchanrmenrolrheworld.
lrsrhemes areasgraveas anyinrherradirion. Bura sprayol
wonder and pleasure rhe chances ol happiness in a srilling
rime is never lar lrom rhe swell ol even rhe mosr ominous
rellecrion. 'To move, ro insrrucr, ro delighr'. Il lew orher
subversive rhinkers have come so close ro rhe aims ol arr, rhe
reasons are no doubr in parr conringenr. |ameson can evoke
bodily experience as memorably as Sarrre, bur rhe leeling-rone
is habirually rhe opposire nearer elarion rhan disgusr. The
pleasures ol rhe inrellecr and ol rhe imaginarion are no less
vividlyrenderedrhanrhoseolrhesenses. Theglowwirhwhich
|ameson can endow objecrs, conceprs, ncrions is rhe same.
The biographical sources ol rhis warmrh are one rhing. lrs
philosophical premises are anorher. Behind rhis consenr ro rhe
world lies rhe deeply Hegelian casr ol |ameson's Marxism,
nored by many crirics, which has equipped him ro conlront
31 For this aspect, see Considerations on Western Marxism, pp. 88-92.
32 Perhaps the fnest example is his essay on Godard's Passion in The Geopolitical
Aesthetic, London 1992, pp. 158-1 85. The contrast with Adoro's treatment of the
object-world, even at its most eloquent, is telling. Compare, on a very similar topic,
the passage in Minima Moralia (p. 40) - itself of great beauty - on the casement
window or gentle latch, and the slamming of car or frigidaire doors, with J ameson's
reverie on the levitations of the Californian garage in Signatures of the Visible
(pp. 1 07-108) .
3 3 See, notably, Michael Sprinker, 'The Place of Theory', New Lef Review, No 187,
May-June 1991, pp. 139-142.
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rhe adversiries olrhe epoch, and work rhrough irs conlusions,
wirh an inrrepid equanimiry all his own. Caregories such as
oprimism or pessimism have no place in Hegel's rhoughr.
|ameson's work cannor be described as oprimisric, inrhe sense
in which we can say ol rhe Wesrern Marxisr rradirion rhar ir
was pessimisr. lrs polirics have always been realisr. 'Hisrory is
wharhurrs,iriswharrelusesdesireandsersinexorablelimirsro
individual as well as collecrive praxis' above all in 'rhe
dererminare lailure ol all rhe revolurions rhar have rakenplace
inhumanhisrory' ro dare.Bururopianlongingsarenoreasily
repressed,andcanberekindledinrheleasrpredicrableolguises.
Ir is rhis noreroo rhe subrerraneanpersisrenceol rhe will ro
change - rhar has given|ameson's work irs lorce ol arrracrion
beyondrheprecincrsolaj adedWesr.
34 The Political Unconscious, p. l O2.

4
Itcr-cIIccts
The caprure olrheposrmodernby|amesonhas ser rhererms ol
subsequenr debare. lr is no surprise rhar rhe mosr signincanr
inrervenrions since his enrry inro rhe neld have likewise been
Marxisr in origin. The rhree leading conrriburions can be read
as arremprs ro supplemenr or correcr, each in irs own way,
|ameson' soriginal accounr. Alex Callinicos'sAgainst Postmod
ernism ( 1989) advances a closer analysis olrhe polirical back-
ground ro rhe posrmodern. David Harvey's Condition of
Postmodernity ( 1990) ollers a much luller rheory ol irs econ-

omic presupposirions. Terry Eagleron's Illusions of Post-

modernism ( 1 996) racklesrheimpacrolirsideologicaldillusion.
All rhese works pose problems ol demarcarion. How is rhe
posrmodernro be besr periodized? Towharinrellecrual conng-
urarion does ir correspond? Whar is rhe appropriare response
roir?
Timing
:
Thecenrral quesrionhereisrhenrsr~ rheissueolperiodizarion.
|ameson's earliesr criric on rhe Ielr had poinred our a loose
j oinr in his consrrucrion.' ll posrmodernism was rhe culrural
logic ol lare capiralism, should rhey nor coincide lairly closely
in rime? Yer Mandel's Late Capitalism, on which |ameson
based hisconceprionol a newsrage incapiralisrdevelopmenr,
1 See Mike Davis, 'Urban Renaissance and the Spirit of Postmodernism', New Left
Review, No 151, May-June 1985, pp. 106-1 13.
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dared irs general arrival lrom 1945 while |ameson pur rhe
emergence ol rhe posrmodern in rhe early sevenries. Even il ir
could be argued rharrhe lull realizarion olMandel's model did
norcome overnighr, such a gap remainedrroubling. Callinicos
andHarvey, wriring ar virrually rhe same rime, drew opposire
conclusions.Harvey,whoseearlierwork The Limits of Capital
hadourlinedrhemosrsysremaricandoriginalMarxisrrheoryol
economic crises, argued rhar rhe advenr ol posrmoderniry,
righrly locared rowards rhe beginning ol rhe sevenries, in lacr
rellecred a conremporaneous break wirh rhe posr-warmodel ol
capiralisr developmenr. Wirh rhe recession ol 1973, Iordism
undermined by increased inrernarionalcomperirion, lalling cor-
porare pronrs and acceleraring inllarion had plunged inro a
long-delayedcrisis oloveraccumularion.
ln response, a new regime ol 'llexible accumularion' had
emerged, ascapiralincreasedirsroomlormanoeuvreacross rhe
board. The newperiodsawgrearer llexibiliry ollabourmarkers
,remporary conrracrs,immigranranddomesricswearing\ , man-
ulacruringprocesses , oursourcingolplanrs,j usr-in-rimeproduc-
rion\, commodiry ourpurs ,barch consignmenrs\ , and above all
olderegulareJnnancialoperarions,inasingleworldmarkerlor
money and credir. lr was rhis resrless, specularive sysrem rhar
was rhe exisrenrial basis ol rhe various lorms ol posrmodern
culrure, whose realiry andnovelrywere nor ro be doubred a
sensibilirycloselyrelaredro rhe demarerializarionolmoney, rhe
ephemeraliry ol lashion, rhe glur ol simularion in rhe new
economies. None olrhis amounredro anylundamenral change
in rhe mode ol producrion as such ler alone ro a long-rerm
solurion ol rhe pressures ol overaccumularion, which had
nor undergone rhe necessary purge ol a massive devalorrz
ol capiral. Nor, indeed, could llexible accumularion
described as universally dominanr, more rypically, ir
inmixed arrerns wirh older Iordisrlorms, andeven rhe O1II
lrom one ro rhe orher were by no means always irreversible.

Whar had crirically alrered, however, was rhe posirion and

auronomy ol nnancial markers wirhin capiralism, ourllanking
2 The Condition of Postmodernity, Oxford 1990, pp, 121-197, The even keel of
this work is very impressive,
79
THE ORI GI NS OF POSTMODERNITY
narional governmenrs, which spelr sysremic insrabiliry ol an
unprecedenredkind.
Callinicos, onrhe orher hand,reversedrhis lineolargumenr.
While ir was rrue rharglobal capiral was now more inregrared
rhan ever belore, andpossessednewdegreesolmobiliry, rhis in
noway added up ro a ' break' inrhe hisrory ol capiralism. Ior
narional srares rerainedsubsranrialpowers olregulaion, asrhe
ironic success olReagan's milirarykeynesianisminrellaringrhe
world economy in rhe eighries had shown. As lor rhe orher
learures ol 'llexible accumularion', rhey were mosrly exagger-
ared or myrhical. rhe labour lorce was less segmenred, barch
producrion less widespread, rhe service secror less signincanr
rhanrheories olposr-Iordism suggesred j usrasIordism irsell
was an overblown norion, proj ecring a homogeneous domi-
nance ol srandardized mass producrionrhar had never exisred,
save in a limired number ol consumer durable indusrries.
Similarly, posrmodernism as a disrincrserolarrisric pracrices
ler alone a culrural dominanr was largely a ngmenr. Virrually
every aesrheric device orlearure arrribured roposrmodernism
bricolage olrradirion,play wirhrhepopular, rellexiviry, hybrid-
iry, pasriche, nguraliry, decenrring ol rhe subjecr could be
lound in modernism. No crirical break was discernible here
eirher.
Whar could be observed was somerhing dillerenr. namely a
gradual degradarion ol modernism irsell, as ir had become
increasingly commodined and inregrared inro rhe circuirs ol
posr-war capiral. The sources olrhis decline, however, werero
be rraced inrhe nrsr insrance, nor so much ro larger economic
changes, or any immanenr aesrheric logic, as more direcrly ro
rhe polirical hisrory ol rhe rime. Hisrorically, modernism had
reached irs apogee wirh rhe clusrer ol revolurionary avanr-
gardes berweenrhewars consrrucrivismin Russia, expression-
ism and neue Sachlichkeit in Cermany, surrealism inIrance. lr
was rhe vicrory ol Sralin and Hirler rhar nnished oll rhese
movemenrs. Analogously, posrmodernism aesrherically lirrle
morerhanaminorrwisrin rhe downward spiral olmodernism,
rhough ideologically ol much grearer signincance should be
seenasaproducrolrhepoliricaldelearolrheradicalgenerarion
olrhelaresixries.Revolurionaryhopesdisappoinred,rhiscohorr
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had lound compensarion i n a cynical hedonism rhar lound
lavishourlerinrhe over consumprion boom olrheeighries. 'This
conj uncrure rhe prosperiry ol rhe Wesrern new middle class
combinedwirhrhepolirical disillusionmenrolmany olirsmosr
arriculare members providesrhe conrexr lorrhe prolileraring
ralkolposrmodernism. '
Such conrrasred diagnoses, reached lrom common srarring-
poinrs, poserheproblemolsiruaringrheposrmodernwirhsome
accuracyacurely.lna skercholrheoriginsolmodernisminrhe
European Belle Epoque, l once suggesred rhar ir was besr
undersrood as rhe ourcome ol a neld ol lorce rriangulared by
rhree coordinares. an economy and sociery srill only semi-
indusrrial, in which rhe ruling order remained ro a signincanr
exrenragrarian or arisrocraric, a rechnologyol dramaric inven-
rions, whose impacr was srill lresh or incipienr, and an open
polirical horizon, inwhichrevolurionaryupheavalsolonekind
oranorher againsr rheprevailingorderwerewidelyexpecred or
leared.` ln rhe space so bounded, a wide variery ol arrisric
innovarions could explode symbolism, imagism, expression-
ism, cubism, lururism, consrrucrivism. somequarryingclassical
memory or parrician sryles, orhers drawn ro a poerics ol rhe
new machinery, yer orhers nred by visions ol social upheaval,
burnonearpeacewirhrhemarkerasrheorganizingprincipleol
a modern culrure in rhar sense, virrually wirhour exceprion
anri-bourgeois.
TheIirsrWorldWar,desrroyingrheancien regimes inRussia,
Ausrro-Hungary and Cermany, and weakening landowners
elsewhere, modined bur didnoroverrurnrhis serring. European
upper classes and rheir train de vie wenr on much as belor,

advanced lorms ol indusrrial organizarion and massconsu

rion Cramsci's idea olIordism remainedlargelyonn

rhe US, revolurion and counrer-revolurion barrled lrom m

Visrula ro rhe Ebro. ln suchcondirions,avanr-gardemovem

and lorms ol grear vigour conrinued ro emerge Opoj az in

3 Against Postmodernism, Cambridge 1989, p. 168.
4 'Modernity and Revolution', New Left Review, No 144, March-April 1984;
reprinted, with a postscript ( 1985), in A Zone of Engagement, London 1992,
pp. 25-55.
81
THE ORI GI NS OF POST MODERNITY
Russia, Bauhausi nCermany, surrealismi nIrance.Thecaesura
camewirhrheSecondWorldWar,whoseourcomesmashedrhe
old agrarian elires and rheir way ol lile across mosr ol rhe
Conrinenr, insralled srable capiralisr democracy and srandard-
ized consumer-durables in rhe Wesr, and gurred rhe ideals ol
revolurion in rhe Easr. Wirh all rhelorcesrharhad hisrorically
spurred ir gone, rhe elan ol modernism gave our. lr had lived
lrom rhe non-synchronous whar was pasr or lurure in rhe
presenr and diedw|rh rhe arrival olrhe purely conrempora-
neous. rhe monorone sready-srare ol rhe posr-war Arlanric
order. Hencelorward, arr rhar srill would be radical was
rourinely desrined lor commercial inregrarion or insrirurional

cooprron.
Muchcouldbesaidolrhisrapidourline,bywayolexpansion
or criricism, roday. lrinvires more geographical nuance. Whar
dererminedrhegradienrolrechnologicalenrhusiasminrheearly
lorms olmodernism? Why was Brirain seemingly so barren ol
innovarivemovemenrs orwasiralrogerher ? Cansurrealismbe
regarded as simplyrhe lasr in rhe series olmajor avanr-gardes
berween rhe wars, or did ir also conngure somerhing new?
Answersroquesrionslike rhese would haverolookmoreclosely
arrhenarional specinciries olrhe dillerenr culrures olrherime.
Schemarically, lor example, one could envisage a specrrum ol
ideal arrirudes ro rhe new mechanical marvels ol rhe early
rwenrierh cenrury, varying inversely wirh rhe exrenr ol rheir
implanrarion.rherwomosrindusrriallybackwardpowersolrhe
conrinenr, lraly and Russia, generaring rhe mosrlervenrly rech-
nicisr avanr-gardes, in rheir respecrive lururisms, while
Cermany, combining advanced indusrry in rhe Wesr wirh rhe
rerrogradelandscapeolrheEasr,wassplirberweenexpressionisr
loarhing and Bauhaus wooing ol Merropolis, Irance, on rhe
orher hand, wirh irs parrern ol modesrly prosperous perry
producrion in rown and counrry, permirreda quirkier synrhesis
in surrealism, enrranced precisely byrheinrerlacing olnew and
old. As lor Brirain, rhe lailure ol irs llickering modernisr
impulses ro endure was surely relared ro rhe absence ol any
major insurgenrsrrandin rhe labourmovemenr. Burirwas no
doubralsoa luncrionolearlyindusrrializarion, andrhegradual
developmenr ol an overwhelmingly urbanized bur already
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rradirion-bound economy, whose slowness acred as a buller
againsrrhe shock ol a new machine-age rhar galvanized avanr-
gardeselsewhere.
Bur rhe more imporranr limirs olrhe accounrrerraced above
are ro be lound arrhe endrarherrhan beginning olrhe srory.
The cur-oll poinr proposed lor modernism alrer 1945 was
cerrainlyrooabrupr.PererWollen's hisroryamplydemonsrrares
rhar. The legacy ol rhe pre-war avanr-gardes could nor be
exringuishedovernighr,sinceirnecessarilysrillsroodasinrernal
model and memory, nomarrer how unlavourable rhe exrernal
circumsrances lor reproducing ir. ln America, absrracr
expressionism ollered a poignanr illusrrarion ol rhe new siru-
arion. Iormally an exemplary modernisr gesrure, rhe mosr
radical collecrive break wirh nguraliry ro dare, rhe New York
school wenr lrom garrer ro aporheosis ar compararively
speaking lighrning speed,markingsomerhingquirenewinrhe
hisrory ol painring. This was an avanr-garde rhar became an
orrhodoxy in irs own shorr lile-span, capiralized as symbolic
invesrmenr bybig money and promulgared as ideologicalvalue
by rhe srare. Yer rhe Cold War rrumpering ol rhis arr by rhe
USIA had a peculiar irony. Connexions wirh surrealism were
viral in absrracr expressionism, and rhe polirics ol irs leading
painrers could hardly have been lurrher lrom rheir use as a
moral alnche lor rhe Iree World. Rorhko was an anarchisr,
Morherwell a socialisr, and Pollock in rheprivare opinion ol
Creenberg, his grearesr public champion norhing less rhana
'goddamsralinisrlromsrarrronnish' .`
ln Europe, where rhe annexarionisr logic ol rhe posr-war arr
marker was less overpowering, and signincanr lorces olr ,
ance rorhe ColdWarsysrempersisredinrhe Wesr,
wirh rhe insurgenr aims ol rhe inrer-war avanr-gardes
muchsrronger. Surrealism could srill rrigger successiveTIf
conceived more or less H irs image, as Wollen shows 8
.
derailed reconsrrucrion ol rhe movemenr lrom COBRA and
lettrisme ro rhe Siruarionisr lnrernarional. Here, rhe heroic
5 See T. ]. Clark, 'In Defense of Abstract Expressionism', October, No 69, Summer
1994, p. 45.
6
Raiding the Icebox, pp. 135-150.
83
THE ORI GI NS OF POSTMODERNI TY
ambirionolrhe hisroricavanr-garde rhe rransngurarionolarr
and polirics alike sprang ro lile once more. Bur even belore
rhe climax ol I96S, the union had come loose. The arrisric
wings olSiruarionism were essenrially a producr olrhe periph-
ery. Denmark, Holland, Belgium, Piedmonr, where rhe gallery
sysrem was weak. The polirical head was cenrred in Irance,
where revolurionary milirancy and the arr marker were borh
much srronger, crearing a neld ol suspicion wirhin rhe lnrer-
narional ol which rhe arrisrs paid rhe price, in expulsion or
deparrure, condemning rhe Sl in rurn ro rhe hazards, and
rransience, ol any overpoliricizarion. Anorher grear advenrure
olrhese years lasred longer. ln some ways srrangely parallel in
rrajecrory, Codard'scinema moved rowards sreadily more radi-
cal lorms ol narrarive ellipse, rorsion berween sound and
image, didacric caprion in rhe same period, rhrowing oll a
series ol near-masrerpieces, belore culminaring in a convulsive,
unsusrainable bidlorarevolurionaryascesisinrhealrermarhol
I96S. Iarer, Codard's wirhdrawal ro Swirzerland mighr be
compared ro |orn's reluges in Iiguria orDenmark. a dillerenr
kindolproducriviry,onceagainolrhemargin.
The quarrercenruryalrerrhe end olhosriliries rhus seems in
rerrospecr an inrer-regnum, in which modernisr energies were
norsubjecrrosuddencancellarion,bursrillglowedinrermirrenrly
hereandrhere,wherecondirionsallowed,wirhinaninhospirable
generalclimare.lrwasnorunrilrherurnolrhesevenriesrharrhe
groundloranalrogerhernewconngurarionwasprepared.llwe
wanrro nxrheemergenceolaposrmodernismmoreaccurarely,
onewayoldoingsoisro lookarwharhadreplacedrheprincipal
dererminanrs ol modernism. |ameson's work, in lacr, conrains
poinrersromosrolrherelevanrchanges,whichwirhrheslighresr
olrearrangemenrs allordrhemorepreciselocusrequired. Posr-
modernismcan beviewed as a culrural neld rriangulared, in irs
rurn, byrhree new hisrorical coordinares. The nrsr olrhese lies
in rhe lare olrhe ruling orderirsell. By rhe end olrhe Second
World War rhe powerol arisrocraricrradirion had received irs
quierus across conrinenral Europe. Bur lor anorher generarion,
irsrradirional alrer rival and parrner persisred. We can srill
speak olrhebourgeoisie as a class, inrharmeaningolrhererm
inwhichMaxWebercouldremarkwirhpriderharhebelonged
84

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toi t Thati stosay,aso.ia||or.:withitsowns:ns:o|.o||:.tiv:
iJ:ntity, .hara.t:risti. mora| .oJ:s anJ .u|tura| habitus. I| w:
want:J a sin|: visua| .|ip o| this wor|J, itwas a s.:n: wh:r:
m:nsti||wor:hats Th:Unit:J >tat:s haJits v:rsioninth: o|J
mon:yo|th:East:rn:stae|ishm:nt
>.hump:t:ra|ways aru:Jthat.api ta|ism, asanintrinsi.a||y
amora| :.onomi. syst:mJriv:n ey th: pursuit o|proht, Jisso|-
v:nto|a||earri:rstomar|:t.a|.u|ation, J:p:nJ:J.riti.a||yon
pr:-.apita|ist in :ss:n.: noei|iary va|u:s anJ mann:rs to
ho|Jitto:th:rasso.ia|anJpo|iti.a|orJ:r But thi saristo.rati.
'unJ:r-irJin', as h: put it, was typi.a||y r:in|or.:J ey a
s:.onJary stru.tur: o| support, ineour:ois mi|i:ux .onhJ:nt
o|th: mora| Jinity o|th:ir own .a||in suej:.tiv:|y .|os:r to
portraits ey Mann thanI|aue:rt. Inth: :po.h o|th:Marsha||
P|an anJ th: :n:sis o|th: Europ:an Community, this wor|J
|iv:Jon.Inth:po|iti.a|r:a|m,suestantia|hur:s|i|:AJ:nau:r,
D:Gasp:ri, Monn:t :meoJi:J thisp:rsist:n.: th:irpo|iti.a|
r:|ationshiptoChur.hi||orD:Gau||:,ranJ::s|romas:in:ur-
ia|past, asi|ana|t:r-ima:o|anoriina|.ompa.tthatso.ia||y
was no|on:rva|iJ. But, asitturn:Jout, th:twoera.:sinth:
o|J:r stru.tur: w:r: mor: int:rJ:p:nJ:nt than th:y on.: haJ
s::m:J
Iorwithinth: spano|anoth:rtw:nty y:ars, th: eour:oisi:
too inanystri.ts:ns:, asa.|assposs:ss:Jo|s:||.ons.iousn:ss
anJ mora|: was a||eut :xtin.tH:r: anJ th:r:, po.|:ts o|a
traJitiona| eour:ois s:ttin .an sti|| e: |ounJ in provin.ia|
.iti:s o| Europ:, anJ p:rhaps in .:rtain r:ions o| North
Am:ri.a, typi.a||ypr:s:rv:Jeyr:|iiouspi:ty |ami|yn:twor|s
in th: V:n:to or Basqu: |anJs, .ons:rvativ: notae|:s in

BorJ:|ais, parts o| th: G:rmanMittelstand, anJ b on. B

anJ |ar:, th: eour:oisi: as BauJ:|air: or Marx, Ie

Ri meauJ, Grosr orBr:.ht or :v:n >artr: or O'Hara |
it, H a thin o| th:pastu p|a.: o| that so|iJamphith:atr:1S
anaquarium o|floatin, :van:s.:nt|orms th: proj:.tors and
mana:rs, auJitorsanJjanitors, aJministratorsanJsp:.u|ators
o|.ont:mporary .api ta| |un.tionso|a mon:tary univ:rs: that
|nowsnoso.ia|hxiti:sorstae|:iJ:ntiti:s.
Notthatint:r-:n:rationa|moei|ity hasr:at|yin.r:as:J, i |
ata||,inth:ri .h:rso.i:ti:so|th:post-warwor|J Th:s:r:main
85
THE ORI GI NS OF POS T MODERNI TY
asobj ecrively srrarined asever.Burrheculruralandpsychologi-
cal markers ol posirion have become sreadily more eroded
amongrhosewhoenjoywealrhorpower.AgnelliorWallenberg
now evoke a disranr pasr, in a rime whose rypical masks are
Milken or Cares. Irom rhe sevenries onwards, rhe leading
personnel ol rhe major srares was moulring roo Nixon,
Tanaka, Craxi were among rhe new plumes. More widely, in
rhepublic sphere democrarizarionolmanners and disinhibirion
olmores advanced rogerher. Iorlong, sociologisrs had debared
rhe embourgeoisement olrhe working-class inrheWesr never
a very happy rerm lor rhe processes ar issue. By rhe nineries,
however, rhe more srriking phenomenon was a general encan
aillement olrhepossessingclasses asirwere.srarlerprincesses
and sleazeball presidenrs, beds lor renrinrhe olncialresidence
and bribes lor killer ads, disneyncarion olprorocols and raran-
rinizarion ol pracrices, rhe avid correges ol rhe nocrurnal
underpass or rhe gubernarorial rroop. ln scenes like rhese lies
mucholrhesocialbackdropolrheposrmodern.
Ior whar rhis landscape means is rhar rwo condirions ol
modernismhavevanishedurrerly.Thereisnolongeranyvesrige
ol an academicisr esrablishmenr againsrwhich an advanced arr
could pir irsell. Hisrorically, rhe convenrions ol academic arr
were always closelyried, noronlyrorhe sell-represenrarions ol
rirled orupperclasses,buralsororhesensibiliryandprerensions
ol rradirional middle classes below rhem. Wirh rhe passing ol
rhe bourgeois world, rhis aesrheric loil is missing. The rirle and
sireolrhemosrdeliberarelyluridbrar-packshowinBrirainsays
everyrhing. Sensation care ol rhe Royal Academy. Similarly,
modernism rappedviolenrenergies olrevolragainsrrhe olncial
moraliry ol rhe rime srandards ol repression and hypocrisy
nororiously srigmarized, wirh reason, as specincally bourgeois.
The j errisoning ol any real prerence ol upholding rhese sran-
dards, widely visible lrom rhe eighries onwards, could nor bur
allecrrhe siruarionolopposirional arr. once bourgeoismoraliry
inrherradirionalsenseisover,irisasilanamplinerissuddenly
cur oll. Modernism, 6om irs earliesr origins in Baudelaire or
Ilauberr onwards, virrually denned irsell as 'anri-bourgeois' .
Posrmodernism iswhar occurs when, wirhouranyvicrory, rhar
adversaryisgone.
86

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A second condirion can be rraced rorhe evolurion olrech-
nology.Modernismwasoweredbyrheexciremenrolrhegrear
clusrer ol new invenrions rhar rranslormed urban lile in rhe
early years olrhe cenrury. rhe liner, rhe radio, rhe cinema, rhe
skyscraper, rhe auromobile, rhe aeroplane, and by rhe absrracr
conceprion ol dynamic machinolacrure behind rhem. These
providedrhe images and serringslormucholrhemosr original
arr olrhe period, and gave all ol ir an encompassing sense ol
rapid change. The inrer-war period renned and exrended rhe
key rechnologies ol rhe modernisr rake-oll wirh rhe arrival ol
rhe llying boar, rhe roadsrer, sound and colour on screen, rhe
aurogyro, bur did nor add signincanrly ro rheir lisr. Clamour
and speed became, even more rhan belore, rhe dominanrnores
in rhe perceprual regisrer. lr was rhe experience ol rhe Second
WorldWarrharabruprlychanged rhis whole Gestalt. Scienrinc
progress now lor rhe nrsr rime assumed unmisrakeably menac-
ing shapes, as consranr rechnical improvemenr unleashed ever
morepowerlul insrrumenrs oldesrrucrion and dearh, rerminar-
ing in demonsrrarive nuclearexplosions. Anorher and innnirely
vasrer kind olmachinery, lar beyond rhe range oldaily experi-
ence,yercasringabalelulshadowoverir,hadarrived.
Alrer rhese glimpses ol apocalypse, rhe posr-war boom
changed rhe counrenance ol rhe mechanical in more close-ar-
hand and rhorough-going ways. Warproducrion, aboveall ~ il
noronly inAmerica, hadconverredrechnologicalinnovarion
inro a permanenr principle ol indusrrial ourpur, mobilizing
research budgers and design reams lor milirary comperirion.
Wirh peace-rime reconsrrucrion and rhe long posr-war boom,
mass producrion ol srandardized goods inregrared rhe sat:i

dynamic. The resulr was an indusrrial version ol W

parabola ol rhe spirirual. as rhe llow ol rhe new became I
very conrinuiry asrreamolrhe same,rhe charisma oltechrm
was rranslormed inro rourine, and losr irs magneric powers
arr. ln parr roo rhis banalizarionrellecredrheabsence, amidsra
ceaseless plerhora ol improvemenrs, ol any decisive clusrer ol
invenrionscomparablerorhoseolrheerabelorerheIirsrWorld
War. Ior a whole period rhe exciremenr olrhe modern racirly
dwindled,wirhourmuchalrerarionolirsoriginalvisualneld.
The developmenr rhar changed everyrhing was relevision.
87
THE ORI GI NS OF POSTMODERNITY
This was rhe nrsr rechnological advance ol world-hisrorical
momenr in rhe posr-war epoch. Wirh ir, a qualirarive jump in
rhe power ol mass communicarions had arrived. Radio had
alreadyproved,inrheinrer-warandwar-rimeyears, alarmore
porenr insrrumenr ol social caprure rhan prinr. nor merely by
reason ol irs lesser demands on educarional qualincarion, or
grearer immediacy ol receprion, bur above all because ol irs
remporal reach. Round-rhe-clock broadcasring creared poren-
riallypermanenrlisreners- audienceswhosewakingandhearing
hourscould arrhelimirbeone.Thisellecrwas onlypossible,ol
course, because ol rhe dissociarion ol rhe ear lrom rhe eye,
which meanrrhar so many acriviries earing, working, rravel-
ling, relaxing - could be perlormed wirh rhe radio in rhe
background. The capaciry olrelevisionro commandrhe arren-
rion olirs 'audiences' is immeasurablygrearer, becauserhey are
nor simply such. rhe eye is caughr belore rhe ear is cocked.
Whar rhe new medium broughr was a combinarion ol
undreamr-ol power. rhe conrinuous availabiliry ol radio wirh
an equivalenr ol rhe perceprual monopoly ol prinr, which
excludes orher lorms ol arrenrion by rhe reader. The sarurarion
olrheimaginaryisolanorherorder.
Iirsr markered inrhenlries, relevision did nor acquire maj or
salience rill rhe early sixries. Bur so long as irs screenwas only
black-and-whire,rhemedium~ wharever irsorheradvanrages~
rerained a mark ol inlerioriry, as il ir were rechnically srill a
laggard srepchild ol rhe cinema. The rrue momenr ol irs
ascendancy did nor come unril rhe arrival ol colour relevision,
which nrsr became general in rhe Wesr in rhe early sevenries,
rriggering a crisis in rhe nlm indusrry whose box-olnce ellects
aresrillwirh us. llrhereisanysingle rechnologicalwarershedol
rhe posrmodern, ir lies here. ll we compare rhe serring ir has
crearedrorheopeningolrhecenrury, rhedillerence canbepur
quire simply. Once, in j ubilarion or alarm, modernism was
seized byimages olmachinery,now,posrmodernism was sway
roamachineryolimages.lnrhemselves,rherelevisionserorrhe
compurer rerminal, wirh which ir will evenrually merge, are
peculiarlyblank obj ecrs ~ nullzones olrhedomesricorbureau-
craric inreriorrhar are norj usr inapr as 'conducrors olpsychic
energy', bur rend ro neurralize ir. |ameson has pur rhis wirh
8 8

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characrerisric lorce. 'These new machines can be disringuished
lrom rhe older lururisr icons in rwo relared ways. rhey are all
sourcesolreproducrionrarherrhan producrion" andrheyare
nolongersculpruralsolidsinspace.Thehousingola compurer
scarcely embodies ormanilesrs irs peculiar energies inrhe same
wayrharawingshapeoraslanredsmokesrackdo' .`
Onrhe orher hand, image-resisranrrhemselves, rhe machines
pour our a rorrenr ol images, wirh whose volume no arr can
compere.Thedecisiverechnicalenvironmenrolrheposrmodern
is consrirured by rhis 'Niagara ol visual gabble' . Since rhe
sevenries, rhe spread ol second-order devices and posirionings
insomuchaesrhericpracriceiscomprehensibleonlyinrermsol
rhis primary realiry. Bur rhe larrer, ol course, is nor simply a
wave ol images, bur also and above all ~ ol messages.
Marinerri or Tarlin could erecr anideologyour olrhe mechani-
cal, bur mosr ol rhe machines rhemselves said lirrle. The new
appararuses, by conrrasr, are perperual emorion machines,
rransmirring discourses rhar are wall-ro-wall ideology, in rhe
srrong sense olrhe rerm. The inrellecrual armosphere ol posr-
modernism,asdoxararherrhanarr,drawsmanyolirsimpulses
lromrhepressureolrhissphere. Iorrheposrmodernisrhisroo.
anindexolcriricalchangeinrherelarionshipberweenadvanced
rechnologyandrhepopularimaginary.
A rhirdcoordinare olrhenewsiruarionlay, olcourse, inrhe
polirical changes ol rhe rime. The onser olrhe Cold War, alrer
I947, had lrozen srraregic boundaries and chilled all insurgenr
hopes in Europe. ln America, rhe labour movemenr was neu-
rered and rhe lelrhounded. Posr-war srabilizarionwaslollowed
by rhe lasresr period ol inrernarional growrh in rhe hisrory o
capiralism. The Arlanricorder ol rhe nlries,proclaiming rhe
ol ideology, seemed ro consign rhe polirical world ol
rwenries and rhirries ro a remore pasr. Thewind olrevolu
in whichrhe avanr-gardes had once skimmed, was gone. J}pi
cally, ir was in rhis period,whenmosr olrhe grear experimenrs
seemed over, rharrhe norion ol 'modernism' acquired currency
7 Signatures of the Visible, New York 1992, p. 61 likewise Postmodernism,
pp. 36-37.
8 The phrase is Robert Hughes's: Nothing i fN ot Critical, New York 1990, p. 14.
89
THE ORI GI NS OF POSTMODERNI TY
as a comprehensive rerm, ro demarcare a canon ol classical
worksrowhichconremporarycriricsnowlookedback.
Yerrheourwardappearanceolacomplereclosureolpolirical
horizonsinrheWesrwassrill, lorawholeperiod, deceprive. ln
conrinenralEurope, massCommunisrparriesinIranceandlraly
- and undergrounds H Spain, Porrugal and Creece remained
unreconciled ro rhe exisring order, no marrer how moderare
rheir racrics, rheirveryexisrenceacring as 'a mnemonic device,
as ir were, holding rhe place in rhe pages ol hisrory' lor rhe
revival olmoreradical aspirarions. lnrheUSSR,rhepassingol
Sralin unleashed processes olrelorm rhar seemed in rhe era ol
Khrushchev ro be moving rowards a less repressive and more
inrernarionalisrSoviermodel onecommirredroassisringrarher
rhan lrusrraring insurgenr movemenrs abroad. ln rhe Third
World, decolonizarion was shaking loose major basrions ol
imperialrule,inaseriesolrevolurionaryupheavals lndochina,
Egypr, Algeria, Cuba, Angola rhar broughr independence ro
muchwiderareas.lnChina,rheesrablishedbureaucracybecame
rhe rarger ol a movemenr orchesrrared by Mao, invoking rhe
idealsolrheParisCommune.
Suchwasrheserring,wirhirsmixrureolrealiriesandillusions,
lor rhe sudden kindling ol explosive revolurionary energies
among educared yourh ol rhe advanced capiralisr counrries
nor merely in Irance, Cermany or lraly, bur equally in rhe
Unired Srares or |apan in rhe sixries. The wave ol srudenr
revolrwasrapidly, ilmoreselecrively,lollowedbylabourunresr
mosrlamously,rhegeneralsrrikeolMay|uneI96SinIrance,
rhe Hor Aurumn ol lraly in I969 and irs prorracred sequels,
rhe miners' srrikes ol I97374 in Brirain. ln rhis grear rur-
bulence, echoes lrom rhe European pasr , Iourier, Blanqui,
Iuxemburg. nor ro speak ol Marx himsell\ , rhe Third World
presenr , Cuevara, Ho Chi Minh, Cabral\ and rhe Communisr
lurure ,rhe 'culrural revolurion' envisaged by Ienin or Mao\
criss-crossed ro creare a polirical lermenr nor seen since rhe
rwenries. ln rhese years roo, viral srrurs ol rhe rradirional
moral order, regularing rhe relarions berweengenerarions and
sexes,srarredrogiveway. No-onehasrerracedrheparabola ol
9 Marxism and Form, p.273.
90
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rhar
rime berrer rhan |ameson, in his essay 'Periodizing rhe
Si
xries' . 'Quire narurally, ir sawlivelyavanr-gardellames spurr

up
agam.
Bur rhis conj uncrure proved ro be a climacrerrc. Wrrhrn
anorher lew years, all rhe signs were reversed as, one by one,
rhe polirical dreams ol rhe sixries were snulled our. The May
Revolr in Irance was absorbed virrually wirhour rrace in rhe
polirical doldrums olrhesevenries. The Czechoslovak Spring-
rheboldesrolall Communisrrelorm experimenrs wascrushed
by rhe armies olrheWarsawPacr. lnIarinAmerica, guerrillas
inspired or led by Cuba were sramped our. ln China, rhe
CulruralRevolurion sowedrerrorrarher rhan liberarion. lnrhe
Sovier Union, rhe long Brezhnevire decline ser in. To rhe Wesr,
hereandrherelabourunresrpersisred, burbyrhe second hallol
rhe decade rhe ride ol milirancy had ebbed. Callinicos and
Eagleronarerighrrosrressimmediaresourcesolposrmodernism
in rhe experience ol delear. Bur rhese serbacks were only a
preambleromore decisivecheckmaresahead.
lnrheeighries,avicroriousRighrpassedoverrorheollensive.
ln rhe Anglo-Saxon world rhe Reagan and Tharcher regimes,
alrer llarrening rhe labour movemenr, rolled back regularion
and redisrriburion. Spreading lrom Brirain ro rhe Conrinenr,
privarizarionolrhepublic secror, cursin social expendirureand
highlevels olunemploymenrcreared a newnorm olneo-liberal
developmenr, evenrually implemenred byparries olrhe Ielr no
less rhan rhe Righr. By rhe end ol rhe decade, rhe posr-war
missionolsocial-democracyinWesrernEurope awellaresrare
based on lull employmenr and universal provision had been
largely abandoned by rhe Socialisr lnrernarional. ln
Europe and rheSovierUnion, Communism unablero Ll
:
economically abroad or democrarize polirically ar home
oblirerared alrogerher. ln rhe Third World, srares born
narionalliberarionmovemenrs wereeverywhererrappedinnev
lorms ol inrernarional subordinarion, unable ro escape the
consrrainrs ol global nnancial markers and rheir insrirurions of

supervrsron.
The universal rriumph ol capiral signines more rhan j usr a
J
The Ideologies of Theor, Vo1 2, pp. 178-208.
91
THE ORI GI NS OF POS T MODERNI TY
J:|:at |or a|| thos: |or.:s on.: array:J aa|nst |t, a|thouh
|t |s a|so thatIts J::p:r s:ns: ||:s |nth: .an.:||at|on o|po||t|-
.a| a|t:rnat|v:sMoJ:rn|ty .om:s to an :nJ, as )am:son
oes:rv:s, wh:n |t |os:s any antonymTh: poss|e|||ty o| oth:r
so.|a| orJ:rs was an:ss:nt|a| hor|ron o|moJ:rn|sm On.:that
van|sh:s, som:th|n |||: postmoJ:rn|sm|s |np|a.:Th|s |s th:
unspo|:n mom:nt o| truth |n IyotarJ's or||na| .onstru.t|on
How, th:n, shou|J th: .onjun.tur: o| th: postmoJ:rn e:
summ:J up? A .apsu|: .ompar|son w|thmoJ:rn|smm|htrun
postmoJ:rn|sm :m:r:J |rom th: .onst:l|ation of a declqsse
ru|in_ orJ:r a m:qtiz:chpgyanu a :ono.lro_:
po||s But, o|.ours:, th:s: .oorJ|nat:sw:reth:ms:|v:s on|y
sions o| a |ar:r .han: that sup:rv:n:J w|th th:

s:v:ntr :s
Cap|ta||sm as a who|: :nt:r:J a n:w h|stor|.a| phas:, w|th
th: suJJ:n |aJ:-out o| th: postwar eoomTh: unJ:r|y|n
.aus: o| th: |on Jownsw|n, w|th |ts mu.h s|ow:r rat:s o|
rowth anJ h|h:r rat:s o| |n:qua||ty, was th: |nt:ns|h.at|on
o||nt:rnat|ona| .omp:t|t|on, r:|:nt|:ss|y |or.|nJown rat:s o|
prohtanJsoth:spr|nso||nv:stm:nt, |na |oea| :.onomyno
|on:r J|v|s|e|: |nto r:|at|v:|y sh:|t:r:J nat|ona| spa.:sTh|s
was th: harJ m:an|n o| th: arr|va| o| th: mu|t|nat|ona|
.ap|ta||sm fla:J ey )am:sonTh: r:spons: o| th: syst:m to
th: .r|s|s y|:|J:J th: .onhurat|on o| th: :|ht|:s th: eatt:r-
|n Jown o| |aeour |n .or: r:|ons, outsour.|n o| p|ants to
.h:ap wa: |o.at|ons |n th: p:r|ph:ry, J|sp|a.:m:nt o||nv:st-
m:nt |nto s:rv|.:s anJ .ommun|.at|ons, :xpans|on o| m|||tary
:xp:nJ|tur:, anJ v:rt||nous r|s: |n th: r:|at|v: w:|ht o|
hnan.|a| sp:.u|at|on at th: :xp:ns: o||nnovat|v: proJu.t|on
Inth:s:|nr:J|:ntso|th:R:aanr:.ov:ry, a||th:J:t:r|orat:J
:|:m:nts o| th: postmoJ:rn .am: to:th:r uner|J|:Jnouveau
riche J|sp|ay, t:|:prompt stat:.ra|t, eo||-w::v|| .ons:nsusIt
was th: :uphor|a o| th|s .onjun.tur: that :n:rat:J, w|th
pun.tua| t|m|n, th: hrst r:a| |||um|nat|on o| postmoJ:rn|sm
Th: :.onom|. turn|n-po|nt o| th: R:aan Pr:s|J:n.y .am:
on I2 Auust I9S2, wh:n th: Am:r|.an sto.|mar|:t too|
o|| th: start o| th: |:v:rish eu||-run that :nJ:J th: Cart:r
r:.:ssionThr:: months |at:r, )am:son ros: to aJJr:ss th:
Wh|tn:y
92
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Polarities
Ilsuchmayhave been rhe condirions olrhe posrmodern, whar
can be said olirs conrours? Hisrorically modernism was essen-
rially a post facto caregory, unilying alrer rhe evenr a wide
variery ol experimenral lorms and movemenrs, whose own
nameslorrhemselvesknewnorhingolir.Byconrrasr,posrmod-
ernism was much closer ro an ex ante norion, a conceprion
germinaredinadvance olrhe arrisricpracricesircamerodepicr.
Nor rharirhas ever beensignincanrlyadopred bypracririoners
rhemselves, anymorerhanwasmodernism inirs ,rerrospecrive\
heyday. Bur rhere is sri|l a major dillerence in rhe respecrive
weighr ol rhe rerms. The rime ol rhe modern was rhar ol rhe
unrepearable genius rhe 'high modernism' ol Prousr, |oyce,
Kalka, Elior, or rhe inrransigenr vanguard rhe collecrive
movemenrs ol Symbolism, Iururism, Expressionism, Consrruc-
rivism, Surrealism. This was a world ol sharp demarcarions,
whose lronriers were sraked our by rhe insrrumenr ol rhe
manilesro.declararionsolaesrhericidenrirypeculiarnoronlyro
rhe avanr-gardes, bur also inmore oblique andsublimared sryle
characrerisric ol wrirers like Prousr or Elior, rhar separared rhe
elecrivegroundolrhearrisrlromrheterrains vagues beyond.
Thisparrernismissinginrheposrmodern.Sincerhesevenries,
rhe very idea ol an avanr-garde, or ol individual genius, has
lallen under suspicion. Combarive, collecrive movemenrs ol
innovarion have become sreadily lewer, and rhe badge ol a
novel, sell-conscious 'ism' ever rarer. Ior rhe universe ol rhe
posrmodern is nor one ol delimirarion, bur inrermixrure
celebraring rhe cross-over, rhe hybrid, rhe por-pourri. In
climare,rhemanilesro becomes ourdared, a relic olan
purism ar variance wirhrhe spirir olrhe age. Inrhe a
any sysrem ol sell-designarions inrernal ro rhe neld ol
pracrices rhemselves, however, rhe exrernal uniner ol -

ernism has acquired a conremporary salience modernism irsel

never had, as a comprehensive rubric lor rhem all. The ga
berweennameandrimehasclosed.
This is norro sayrharrhere was no discrepancy ar all. The
hisrory olrhe idea ol rhe posrmodern, as we have seen, srarrs
well belore rhe arrival ol anyrhing rhar would readily be
93
THE ORI GI NS OF POS T MODERNITY
idenrined as a lorm ol rhe posrmodern roday. Nor does rhe
order olirs rheorizarion correspond rorheorderolirsphenom-
enal appearance. The origins ol rhe norion ol posrmodernism
were lirerary, andirsprojecrionrolameasasrylewasarchirec-
rural. Bur long belore rhere were novels or buildings rhar
answered ro srandard descriprions olrhe posrmodern, virrually
all irs rrairs had surlaced in painring. Since rhe Belle Epoque,
rhis had usually been rhe mosr sensirive seismograph ol wider
culrural changes. Ior painring is ser aparr among rhe arrs by a
disrincrive combinarion ol learures, rhar amounr ro a special
srarure. Onrheonehand, inrhescaleolresourcesrequiredasa
pracrice, irs cosrs ol producrion are lar rhe lowesr ,even sculp-
rors use moreexpensive marerials\ a mereminimum olpainr
and canvas, wirhin reach ol rhe mosr indigenr producer. By
comparison,rhecapiralsumsneededlorarchirectureornlmare
enormous, whilewriring orcomposingnormallydemandsquire
sizeable ourlays ro reach publicarion or perlormance. Anorher
way ol purring rhis is simply ro nore rhar rhe painrer is in
principle rhe only lully independenr producer, who as a rule
needsnolurrherinrermediarionrorealizeaworkolarr.
On rhe orher hand and in dramaricconrrasr rhe marker
lorpainrings involves porenriallyrhe highesrrares olrerurnon
inirial invesrment ol any ol rhe arrs. Since rhe Second World
War, rhe gallery sysrem and aucrion room have sreadily esca-
laredvalues,rowardsasrronomicnguresinrheroprange.What
is peculiar abour rhe arr marker, ol course, and explains rhese
dizzying prices, is irs specularive characrer. Here works can be
boughr and sold as pure commodiries in a lurures marker, lor
pronr ro come. The rwo opposire sides ol rhe siruarion ol
painring are, ol course, inrer-relared. A picrure is cheap ro
produce, becauseirinvolvesnorechniquesolreproducrion no
crane or sreel, no camera or srudio, no orchesrra, no prinring-
press. Bur preciselylorrharreason, aswharisnon-reproducible
rhar is unique ir can become incommensurarely valuable.
Thisparadoxisj oinedbyanorherwirhinrhepracriceolpainring
irsell. Innoorherarrisrhe barrierrolormalinnovarionsolow.
The consrrainrs ol verbal inrelligibiliry, ler alone rhe laws ol
engineering, arelar more rigid rhanrhehabirs olrheeye. Even
music, dependenron specialized skills olrhe ear, is less lree, as
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thc inhnitcy smacr audicncc Or mOdcrnist cXpcrimcnt i nthc
mcdium OsOund makcs ccar.
t is thus nO accidcnt thatpainting startcd tO brcak With thc
cOnvcntiOns O rcprcscntatiOn Wc bcOrc any Othcr art, cvcn
pOctry, and has Witncsscd ar thc argcst numbcr O Orma
rcvOutiOns sincc. n rOnt O thc canvas, thc paintcr cnOys an
individua rccdOm WithOut prccisc cOuntcrpart. Act, ar rOm
bcing thc pursuit par excellence O sOitarics, painting has bccn
Ob cctivcy thc mOst cOabOrativc O mOdcrn arts. n nO Othcr
dO thc tcrms `schOO` and `mOvcmcnt` - in thc strOng scnsc O
mutua carning and cOmmOnpurpOsc- rccur sO rcqucnty and
activcy. Lriginay, training in thc acadcmy Or studiO Was nO
dOubt criticaOr this. Lut pcrhaps tOO, at sOmc dccpcr cvc,
thc vcryibcrty O painting, in its unncrving spacc OinvcntiOn,
has nccdcd thc cOmpcnsatiOn O a distinctivc sOciabiity. Pt a
cvcnts, paintcrs havc typicay cOnsOrtcd With cach Othcr as
Writcrs Or musicians havc rarcy dOnc, and in thcir intcractiOn
havc urnishcd much thc ccarcst scrics Ostyistic brcaks in thc
gcncrahistOryOmOdcrnism.
Jhcsc caturcs markcdpainting Out in advancc as ikcytO bc
thc privicgcd sitc Or a transitiOn tO thc pOstmOdcrn. Jhc ast
maOr schOO O thc mOdcrn, abstract cXprcssiOnism, had bccn
thchrst tO hit a zcnith O currcnt succcss. Lut What thc markct
gavc, ittOOk aWay. Ps Lrccnbcrg nOtcd. `n thc spring O I962
thcrccamcthc suddcn cOapsc, markct-Wisc andpubicity-Wisc,
O Pbstract !XprcssiOnism as a cOcctivc manicstatiOn` - a
dcbacc `tOuchcd O by thc Ong stOck-markct dccinc O thc
Wintcr and spring O I962, Which had nOthing tO dO With art
intrinsicay` . ' ' SiX mOnths atcr, ^cW AOrk saW thctriumrn
Op Prt in thc a. Lriginay, thc ncW styc had strOng 1
a radica past. Kauschcnbcrg had taught undcr Pbcrs
LsOnat Lack NOuntain, and cnOycd cOsc tics With
and Lagc; Ohns Was initiay haicd as a ncO-Lada. ascinatICn
Withthcmachinc-madc daiy cnvirOnmcntWas arcturntOOncO
thc Odcst avant-gardc intcrcsts. Lut by thc siXtics, this arcady
appcarcd as an impusc With a dicrcncc. cW rca machincs
11 Clement Greenberg, The Collected Essays and Criticism, Vol 4, Chicago 1 993,
pp. 215, 1 79.
95
THE ORI GI NS OF POS TMODERNI TY
hgurcd i n this painting, thOugh thc cXccptiOns - KOscnquist`s
scck naccc O dcath - arc suggcstivc. Jhc charactcristic icOns
O Op Prt Wcrc nO Ongcr mcchanica Ob ccts thcmscvcs, but
thcir cOmmcrcia acsimics. Jhis art O cartOOn-strips, brand-
namcs, pin-ups, gazcd banncrs and burrcd idOs suppicd, as
LavidPntinrcmarkcdOarhO in I966, `ascrics Oimagcs O
imagcs` . ' Liting thc phrasc tWO ycars atcr, !cO Stcinbcrg Was
pcrhapsthchrsttO dubthispaintingpOstmOdcrnist.
iththc atcrarhO, indccd, a upOstmOdcrn has unqucs-
tiOnaby arrivcd. nOnchaant crOssing O Orms - graphics,
painting, phOtOgraphy, hm, Ournaism, pOpuar music; cacu-
atcd cmbracc Othcmarkct; hciOtrOpic bcndingtOWards mcdia
and pOWcr. crc thc curvc dcpOrcd by assan, rOm a disci-
pinc O sicncc tO a badinagc O thc dcad-pan, Was virtuay
traccd Within a singc styc - cvcn sO, nOt WithOut a subvcrsivc
ccct. Lut iOpPrtOcrs Onc parabOa Othc pOstmOdcrn, as
it mOvcd tOWards an acsthctic O lirtatiOn, thc mOvcmcnts that
succccdcd it tOOk a mOrc uncOHprOmising OricntatiOn. Nini-
maism, aunchcd in I96566, dchcd any casy appca tO thc
cyc, nOt by a miXing O Orms but by undcrmining thc distinc-
tiOns bctWccn thcm. nitiay, With thc prOductiOn O Ob ccts
that Wcrc ncithcr painting nOr scupturc (udd) , thcn With thc
migratiOn O scupturc tOWards andscapc Or architccturc
( SmithsOn, NOrris) . crc a charactcristic mOdcrnist attack On
pcrccptua cOnvcntiOns Was radicaizcd in tWO dircctiOns, as
spatia cOnstructs Wcrc rcndcrcd tcmpOra cXpcricnccs, and
institutiOnadispaysrustratcdbysitc-binding.
LOnccptuaism, OOWing hard Onthc hccs O Ninimaism-
its hrst articuatiOns camc arOund I967 Wcnt urthcr, disman-
ting thc artistic Obcct itsc by intcrrOgatiOn O thc cOdcs
cOnstituting it as such. LOinciding With thc hcight O thc anti-
War mOvcmcnt and thc Wavc O urban uprisings in Pmcrica at
thc cnd O thc siXtics, cOnccptuaism WasmuchmOrcpOitica in
intcntiOn, mObiizing tcXt against imagc Or rcsistancc nOt Ony
:
'The consequence of a series of regressions from some initial image of the real
world': 'Warhol: the Silver Tenement', Artnews, Summer 1966, p. 58. Steinberg
discussed this passage in Other Criteria, New York 1 972, p. 91, where he
characterized the 'all-purpose picture plane' of Rauschenberg as the basis of a 'post
Modernist painting'.
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tO traditiOna idcOOgics O thc acsthctic i n thc narrOW scnsc,
butasOtO thccOntcmpOrary cuturc Othcspcctaccatargc. t
Was asO ar mOrc intcrnatiOna - Pmcrica cnOying a bric
priOrity, but nO hcgcmOny, as variants OcOnccptua art arOsc
indcpcndcnty a Ovcr thc WOrd, rOm apan Or Pustraia tO
!astcrn!urOpcOr !atinPmcrica. '`n this scnsc, cOnccptuaism
cOud bc cOnsidcrcd thc hrst gOba avant-gardc. thc mOmcnt at
Which thc hrc-curtains OmOdcrn - curO-amcrican - artpartcd,
tO rcvca thc stagc O thc pOstmOdcrn. Lut cOnccptuaism Was
this in anOthcr scnsc tOO. Jhc Ormaist canvas Was nOt ust
dispaccd by uncassihabc Ob ccts, cuding thc systcm Othc hnc
arts. ainting itsc Was dcpOscd as thc acmc O thc visua, and
vOatiizcd intO Othcr Orms. Phcad ay thc cmcrgcncc O insta-
atiOn art. Jhc pictOria is sti suspcndcd in thc atcr-shOck O
thisuphca va.
Jhc brcak bctWccn thc mOdcrn and pOstmOdcrn thus nOt
Ony camc caricr in painting Or scupturc than in any Othcr
mcdium, but Was mOrc drastic - a radica disturbancc O thc
naturc O thc arts thcmscvcs. t is thus nO surprisc that it Was
prcciscy this arca thatgavc risc tO thc mOst vauting thcOrics O
thc dcstiny O thc acsthctic. n 1 983, thc Lcrman art histOrian
ans Lcting pubishcd Das Ende der Kunstgeschichte?; a ycar
atcr, thc Pmcrican phiOsOphcr Prthur LantO his cssay `Jhc
Lcath O Prt` . '' Jhc cOsc cOn vcrgcncc O thcir thcmcs has
Oundurthcr cXprcssiOn in Lcting`s cnargcd sccOnd cditiOn O
his WOrk, Eine Revision nach zehn Jahren ( 1995) , WhichdrOps
thc qucstiOn-mark in thc hrst cditiOn, and LantO`s After the
End of Art ( 1997) .
Lcting`s Origina thcsis tOOk thc Orm O a dOubc attack. OD


13 The best account of the origins and effects of the movement is Peter lI
'Global Conceptualism' (forthcoming) . For a critique of its upshot, see Benjami
}s
Buchloh's alternative version, 'Conceptual Art 1962-1969: from the Aesthetics ot
Administration to the Critique of Institutions', October, No 55, Winter 1990,
pp. 105-143, which taxes conceptualism with a 'purging of image and skill, memory
and vision' that paradoxically contributed to a reinstatement of the very 'specular
regime' it sought to void. This argument is far from over.
14 Danto's text formed the 'lead essay' in the symposium edited by Beryl Lang, The
Death of Art, New York 1984: pp. 5-35 the remainder composed of responses to

It.
97
THE ORI GI NS OF POSTMODERNI TY
thc rcguativc `idca nOtiOns O art` that had inOrmcd prO
cssiOna art histOry sincc cgc, but WhOsc Origins Wcnt back
tO \asari; and On avant-gardc cOnccptiOns O cOntinuOus `prO-
grcss` in mOdcrn art. Jhcsc tWO discOurscs, hc argucd, had
aWays bccn disOincd, sincc art histOrians - With thc rarcst O
cXccptiOns - had ncvcr had much tO say abOut thc art O thcir
timc, Whic thc avant-gardcs tcndcd tO rccct thc art O thc past
en bloc anyWay. Lut bOth Wcrc histOrica mystihcatiOns. Jhcrc
Was ncithcr a unitary csscncc nOr an unOding Ogic in art,
Which nOt Ony assumcd Widcy divcrsc Orms, but uhcd
radicay dicrcnt unctiOns, in thc variOus sOcictics and cpOchs
OhumanhistOry.
n thc cst, thc dOminancc Ocascpainting datcd Ony rOm
thc Kcnaissancc, and Was nOW Ovcr. Pmid thc disintcgratiOn O
its traditiOna gcnrcs, it Was nOW cgitimatc tO ask Whcthcr
cstcrn art had nOt rcachcd thc kind O cXhaustiOn in Which
thc cassica art-Orms O !ast Psia Wcrc Otcn On thcir hOmc
grOund ct tO havc cOmc tO an cnd. Pt a cvcnts, it Was ccar
that nO cOhcrcnt `histOry O art` - that is, its cstcrn variants,
sincc a univcrsa histOry had ncvcr bccn On Ocr - Was any
Ongcr pOssibc, Ony discrctc cnquirics intO particuar cpisOdcs
Othc past; andthatthcrc cOud bc nO suchthingas a cOnstant
`WOrk O art` as a singuar phcnOmcnOn, susccptibc O a
univcrsay vaid act O intcrprctatiOn. n duc cOursc, Lcting
prOcccdcd tO a vOuminOus iustratiOn O his argumcnt in Bild
und Kult ( 1 990) , a studyOdcvOtiOnarcprcscntatiOnsrOm atc
Pntiquity tO thc cnd O thc Niddc Pgcs, tracing `a histOry O
thcimagc bcOrcthc cra Oart`.
hcn hc camc tO rcvicW hiscascinthcmid-ninctics, Lcting
nO Ongcr had any dOubt that art histOry as Oncc undcrstOOd
Was hnishcd. is attcntiOn nOW turncd tO thc atc O art itsc.
Lncc, art Was undcrstOOd as an imagc O rcaity, O Which art
histOry urnishcd thc ramc. n thc cOntcmpOrary cpOch, hOW
cvcr, art had cscapcd its ramc. JraditiOna dchnitiOns cOud nO
Ongcr cncOsc it, as ncW Orms and practiccs prOicratcd, nOt
mcrcy taking mass mcdia asthcir matcrias, but Otcn dcivcrcd
by thc ccctrOnic mcdia thcmscvcs Or cvcn by ashiOn, as
styistic rivas O What rcmaincd O thc beaux arts. Jhc visua
practiccs O this pOstmOdcrn sccnc had tO bc cXpOrcd in thc
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samc cthnOgraphic spirit asprc-mOdcrn icOns, WithOut cOmmit-
mcnt tO any scicncc O thc bcautiu appcarancc. n thc ninc
tccnth ccntury cgc had dccarcd thc cnd O art, and at thc
samc strOkc Oundcd a ncW discOursc O art histOry. JOday, Or
Lcting, Wc Obscrvc thc cnd O a incar art histOry, as art takcs
cavc O its dchnitiOns. Jhc rcsut is thc OppOsitc O a cOsurc.
anunprcccdcntcd and WccOmcOpcnncssmarksthctimc.
LantO arrivcs at thc samc ahrmatiOn, by a sighty - abcit
piquanty dicrcnt rOutc. crc thc 'cnd O art` is mOrc
phiOsOphicay annOunccd, as thc cOapsc O a mastcr
narrativcs thatcntthc disparatcWOrks Othc pasta cumuativc
mcaning. Lut such invOcatiOn O !yOtard by nO mcans signihcs
simiarity O dcductiOn. Jhc narrativc WhOsc dcath LantO
Wishcs tO cccbratc is Lrccnbcrg`s accOunt O thc dynamic O
mOdcrn painting, mOving by succcssivc purgcs bcyOnd hgura-
tiOn, dcpth, impastOtOshccrlatncss and cOOur. tsuncra Was
Op Prt, Whichin Onc variant Or anOthcr uncXpcctcdy rcstOrcd
virtuay cvcrything Lrccnbcrg had dccarcd spcnt. Or LantO,
Op Prt markcd thc cntry O painting intO a `pOst-histOrica`
ibcrty, inWhich anything visibc cOud bccOmc a WOrk Oart-
a mOmcnt O Which arhO`s LriO LOX cOud stand as thc
cpiphany. Or Op Prt Was nOt simpy a sautary `adOratiOn O
thc cOmmOnpacc` , atcr thc citist mctaphysics O abstract
cXprcssiOnism (With its suspcct inks tO surrcaism) . t Was asO
a dcmOnstratiOn - hcrc thc cOnncXiOn With Luchamp Was
csscntia - that `thc acsthctic is nOt in act an csscntia Or
dchning prOpcrty Oart`.binccthcrcWasnOOngcranyprcscrip-
tivc mOdc O art, a candy bar cOud bc as acccptabc a WOrk OI

art, isOprOpOscd, as any Othcr. '`

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Jhis cOnditiOn O `pcrcct artistic rccdOm`, in Which `c
thing is pcrmittcd` , did nOt, hOWcvcr, cOntradict cgc`s
thetic but Onthc cOntrary rcaizcd it. Or `thc cnd O art cOns

in thc cOming tO aWarcncss O thc truc phiOsOphica naturc o

art` - that is, art passcs Ovcr intO phiOsOphy ( as cgc said it
15 After the End of Art, Princeton 1997, pp. 1 12, 1 85: 'A candy bar that is a work
of art need not be some especially good candy bar. It just has to be a candy bar
produced with the intention that it be art. One can still eat it since its edibility is
consistent with its being art'.
99
THE ORI GI NS OF POST MODERNI TY
must) atthc mOmcnt atWhich Ony anintccctua dccisiOn can
dctcrmincWhatisOrisnOtart. Jhisis ancnd-statcWhichLantO
cXpicity assOciatcs With that Othcr cgcian prOspcct, thc cnd
OhistOry as such, as rcWOrkcd by Ocvc. thc attcr has nOt
ncccssariy yct bccn rcachcd, thc Ormcr givcs us a happy
prcvisiOn O it. `OW WOndcru it WOud bc tO bcicvc that thc
puraistic art WOrd O thc histOrica prcscnt is a harbingcr O
pOitica things tO cOmc! `

Lcting`s cOnstructiOn - this is its

principa cOntrastWithLantO`s- dispatchcs rathcr than appcas
tO cgc. Act it strikcs a vcry simiar nOtc, at prcciscy this
pOint, Whcrc thc thcmc O a pOst-histOrica cOnditiOn transmit
tcd by cnri Lc Nan tO Lchcn, rOm thc atcrnativc sOurcc O
LOurnOt, rccurs at thc samc unctiOn. `Jhc Posthistoire O
artists, Want tO arguc, startcd caricr and has unOdcd mOrc
crcativcythanthcPosthistoire OhistOricathinkcrs`. '
Jhc intccctua ragiity O thcsc intcrOcking argumcnts is
cvidcnt cnOugh. Jhc cquatiOn O prc-mOdcrn icOns With pOst-
mOdcrn simuacra, as art bcOrc and atcr art, invOvcs an
ObviOus paraOgism - sincc inthc hrst casc Ob ccts arc cndOWcd
rctrOspcctivcy With acsthctic status, Whic in thc sccOnd thcy
arc cXprcssy dcnicd it. hat quaihcs, thcn, thc attcr as art at
a r Or LantO, thc ansWcr is csscntiay thc hat O thc artist.
Jhc dicrcncc bctWccn thc cOmmOdity in thc supcrmarkct and
itsrcprOductiOninthcmuscumicsinarhO`s dcbOnairgcsturc
itsc. t WOud bc dihcut tO imaginc a phiOsOphy O art that
Was, in substancc, css cgcian. Jhc rca inspiratiOn hcrc is
cOscr tO ichtc. thc cgO pOsiting Whatcvcr WOrd it Wis. Jhis
parOXysm O subcctivc idcaism is Orcign tO Lcting, WhO
prOcccds With a mOrc cautiOus anthrOpOOgica stcp. Lut
cOmmOn tO bOth thcOrists is a hcd-spccihc prcdicctiOn. Jhc
pOstmOdcrn is cOnstrucd and admircd csscntiay thrOugh its
mOst brazcny Ostcnsivc Orms. thc cmbcmatic artists arc
arhO Or LrccnaWay.
Lut thc brcak can asO bcWrittcn in a vcrydicrcntWay. Or
Afer the End of Art, pp. 12, 30-31 , 37.
'Das Ende der Kunstgeschichte. Eine Revision nach zehn Jahre, Munich 1995,
p. 12. I have discussed the intellectual origins of the idea of Posthistoire in 'The
Ends of History', A Zone of Engagement, pp. 279-375.
100

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Hal Iosrer, rhe mosr cogenr rheorisr ol a 'neo-avanr-garde'
indebredroirshisroricpredecessors, burnornecessarilyinlerior
ro
rhem indeed perhaps capable ol realizing aimsrheymissed
~ ir is nor rhe ngurarive wir ol Pop Arr bur rhe ausrere
absrracrionsolMinimalismrharmarkedrhemomenrolruprure.
'aparadigmshilrrowardsposrmodernisrpracricesrharconrinue
ro be elaborared roday' .' Ior ilrhe original avanr-gardes had
concenrrared rheir nre on rhe convenrions olarr, rhey hadpaid
relarively lirrle arrenrion ro irs insrirurions. In exposing rhese,
rhe neo-avanr-gardes had as ir were, alrer rhe evenr
consummared rheir projecr. This was rhe rask underraken by
rhe cohorr ol arrisrs whose work represenred rhe mosr ellecrive
passage lrom minimalism ro conceprualism. Buren, Brood-
rhaers, Asher, Haacke. The posrmodern had never complerely
superseded rhe modern, the rwo being always in some sense
'delerred', as so many prengured lurures and reclaimed pasrs.
Burir had inaugurared a range ol'newways ro pracrice culrure
and polirics'. The norion ol rhe posrmodern, Iosrer insisrs,
wharever larer misuses were made ol ir, was nor one rhe lelr
shouldsurrender.
Such accounrs appear virrually anrirherical, nor only in aes-
rhericburpoliricalaccenr.Yerrhecommonaliriesbehindrhecon-
trasting norms olcach arc aIso Iain. !arodicaII,, onc couId
say. wirhour Duchamp, no Rauschenberg or |ohns wirhour
|ohns, noWarhol or|udd wirhourRuschaor|udd,noKosurh
or Iewirr wirhourIlavinorDuchamp ,nnally ourllanked\ , no
Buren.Evenrhe lasrwhirehopeolmodernisrabsrracrion,Irank
Srella, once ser up ro be bulwark againsr everyrhing sliding
rowardsrheposrmodern,playedanorinconsiderableparrini
arrival. However rhe rranslormarion ol rhe visual is a

here, connexions and opposirions are inrerwined. This i

is srill roo recenr lor derached reconsrrucrion, rhar would v.

allirsconrradicrionsrheirdue.Burameread hoc nominalism
clearly insulncienr roo. The shilrs in painring suggesr a wider
parrern. Some provisional way olconceprualizing whar seems

robeaconsriruriverensionwirhinposrmodernismisneeded.
1
8
The Return of the Real, p. 36.
1
9 The Return of the Real, p. 206.
101
THE ORI GI NS OF POST MODERNI TY
Pt thc vcry Origin Othc tcrm, as Wchavc sccn, thcrc Was a
biurcatiOn. hcn Lc Lns hrst cOincd postmodernismo, hc
cOntrastcd it With ultramodernismo, as tWO OppOsitc rcactiOns
tO ispanic mOdcrnsm, succccding cach Othcr Within a bric
spacc O timc. ity ycars atcr pOstmOdcrnism has bccOmc a
gcncra tcrm, WhOsc primary cOnnOtatiOns rcmain cOsctO thOsc
indicatcd by Lc Lns, but Which asO visiby cXcccds thcm
tOWards thc Othcr pOc O his cOnstructiOn. JO capturc this
cOmpcXity, anOthcr pair O prchXcs - intcrna tO pOstmOdcrn
ism - is nccdcd. crhaps thc mOst apprOpriatc cOud bc bOr-
rOWcd rOm a rcvOutiOnary past. n a amOus spccch, On thc
1th ^ivsc O thc Acar , KObcspicrrc distinguishcd bctWccn
`citra-rcvOutiOnary` and `utra-rcvOutiOnary` Orccs in rancc-
that is, mOdcratcs WhO Wishcd tO draW thc Kcpubic back rOm
thc rcsOutc mcasurcs ncccssary tO savc it ( LantOn) , and cXtrc-
mists WhO sOught tO prccipitatc it OrWard intO cXccsscs that
WOud ust as surcy Osc it ( cbcrt) . crc, purgcd O Oca
pOcmic,isthcdyadthatmOrcniccycOnvcysthcpOarityWithin
thcpOstmOdcrn.
Jhc `citra` can bc takcn as a thOsc tcndcncics Which,
brcaking With high mOdcrnism, havc tcndcd tO rcinstatc thc
Ornamcnta and mOrc rcadiy avaiabc; Whic thc `utra` can bc
rcad as a thOsc Which havc gOnc bcyOnd mOdcrnism in
radicaizing its ncgatiOns Oimmcdiatc intcigibiity OrscnsuOus
gratihcatiOn. thc cOntrast bctWccn thc pOp and thc minima-
cOnccptua in thc pOstmOdcrn gacry is archctypa, thc samc
tcnsiOn can bc traccd thrOughOut thc Othcr arts. Prchitccturc is
a particuary markcd casc in pOint, Whcrc thc pOstmOdcrn
strctchcs rOm thc Orid histriOnics O Lravcs Or NOOrc at Onc
cnd tO thc dccOnstructivc scvcritics O !iscnmann Or !icbcskind
at thc Othcr. citra-mOdcrnism and utra-mOdcrnism tO mOnu
mcnta scac. Lut it WOud cquay bc pOssibc tO map - say -
cOntcmpOrary pOctry in simiar ashiOn. Lavid crkins` s stan
dard histOry, in ccct, tacity dOcs sO by distributing pOstmOd
crn gcnrcs gcOgraphicay, as bctWccn Lritain and Pmcrica -
Z
See F.-A. Aulard, La Societe des Jacobins. Recueil de documents, Vol V, Paris
1 895, pp. 601-604. No historian doubts that Danton and Hebert also belonged to
the Revolution.
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mOdcrnism cXiting intO !arkin Or ughcs On Onc sidc O thc
Ptantic, and Pshbcry Or crcman Onthc Othcr. !nthusiasts Or
thc attcr, O cOursc, WOud cXcudc thc citra rOm pOstmOdcrn
pOctry,' ust as vicc-vcrsa cncks WOud cXcudc thc utra rOm
pOstmOdcrn architccturc Lnc O thc mOst striking caturcs O
amcsOn`s critica Writing is his cOrtcss ncgOtiatiOn O bOth
pOcs. Ortman and Lchry, arhO and aackc, LOctOrOW and
SimOn, !ynchand SOkurOv.
LOcs a Orma dividcr O this kind cOrrcspOnd tO any sOcia
dcmarcatiOn-incr LOnrOnting thc cuturc O capita, mOdcrn
ism cOud appca tO tWO atcrnativc vauc-WOrds, bOth hOstic
tO thc cOmmcrcia Ogic Othc markct and thc bOurgcOis cut O
thcamiy, irOm OppOsitc standpOints. Jhc traditiOna aristO-
cratic Ordcr Ocrcd Onc sct O idcas against Which tO mcasurc
thc dictatcs O prOht and prudcry - a sprezzatura abOvc vugar
cacuatiOn Or narrOW inhibitiOn. Jhc cmcrgcnt abOur mOvc-
mcnt cmbOdicd quitc anOthcr, nO css antagOnistic tO thc rcign
O ctish and cOmmOdity, but sccking its basis in cXpOitatiOn,
and its sOutiOn in an cgaitarian uturc rathcr than hicrarchica
past.`` Jhcsc tWO critiqucs sustaincd thc spacc O acsthctic
cXpcrimcnt. Prtists in disputc With cstabishcd cOnvcntiOns had
thcchancc OmctOnymic ahiatiOn With Onc cass Orthc Othcr,
as mOra stycs Or nOtiOna pubics. SOmctimcs thcy Wcrc
attractcd tO bOth, as amOusy Wcrc critics ikc Kuskin. Jhcrc
Wcrc asO Othcr OptiOns. thc ncW urban pctty-bOurgcOisic -
amiaby pOpuar, rathcr than gOWcringy prOctarian - Was an
impOrtant rccrcnt Or thc imprcssiOnists, Or Or Oycc. ut thc
tWO principa zOncs O actua Or imaginary invcstmcnt Wcrc
uppcr atmOsphcrc O titcd cisurc and thc OWcr dccp

manua abOur. Strindbcrg, Liaghicv, rOust, LcOrgc,
mannstha, L`PnnunziO, !iOt, Ki|kc can stand Or thc hrst

Compare David Perkins, A History of Modern Poetry - Modernism and Afer,

Cambridge, Mass., 1987, pp. 331-353, with Paul Hoover (ed), Postmodern Ameri
can Poetry, New York 1994, pp. xxv-xxxix. Were one to extend its scope beyond
the arts, philosophy offers an obvious feld for much the same contrast - Rorty at
one end, Derrida at the other.
ZZ
For this duality, see in particular Raymond Williams, The Politics of Modernism,
London 1989, pp. 55-57 ff.
103

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THE ORI GI NS OF POSTMODERNI TY

!nsOr, KOdchcnkO, Lrccht, atOnOv, rcvcrt, Jatin, !cgcr, Or
thcsccOnd.
!vidcnty cnOugh, thisdivaricatiOn did nOtcOrrcspOndtO any
particuar pattcrn O acsthctic mcrit. Lut, cquay painy, it did
indicatc tWO OppOsitc scts OpOitica sympathics, thatdcimitcd
thcrangc Ostycs adOptcd Oncithcr sidc. JhcrcWcrc, OcOursc,
signihcant cXccptiOns hcrc, ikc Naarmc Or Lcinc, Whcrc thc
hcrmctic and dcmOtic cXchangcd idcOOgica signs. Lut thc
gcncra ruc hOds gOOd that thc hcd O mOdcrnism Was
travcrscd by tWO sOcia incs O attractiOn, With Orma cOnsc
qucnccs. OWarcananything cOmparabc bc said OpOstmOd-
crnismr Jhc dcparturc O aristOcracy, thc cvancsccncc O thc
bOurgcOisic, thc crOsiOn O WOrking-cass cOnhdcncc and idcn
tity, havc atcrcd thcsuppOrts and targcts Oartisticpracticc in
undamcnta Ways. t is nOt that atcrnativc addrcssccs havc
simpy disappcarcd. ^cW pOcs O OppOsitiOna idcntihcatiOn
havc cmcrgcd in thc pOstmOdcrn pcriOd. gcndcr, racc, ccOOgy,
scXua OricntatiOn, rcgiOna Or cOntincnta divcrsity. Lut thcsc
havctOdatccOnstitutcd a WcakcrsctOantagOnisms.
arhO can bc takcn as a casc inpOint. na sympathctic and
ingcniOus rcading, Ocn situatcs his `thcatricaizatiOn O
cvcryday ic` as a cOntinuatiOn O thc histOric avant-gardc
prOcct Oiting thc barricrs bctWccnartand ic, takcnintO thc
undcrgrOund, Whcrcits pOitica chargcpasscdtO gayibcratiOn.
Lut thcrc is insuhcicnt cOntradictiOn bctWccn this cgacy and
arhO`s atcr ascinatiOn With Kcaganism - thc phasc O
`sOcicty pOrtraits and cabc J\`.` Subvcrsivc instincts Wcrc
utimatcy OvcrpOWcrcd by sOmcthing much argcr. Ocn`s
authOritativc rcWriting O thc Ovcra tracctOry O mOdcrnism
strcsscs that at its Origins ay a circuatiOn bctWccn OW and
high cuturc, pcriphcry and cOrc, WhOsc Origina OutcOmc Was
much mOrc disOrdcry and cXubcrant than thc unctiOnaist
acsthctic atcr campcd dOWn OntO it, in thc namc Oa strcam
incd industria mOdcrnity, cnamOurcd O Pmcricanism and
Raiding the Icebox, pp. 158-1 61 , 208. For another attractive reading of the early
Warhol, dating a decline from 1966, see Thomas Crow, Modern Art in the
Common Culture, New Haven 1 996, pp. 49-65: a volume that contains perhaps
the best - aesthetically inclusive, yet historically trenchant - sketch of the original
dialectic of modernism and mass culture in the visual arts.
104

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Ordism. Lut, hc argucs, thcrc aWays pcrsistcd a hctcrOdOX
undcrcurrcnt O `dicrcncc, cXccss, hybridity and pOyscmy` -
OccasiOnay visibc cvcn in such zcaOts O purity as !OOs Or !c
LOrbusicr - Which, With thc crisis O Ordism, rcsuraccd inthc
dccOrativcpayOpOstmOdcrnOrms.'
Pt hrst gancc, this OOks ikc a stOry With an upbcat cnding.
Act thcrc arc suhcicnt ndicatiOns O ncW Orms O cOrpOratc
pOWcr cscWhcrc inOcn`s accOunttO suggcst a mOrc ambigu
Ous vcrdict. hat is truc, hOWcvcr, is that thc institutiOna and
tcchnOOgica cOmpcX tO cmcrgc Out O thc crisis O Ordism
dOcs nOt acquirc thc samc prOpOrtiOnatc Wcight as thc Ordist
cOnhguratiOn itsc, in his rccOnstructiOn. Jhc csscr dctai
aOWs a OOscr cOncusiOn. Jhc risk hcrc is an undcrstatcmcnt
O thc changc in thc situatiOn O thc arts sincc thc scvcntics,
Whcrc thc Orccs at WOrk in thc rcviva O thc Ornamcnta and
thc hybrid havc ObviOusy nOt ust bccn rccascd rOm bcOW .
PnOthcr Way O putting this WOud bc tO ask hOW ar thc
appcaing titc O Raiding the Icebox is uy cOntcmpOrary.
arhO`s dOWn-hOmc phrasc bcOngs tO ust that `nOstagic
ccgy` Or tccnagc ycars ivcd in a LOdcn Pgc O Pmcricanism
Which, Ocn rcmarks, dchncd Op Prt as a WhOc. hat
cOud bc mOrc htics thanthcrcrigcratOr r LctWccn suchcasua,
haptic riling amOngthcprcscrvcs Othcpast and OurpOstmOd-
crn prcscnt ics an ccctrOnic barricr. JOday, scanning thc
picturc-bank, surhng thc nct, digitaizing thc imagc, WOud bc
mOrc actua OpcratiOns - a O thcm, ncccssariy, mcdiatcd by
thc OigOpOics Othcspcctacc.
t is that transOrmatiOn, thc ubiquity O thc spcctacc as thc
Organizing principc O thc cuturc industry in cOntcmp

cOnditiOns, Which abOvc a nOW dividcs thc artistic hcd.
scam bctWccn thc Orma and thc sOcia typicay ics hcrc.
citra-mOdcrn can virtuay bc dchncd as that Which adu
appcas tO thc spcctacuar; thc utra-mOdcrn as thatWhich
tO cudc Or rcusc it. Jhcrc is nO Way O
{
scparating thc rcturn o!
thc dccOrativc rOm thc prcssurc OthiscnvirOnmcnt. `!OW` and
`high` acquirc a dicrcnt scnsc hcrc. dcnOting nO Ongcr thc
distinctiOn bctWccn pOpuar and citc, but rathcr bctWccn thc
Raiding the Icebox, p.206,
105
THE ORI GI NS OF POST MODERNI TY
markct and thOsc WhO cOmmand it. ^Ot that, any mOrc than in
thc mOdcrn, thcrc is any simpc cOrrcspOndcncc bctWccn thc
rcatiOn O a WOrk tO thc dcmarcatiOninc and its achicvcmcnt.
Pcsthctic quaity cOntinucs, as aWays, tO bc distinct rOm
artistic pOsitiOn. LutWhat can bc said, With cOmpctc ccrtainty,
is that in thc pOstmOdcrn thc citra incvitaby prcdOminatcs Ovcr
thc utra. Or thc markct crcatcs its OWn suppy On a scac
massivcy bcyOnd any practiccs that WOud rcsist it. Jhc spcc
taccis bydchnitiOnWhatmcsmcrizcsthcsOciamaXimum.
t is this cndcmic imbaancc Within thc pOstmOdcrn that
suraccs in thc atcr-thOughts O cvcn its mOst scriOus and
gcncrOus cOmmcntatOrs. Jhc ast chaptcr O The Return of the
Real hasthcmcanchOictitc. `hatcvcrhappcncd tO pOstmOd
crnismr ` - that is, thc practiccs and thcOrics its authOr had
champiOncd, nOW pcrccivcd as arcady lOtsam, strandcd Onthc
banks O timc by thc OnWard strcam O thc mcdia.` Ocn,
vicWing thc Pcadcmy shOW O 1, Ound instaatiOn art
incrcasingy standardizcd in its hOur O victOry, and thc spark
O innOvatiOn uncXpcctcdy passing back tO painting, in dOubt
u cOmbat With its ncW cnvirOnmcnt- Or `thc tcnsiOn ct inthc
art WOrd bctWccn thc cgacy O a Ost NOdcrnism and thc
asccndant cuturc O thc spcctacc, thc transOrmcd and trium-
pha Orccs Ocvcything Which Lcmcnt Lrccnbcrg dismisscd as
kitsch. Jhc ncW WOrd Ordcr is in thc asccndant and thc art
The Return of the Real, pp. 205-206. It might be hazarded that Foster's remarks
reflect a more general disappointment of October, the j oural where they frst
appeared, whose key role in proposing radical versions of postmoder possibilities
in the visual arts, after the path-breaking essays of Rosalind Krauss, Douglas Crimp
and Craig Owens of 1979-. 1 980, has yet to be properly documented. The collective
volume edited by Foster in 1983, The Anti-Aesthetic, which included Jameson's
Whitney address, is representative of this moment. For the change of tone by the
late eighties, compare e.g. Patricia Mainardi's scathing 'Postmoder History at the
Musee d' Orsay', October, No 41, Summer 1987, pp. 31-52. This is the trajectory
that can already be found in Hassan or Lyotard. 'Citra' standpoints do not
encounter the same diffculties - although on occasion perhaps they should. For an
amusing example of imperturbable suivisme, applauding just what was originally
decried, see Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown's complacent tale of the way
the 'decorated shed' was wiped out by the 'duck' in their desert resort: 'Las Vegas
after its Classic Age', in Iconography and Electronics upon a Generic Architecture
- A View from the Drafting Room, Cambridge, Mass., 1996.
106
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AFTER- EFFECTS
world cannor possibly insulare irseli irom ir' . In rhis predica-
menr, conremporary arr is pulled inrwo direcrions. a desire ro
'reassess rhe Modernisr rradirion, ro reincorporare elemenrs oi
ir as correcrive ro rhe new Posrmodern visual culrure', and a
drive ro 'rhrow oneseli headlong inro rhe new seducrive world
oi celebriry, commercialism and sensarion' . These parhs, he
concludes, are incomparible. In rhe narure oi rhings, rhere is
lirrledoubrwhichislikelyrobearrheheavierrrainc.
Infections
Does|ameson'swriringonposrmodernismsuggesranycompar-
ableevolurionoiemphasis? Similarnoresarecerrainlysrruckin
hissrudyoiAdorno,rharcanbe readnor onlyinrhe key oiirs
rirle Late Marxism bur also as a rerrieval, in rhe spirir oi
Wollen's remark, oi a dialecrical legacy oi lare modernism.
|ameson is explicir on rhis poinr. 'Adorno's modernism pre-
cludes assimilarion ro rhe alearory iree play oi posr modern
rexrualiry, whichisro say rhar a cerrainnorion oirrurh is srill
ar srake in rhese verbal or iormal marrers' , and his example
persisrs even ar irs mosr provocarive. Dialectic of Enlighten
ment's piriless examinarion oi Hollywood, wharever irs orher
shorrcomings, reminds us rhar 'perhaps roday, when rhe
rriumph oi rhe more uropian rheories oi mass culrure seems
complere and virrually hegemonic, we need rhe correcrive oi
some newrheory oimanipularion, and oia properlyposr mod-
ern commodincarion'. In currenr condirions, wharwere once
idiosyncraric limirarions have become essenrial anridores.
'Adornowasa doubriulallywhenrhereweresrillpoweriul




opposirional polirical currenrs irom which his repeae
andcanrankerousquierism could disrracr rhe commirred rea
-;; :: ~
Now rhar ior rhe momenr rhose currenrs are rhemselves qu
cenr, his bile is aj oyouscounrer-poison and a corrosivesolvenr

ro rhe suriace oi whari s"'. Here isrhe polirical voice oi rhe

#
samerequnemenr.
26
'Thatcher's Artists' , London Review of Books, 30 October 1 997, p. 9.
27
Late Marxism - Adorno, or, the Persistence of the Dialectic, London 1 990,
pp.11, 143,
28
Late Marxism, p. 249.
107

THE ORI GI NS OF POSTMODERNITY

amcsOn`s bOOk On PdOrnO is virtuay cOntcmpOrary With
Postmodernism, or, the Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism.
Sincc thcn, can Wc dctcct any inlcctiOn in his tracking O thc
pOstmOdcrnr n thc ast part O thc The Seeds of Time ( 1 994) ,
cOncssing ` a ccrtain cXaspcratiOn With mysc and Othcrs` Or
Ovcrstating thc `ungOvcrnabc richncss` O thc architcctura
Orms OthcpOstmOdcrn, amcsOnprOpOscdinstcad a structura
anaysis O its cOnstraints." Jhc rcsut is a cOmbinatOry O
pOsitiOns, dcimitcd by Our signs - tOtaity, innOvatiOn, partia
ity, rcpicatiOn - Which Orms a cOscd systcm. Such cOsurc
dOcs nOt dctcrminc thc rcspOnscs O thc architcct tO its sct O
pOssibiitics, but dOcs dclatc thc puraist rhctOric O pOstmOd
crnism. Sti, it is striking that hcrc amcsOn prOcsscs admir
atiOn Or a thc practitiOncrs Or thcOrists - OOhaas,
!iscnmann, Lravcs, PndO, NOOrc, KOssi, ramptOn - distrib
utcd rOund his scmiOtic squarc, nO mattcr hOW mutuay inimi-
ca. LOnsistcnt With this ccumcnicism, athOugh thc sOcia is
OtcnpOWcruy cvOkcd in thc cOursc Othc accOunt, it aOrds
nO discriminatiOn bctWccn pOsitiOns, Which arc dicrcntiatcd
byOrmacritcria aOnc.
P paradOXica cOnscqucncc is tO hnd thc cmbcishmcnts O
NOOrc Or Lravcs aigncd With thc savagc abhOrrcncc O thcm
by ramptOn inthcsamcacsthcticquadrant- Whichthcanaysis
has thcn tO dccant intO a subsidiary cOmbinatOry in Ordcr tO
scparatc Out. ramptOn, Or Onc, might rcgard this Way O
OOking atthc architcctura battchcd as insuhcicntycritica.``
t is truc that architccturc Occupics a pccuiar pOsitiOn Within
thc arts, Which may hcp tO cXpain amcsOn`s apparcnt rcti
ccncc hcrc. ^O Othcr acsthctic practicc has such immcdiatc
sOcia impact, and - Ogicay cnOugh - nOnc has thcrcOrc
gcncratcd sO many ambitiOus prOccts O sOcia cnginccring. Lut
sincc at thc samc timc thc cOst and cOnscqucnccs O a maOr
buiding cOmpcX arc grcatcr than thOsc O any Othcr mcdium,
thc actuacXcrciscO rcc chOicc- Ostructurcs Or sitcs - by thc
architcct is typicay smacr than anyWhcrc csc. OvcrWhcm-
ingy, cicnts cOrpOratc Or burcaucratic ca thc shOts. Jhc vcry
2
9 The Seeds of Time, New York 1994, p. xiv.
30 Compare his Modern Architecture - A Critical History, London 1992, pp. 306-311.
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hrst scntcncc O OOhaas`s cnOrmOus prOgrammatic rcvcric,
S,,L,2L, rcads. `Prchitccturc is a hazardOus miXturc O
OmnipOtcncc and impOtcncc`. `' a ccrtain substantivc impO
tcnccWcrcthccOmmOn bascinc, thcnantasics OOmnipOtcncc
cOudOnyhndOutctinOrms.
t rcmains tO bc sccn hOW ar rcasOning O this kind ics
bchind amcsOn`s apprOach. t is nOticcabc, hOWcvcr, that thc
cOmbinatOry - annOunccd as Ony a skctch - has sincc bccn
OOWcd by intcrvcntiOns O mOrc stringcnt cast, that start tO
pOsc thc qucstiOns itctasidc. Pn urbanc rcvicW OOOhaas`s
summum bcnds Warmth O pcrsOna admiratiOn Or thc hgurc
With a Orbidding prOcctiOn O thc uturc hc cXtOs - thc
dispOsabc city, WhOsc ncarcst anticipatiOn is SingapOrc. an
cbuicnt icOnOcasm idcaizing a virtuay pcnitcntiary sctting,
as thc pcrvcrsc dcstinatiOn O a `vanguard WithOut a missiOn`.`
Subscqucnty, amcsOn has insistcd On thc `thc agOnizing issuc
O rcspOnsibiitics and priOritics` in cOntcmpOrary architccturc,
and thc nccd Or a critiquc O its idcOOgy OOrms - Whcrc thc
acadcs O LOh Or Lravcs bcOng tO thc Ordcr O thc simua
crum, and `a Wcath O invcntivcncss dissOvcs intO rivOity Or
stcriity` . `` n thc hna tcXt O The Cultural Turn, it is thc
spccuativc structurc O gObaizcd hnancc itsc - thc rcign O
hctitiOus capita, in NarX`s tcrms - that hnds architcctura
shapc in thc phantOm suraccs and discmbOdicd vOumcs O
manya pOstmOdcrnhighrisc.
n Othcrarcas,thc inlcctiOnOOks sharpcr. ^OWhcrcmOrcsO
than in thc stunning Ong cssay On `JransOrmatiOns O thc
magc` at thc ccntrc O The Cultural Turn. crc amcsOn
rcgistcrs a WhOcsac rcturn Within thc pOstmOdcrn O
Oncc thcOrcticay prOscribcd by it. a rcinstatcmcnt O t!
rcturn O thc subcct, rchabiitatiOn OpOitica scicncc, )|
dcbatcs abOut mOdcrnity, and - abOvc a - a IY

acsthctics. n sO ar as pOstmOdcrnism in a argcr scnsc, as m

Ogic O capitaism triumphant On a WOrd scac, has banishcC
31 OM, Rem Koolhaas, Bruce Mau: S,M,X,XL, Rotterdam 1995, p, xix,
3
2
'XXL: Rem Koolhaas's Great Big Buildingsroman', Village Voice Literary Sup
plement, May 1 996.
33 'Space Wars', London Review of Books, 4 April 1996.
109
THE ORI GI NS OF POSTMODERNI TY
thc spcctrc OrcvOutiOn, this rcccnt tWist rcprcscnts i namc-
sOn`s rcading What Wc might ca a `rcstOratiOn Within thc
rcstOratiOn` . Jhc particuar Obcct O his critiquc is thc rcviva
Oa prOnOunccd acslhctic O bcauty in thc cincma. !Xampcs hc
discusscs rangcrOmarman OricsOWski at Onc cvc, thrOugh
dircctOrs ikc LOrncau Or SOas at anOthcr, tO currcnt Oy
WOOd actiOn picturcs; nOt tO spcak O thc thcmatics O art and
rcigiOn assOciatcd With thc ncW Output O thc bcautiu. is
cOncusiOn is dracOnian. Whcrc Oncc bcauty cOud bc a subvcr
sivc prOtcst against thc markct and its utiityunctiOns, tOday
thc univcrsa cOmmOdihcatiOn Othc imagchas absOrbcd it as a
trcachcrOus patina O thc cstabishcd Ordcr. `Jhc imagc is thc
cOmmOditytOday, and that is Why it is vain tO cXpcct a ncgatiOn
O thc Ogic O cOmmOdity prOductiOn rOm it; that is Why,
hnay, a bcauty tOday ismcrctriciOus` .`'
Jhc crOcity O this dictum has nO cquivacnt in amcsOn`s
Writing On architccturc, Whichcvcnat itsmOstrcscrvcd ismuch
mOrc cnicnt On caims tO visua spcndOur. hat might cXpain
thc dicrcnccr crhaps Wc shOud think O thc cOntrasting
pOsitiOn Othc tWO arts - cincma and architccturc - in pOpuar
cuturc. Jhc hrst Was virtuay rOm inccptiOn its ccntrcpiccc,
Whic thc sccOnd hasncvcr rcay acquircd much Oa OOt-hOd.
Jhcrc Was nO hmic cOuntcrpart O unctiOnaism. n this mOrc
rarchcd hcd, a turn tOWards thc dccOrativc WOud bc css
taintcd byimmcdiatcassOciatiOn With a Ong-standing acsthctic
OcntcrtainmcntthaninthcmOstcOmc-On OathccOmmcrcia
arts. n `JransOrmatiOns O thc magc` , amcsOn takcs his
iustratiOns O thc acsthctic O bcauty rOm markcdy cXpcri-
mcnta, cacuatcdy middc-brOW and straightOrWardy pOpu-
ar hms aikc. Lut iit is dihcut tOvicWLatino Bar Or Yeelen

in thc samc Way as Blue Or The Godfather, thc prcssurc Or

thcir assimiatiOn cOmcs rOm thc catcgOry Othc ast. Jhis can
bc sccn rOm thc Ocus O amcsOn`s Origina attack On hmic
bcauty - thc in authcntic `cut O thc gOssy imagc` in bOX-Ohcc
nOstagia pics, WhOsc `shccr bcauty can sccm Obsccnc` as `sOmc
utimatc packaging O ^aturc in ccOphanc O a typc that an
ccgant shOp might Wc Wish tO carry in its WindOWs` . t is
''SeeThe Cultural Turn, p.135.
1 1 0

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norable rhar onrhar occasion, ar rhe source oihis obj ecrions,
|ameson specinedrheiropposire. rhose 'hisrorical momenrs and
siruarionsinwhichrheconquesroibeauryhasbeenawrenching
poliricalacr. rhe hallucinarory inrensiryoismeared colourinrhe
grimy numbness oi rourine, rhe birrer-sweer rasre oi rhe eroric
inaworldoibruralizedandexhausredbodies' . `
Iirhose possibilirieshaveso dwindled roday,rhereasonliesin
rhe 'immense disrance berweenrhe siruarionoimodernism and
rharoirheposrmodernsorourselves'crearedbyrhegeneralized
murarionoirheimageinrospecracle iorroday'wharcharacrer-
izes posrmoderniry in rhe culrural area is rhe supersessipri oi
everyrhing ourside oi commercial culrure, irs absorptionoi all
culrure, high and low', inro a single sysrem. This culrural
rransiormarion, in which rhe marker becomes all-inclusive, is
accompanied by a social meramorphosis.|ameson's accounr oi
rhis change is, inirially ar leasr, more iavourable. Poinring ro
grearer levels oi lireracy and abundance oi iniormarion, less
hierarchical manners and more universal dependency on wage-
labour, heusesaBrechrianrermrocaprurerheresulranrlevelling
process. nor democrarizarion, which would imply a polirical
sovereignry consrirurive|y missing, bur 'plebeianizarion' a
developmenr which, wirh all irs limirs, rhe leir can only wel-
come.`Bur,asisoirenrhewayin|ameson,rhedialecricaldeprhs
oiaconceprdiscloserhemselvesonlygradually.
Subsequenrretlecrion on rhis alrerarion rhus srrikes a some-
whardiiierenrnore.InTheSeeds of Time, plebeianizarionreveals
anorher aspecr nor so much a closing oi class disrance, as a
cancellarionoisocialdiiierencetout court: rharis, rheerosionor
suppressionoianycaregoryoirheorherinrhecollecrivema

ary.Wharoncecouldberepresenredalrernarivelybyhighs
orrhe underworld, rhe narive orrhe ioreigner, now iades
. . .

ianrasmagoria oi inrerchangeable srarus and alearory mobiIip ,
inwhich no posirionH rhe socialscale H everirrevocablynxed
and rhe a|ien can only be projecred ourwards inrorhereplicant
or exrra-rerresrrial. Whar corresponds ro rhis ngurarion is nor
Signatures of the Visible, p. 85.
3
6 See The Cultural Turn, p. 135.
Postmoderism, p. 306.
1 1 1
THE ORI GI NS OF POSTMODERNITY
any grcatcr Ob cctivc cquaity - Which has, On thc cOntrary,
cvcryWhcrc rcccdcd in thc pOstmOdcrn cst - but rathcr thc
dissOutiOn Ocivi sOcicty as a spacc Oprivacy and autOnOmy,
intOa aggcdnO-man`s-andOanOnymOusmaraudinganddcrcg-
uatcd viOcncc. thc WOrd Oiiam LibsOn Or Bladerunner.38
PthOughnOtWithOutits grim satisactiOns, suchpcbcianizatiOn
pcrOrcc dcnOtcs nOt grcatcr pOpuar cnightcnmcnt, but ncW
Orms OincbriatiOn and dcusiOn. crc is thc natura sOi Othc
uXuriant crcsccncc O cOmmOdihcd imagcry Which ]amcsOn
anayscssOpOWcruycscWhcrc.
Jhc nOtiOn O pcbcianizatiOn cOmcs rOm Lrccht. Lut tO
rcgistcr thcsc ambiguitics is asO tO rcca a imit bcOrc Which,
Wc might say, his thOught atcrcd. Jhcrc Was Onc massivc
rcaity Lrccht`s art ncvcr succccdcd in rcndcring. thc tc-tac
sign O his unccrtainty bcOrc it is thc triviaizatiOn O Arturo
Ui. Or thc Jhird Kcich Was asO, undcniaby, a Orm O
pcbcianizatiOn - pcrhaps thc mOst drastic yct knOWn, Onc
Which did nOt rclcct but pursucd thc cradicatiOn O cvcry tracc
O thc Othcr. JO nOtc this is nOt tO cOnurc up rcncWcd dangcrs
Oascism, a azycXcrcisc O!right and ctaikc tOday. Lut it is
tOrcmindusOanatcrnativccgacyrOmthattimc,thccXampc
O Lramsci, WhO in his ycars in prisOncOnrOntcd thc pOitica
strcngth and pOpuar suppOrt O ascism WithOut thc smacst
sc-dcccptiOn. t is in his nOtcbOOks that pcrhaps thc mOst
suggcstivc anaOgyOrthc sOciatransOrmatiOnOthcpOstmOd-
crncanbcOund.
Ps antaian, LramsciWas cOmpccd tO cOmparcthcKcnais
sancc and thc KcOrmatiOn - thc rcaWakcning O cassica
cuturc and suprcmclOurishing Othcartshis OWncOuntryhad
knOWn, and thc ratiOnaizatiOn O thcOOgy and Ormidabc
rcgcncratiOn OrcigiOnithad misscd. ntccctuay andacsthct-
ica!y, OcOursc, thcKcnaissancc cOud bc udgcdar inadvancc
Othc KcOrmatiOnthatOOWcd it,Which- vicWcdnarrOWy-
in many Ways saW a rcgrcssiOn tO a crudc phiistinism and
bibica Obscurantism. Lutthc KcOrmatiOn Was inthat scnsc a
cOnscrvativc rcactiOnthat brOught a histOrica prOgrcss. Or thc
Kcnaissancc had bccn csscntiay an citc aair, cOnhncd tO
38 The Seeds of Time, pp. 1 52-159.
112

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privicgcd minOritics cvcn amOng thc cducatcd, Whcrcas thc
KcOrmatiOn Was a mass uphcava that transOrmcd thc OutOOk
Ohathc cOmmOn pcOpc O!urOpc. Lut inthc scqucncc rOm
Onc tO thc Othcr ay thc cOnditiOn O thc !nightcnmcnt.`" Or
thc cXtraOrdinary sOphisticatiOn O Kcnaissancc cuturc, cOn
hncd tO thOsc abOvc, had tO bc cOarscncd and simpihcd i its
brcak-Out rOm thc mcdiacva WOrd Was tO bc transmittcd as a
ratiOnaimpusctO thOsc bcOW. JhcrcOrm OrcigiOnWas that
ncccssary adutcratiOn, thc passagc O intccctua advancc
thrOugh thc Ordca O pOpuarizatiOn, tO a brOadcr and sO
cvcntuaystrOngcrandrccrsOciaOundatiOn.
Jhc cmpirica quaihcatiOns rcquircd by Lramsci`s accOunt
nccd nOt cOnccrn us hcrc. hat is pcrtincnt is thc hgurc Othc
prOccss hc dcscribcd. Or is nOt sOmcthing vcry cOsc tO this thc
rcatiOn O NOdcrnism tO OstmOdcrnism, vicWcd histOricayr
Jhc passagc rOm thc Onc tO thc Othcr, as cutura systcms,
appcars markcd by ust such a cOmbinatiOn O diusiOn and
diutiOn. `cbcianizatiOn` inthis scnsc dOcs mcan a vast brOad-
cning O thc sOcia basis O mOdcrn cuturc; but by thc samc
tOkcnasO a grcatthinning Oits critica substancc, tO yicd thc
lat pOstmOdcrn pOtiOn. Quaity has Oncc again bccn cXchangcd
Or quantity, in a prOccss Which can bc OOkcd at atcrnativcy
as a WccOmc cmancipatiOn rOm cass cOnbncmcnt Or as a dirc
cOntractiOn Oinvcntivc cncrgics. Lcrtainy, thc phcnOmcnOn O
cutura cOarscning, WhOsc ambiguitics caught Lramsci`s attcn-
tiOn, is On gOba dispay. Nass tOurism, thc grcatcst O a
industrics Othcspcctacc,canstandasitsmOnumcnt,initsaWc
sOmc miXturc O rccasc and dcspOimcnt. Lut hcrc thc anaOgy
pOscs its qucstiOn. nthctimc Othc KcOrmatiOn, thcvclicIc q
dcsccnt intO pOpuar ic Was rcigiOn. it Was thc
churchcs that assurcd thc passagc O pOst-mcdiacva
a mOrc dcmOcratic and sccuar WOrd. JOday, thc vchicc is

markct. Prc banks and cOrpOratiOns pausibc candidatcs

`
thc samchistOricarOcr
t is cnOugh tO pursuc thc cOmparisOn a ittc tO sccitsimits.
39 Gramsci took much of his argument from Croce, but turned it more sharply in
favour of the Reformation. For his principal reflections, see Quaderni del Carcere,
Turin 1 977, Vol Il, pp. 1 1 29-1 130, 1293-1294; Vol Ill, pp. 1 858-1 862.
113
THE ORI GI NS OF POST MODERNITY
Jhc KcOrmatiOnWasinmanyWaysa sOciaOWcringOcutura
hcights prcviOusy attaincd. thc ikcs O Nachiavci Or Nichc-
angcO, NOntaignc Or Shakcspcarc, Wcrc nOt tO bc rcprOduccd
again. Lut it Was asO, O cOursc, a pOitica mOvcmcnt O
cOnvusivc cncrgy, uncashing Wars and civi Wars, migratiOns
andrcvOutiOns, acrOssthc bcttcrpartO!urOpc. JhcrOtcstant
dynamic Was idcOOgica; drivcn by a sct O bcics hcrccy
attachcd tO indiYidua cOnscicncc, rcsistant tO traditiOna
authOrity, dcvOtcd tO thc itcra, hOstic tO thc icOnic - an
OutOOkthatprOduccd itsOWnradicathinkcrs, athrstthcOOgi-
ca, and thcn mOrc Opcny and dirccty pOitI
_
a. thc dcccnsiOn
rOm NcanchthOn Or LavintOinstancyOr !Ockc. crc, Or
Lramsci, Was thc prOgrcssivc rOc O thc KcOrmatiOn that
pavcd thcWay tO thc cpOch Othc!nightcnmcnt and thcrcnch
KcvOutiOn. t Was an insurgcncy against thc prc-mOdcrn idcO-
OgicaOrdcrOthcunivcrsachurch.
Jhc cuturc O thc pOstmOdcrn is thc invcrsc. PthOugh grcat
pOitica changcs havc sWcpt Ovcr thc WOrd in thc past quartcr
ccntury, thcsc havc Ony rarcy bccn thc hard-Ought OutcOmc
O mass pOitica struggcs. !ibcra dcmOcracy has sprcad by
Orcc O ccOnOmic cXampc, Or prcssurc - NarX`s `articry O
cOmmOditics` - nOt by mOra uphcava Or sOcia mObiizatiOn;
and as it has dOnc sO, its substancc has tcndcd tO dWindc, bOth
in its hOmcands and its ncW tcrritOrics, as aing ratcs OvOtcr
participatiOn andmOuntingpOpuar apathy sctin. Jhc Zeitgeist
is nOt stirrcd. it is thc hOur O dcmOcratic ataism. OW cOud
it bc OthcrWisc,Whcn sOcia incquaityincrcascspari passu With
pOitica cgaity, and civic impOtcncc hand in hand With nOvc
suragcr hat mOvcs is Ony thc markct - but this at cvcr-
accccrating spccd, churning ha
_
its, stycs, cOmmunitics, pOpu-
atiOns in its Wakc. ^Oprstincd cnightcnmcnt ics atthccnd
Othis Ourncy. PpcbcianbcginningacksautOmaticcOnncXiOn
With a phiOsOphica cnding. Jhc mOvcmcnt O rcigiOus rcOrm
bcgan With thc brcakIng Oimagcs; thc arriva O thc pOstmOd-
crn has instacd thc ruc O imagcs as ncvcr bcOrc. Jhc icOn
Oncc shattcrcd by thc disscntcr`s bOW is nOW cnshrincd in
pcXigassasunivcrsa ex voto.
`

Jhc cuturc O thc spcctac0 las gcncratcd, O cOursc, its OWn

idcOOgy. Jhis is thc doxa OpOstmOdcrnism that dcsccnds rOm
1 14

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thc mOmcntO!yOtard. ntccctuay,i ti snOtOmuch intcrcst.
anundcmanding mcdcy O nOtiOns, WhOsc upshOt is ittc mOrc
than a sack-aWcd cOnvcntiOnaism. Lut sincc thc circuatiOn O
idcas in thc sOcia bOdy dOcs nOt typicay dcpcnd On thcir
cOhcrcncc, but thcir cOngrucncc With matcria intcrcsts, thc
inlucncc O this idcOOgy rcmains cOnsidcrabc - by nO mcans
cOnhncd tO campus ic aOnc, but pcrvasivc in pOpuar cuturc
at argc. t is tO this cOmpcX thatJcrry !agctOn has dcvOtcd a
scintiating critiquc in The Illusions of Postmodernism. Pt thc
Outsct, !agctOn distinguishcs ccary bctWccn thc pOstmOdcrn
undcrstOOd as a dcvcOpmcnt in thc arts, and as a systcm O
idees reus, and cXpainsthathis cOnccrn iscXcusivcyWiththc
attcr. c thcn cOnsidcrs Onc atcr anOthcr O thc standard
trOpcs O an anti-csscntiaist, antiOundatiOnaist rhctOric -
rccctiOns O any idca O human naturc; cOnccptiOns O histOry
as randOm prOccss; cquatiOns O cass With racc Or gcndcr;
rcnunciatiOns OtOtaity Or idcntity; spccuatiOns O an undctcr-
mincd subcct - and, With dcicatc prccisiOn, dismantcs cach.
Jhcrc has rarcy bccn sO ccctivc and cOmprchcnsivc a disscc-
tiOn O What might bc cacd, sardOnicay adapting Lramsci tO
OhnsOn,thccOmmOnnOnscnscOthcagc.
Lut !agctOn`s purpOsc is nOt ust a sottisier. c WOud asO
situatc thc idcOOgy O pOstmOdcrnism histOricay. Pdvanccd
capitaism, hc argucs, rcquircs tWO cOntradictOry systcms O
ustihcatiOn. a mctaphysic O abiding impcrsOna vcri tics - thc
discOursc O sOvcrcignty and aW, cOntract and ObigatiOn - in
thc pOitica Ordcr, and a casuistic O individua prccrcnccs Or
thc pcrpctuay shiting ashiOns and gratihcatiOns O cnuu
tiOn in thc ccOnOmic Ordcr. OstmOdcrnism givcs
cXprcssiOntO thisduaism, sinccWhicits dismissaOthc
subcctinavOur Othc crratic sWarmings OdcsirccOud
thc amOra hcdOnism O thc markct, its dcnia O any
vaucs Or Ob cctivc truths undcrmincs thc prcvaiIlng
tiOns Othc statc. hat cXpains such ambivacnccr crc
tOn`s accOunt hcsitatcs. is studybcginsWith thc mOst staInc
rcading O pOstmOdcrnism as thc prOduct O pOitica dccaI 1I
thc ct vcnturcd tO datc - a `dchnitivc rcpusc`.' Lut this is
40 The Illusions of Post modernism, Oxford 1997, p. 1 .
115
THE ORI GI NS OF POS T MODERNITY
prcscntcd as payu parabc rathcr than actua rccOnstructiOn.
Or With charactcristic sympathy, !agctOn suggcsts that pOst-
mOdcrnism cannOtbc rcduccd tO this. itWas asOthc cmcrcncc
O humiiatcd minOritics OntO thc thcOrcticastagc, and `vcri-
tabc rcvOutiOn`inthOughtabOutpOWcr, dcsirc, idcntityandthc
bOdy, WithOutWhOsc inspiratiOn nO radica pOitics is hcnccOr-
Wardthinkabc.''
Jhc idcOOgica ambivacncc Othc pOstmOdcrn thus might bc
inkcd tO a histOrica cOntrast. schcmaticay - dccat O Organ-
izcd abOur and studcnt rcbciOn cOncuding in ccOnOmic
accOmmOdatiOn tO thc markct, risc O thc insutcd and inurcd
cading tO pOitica qucstiOning O mOraity and thc statc. SOmc
such paracism is ccrtainy atcnt in !agctOn`s accOunt. Lut i
it is ncvcr quitc spct Out, thc rcasOn ics in an cquivOcatiOn at
its Outsct. Ln thc lacc O it, thcrc WOud appcar tO bc ittc
cOmmOn mcasurc bctWccn thc tWO backgrOund dcvcOpmcnts
assigncd tO pOstmOdcrnism. thc Onc drivcn hOmc in a rOnta
chaptcr that scts thc sccnc Or thc WhOc bOOk, thc Othcr - as it
Wcrc - ausivc cOmpcnsatiOn Or it in a cOupc O paragraphs.
Oitica rcaityWOud suggcst that such a ratiO Was gOOd scnsc.
Lut it sits uncasiy With thc nOtiOn O ambivacncc, Which
impics a parity O ccct. crhaps aWarc O thc dihcuty,
!agctOn mOmcntariy rctracts With Onc hand What hcadvanccs
With thc Othcr. Jhc abc O pOitica dccat cOncudcs With thc
`mOst bizarrc pOssibiity O a` , as hc asks. ' What if this defeat
never really happened in the frst place? hat i it Wcrc css a
mattcr O thc ct rising up and bcing Orccd back, than O a
stcady disintcgratiOn, a gradua aiurc O ncrvc, a crccping
paraysis r ` . crclhat thc casc, thcn baancc bctWccn causc and
ccct WOud bc rcstOrcd. Lut, tcmptcd thOugh hc is by this
cOmOrtingancy, !agctOn is tOO ucid tO insist Onit. is bOOk
cnds as it bcgins, `rcgrctuy, On a mOrc minatOry nOtc` . nOt
cquipOisc, but iusiOn isthc bOttOm-inc OthcpOstmOdcrn.'
Jhc discursivc cOmpcX that is thc Obcct O !agctOn`s
critiqucis, as hcnOtcs, aphcnOmcnOnthatmay bctrcatcd apart
rOm thc artistic Orms OpOstmOdcrnism- idcOOgy as distinct
41 The I usions of Postmodernism, p.24.
42 Compare The I usions of Post modernism, pp. 19, 1 34.
116
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rOm cuturc, in a traditiOna acccptancc O thcsc tcrms. Lut, O
cOursc, in a Widcr scnsc thctWO cannOt bc sO ccany scparatcd.
OW, thcn, shOudthcirrcatiOnship bc cOnccivcdr Jhcdoxa O
thc pOstmOdcrn is dchncd, as !agctOn in ccct shOWs, by a
primary ahnity With thc catcchtsms O]h.[(arkct. hatWc arc
++ ~* ^* - - . -..
*""'*-
OOking at, cOnscqucnty, is in practicc thc cOuntcrpart O thc
`citra - as thc dOminant strand in pOstmOdcrn cuturc - in thc
idcOOgica hcd. t is striking hOW ittc cOnccrncd ]amcsOn has
bccn With it. Lut i Wc ask Ourscvcs Whcrc thc antithctica
mOmcnt O `utra` thcOry is tO bc Ound, thc ansWcr is nOt ar tO
scck. t has Otcn bccn Obscrvcd that thc pOstmOdcrn arts havc
bccn shOrt Othc manicstOcs that punctuatcd thchistOryOthc
mOdcrn. Jhis can bc Ovcrstatcd, as Ihc cXampcs O Osuth Or
OOhaasnOtcd abOvcindicatc.LutiacsthcticprOgrammcscan
ccrtainy sti bc Ound- abcit nOW mOrc Otcn individuathan
cOcctivc,WhathasundOubtcdybccnmissingis anyrcvOutiOn-
ary visiOn O thc kind articuatcd by thc histOric avant-gardcs.
SituatiOnism, Which OrcsaW sO many aspccts Othc pOstmOd-
crn, hashadnOscqucsWithinit.
Jhc thcOrcticainstanccthcavant-gardcOrmrcprcscntcd has
nOt, hOWcvcr, disappcarcd. Kathcr, its unctiOn has migratcd.
Or What csc is amcsOn`s tOtaizatiOn OpOstmOdcrnism itscr
nthc cpOch OmOdcrnism, rcvOutiOnary art gcncratcd its OWn
dcscriptiOns O thc timc Or intimatiOns O thc uturc, Whic Or
thc mOst part its practiccs Wcrc vicWcd sccpticay, Or at bcst
sccctivcy, by pOitica Or phiOsOphica thinkcrs O thc ct.
JrOtsky`s cOOncss tO uturism, !ukacs`s rcsistancc tO Lrcchtian
Verfremdung, PdOrnO`s avcrsiOn tO surrcaism, Wcrc charactct
istic O that cOn uncturc. n thc pcriOd O pOstmOdcrnism, |\
has bccn a rcvcrsa O rOcs. Kadica strands in thc
rccaiming Or dcvcOping cgacics O thc avant-gardcs, ha
bccn acking. Lut nO dOubt in part bccausc O thc
.
cOcXistcncc O thc citra-mOdcrn, O Which thcrc Was nO r
cquivacnt, this `utra-mOdcrnist` cuturc has nOt prOduccd an

cOnhdcnt accOunt O thc agc, Or scnsc O its gcncra dircctiOn.

Jhat has bccn thc achicvcmcnt O amcsOn`s thcOry O thc
pOstmOdcrn. crc, vicWcd cOmparativcy, is Whcrc thc criti
_
a
ambitiOn and rcvOutiOnary elan O thc cassica avant-gardc
havc passcd. n this rcgistcr, amcsOn`s WOrk can bc rcad as a
117
+
THE ORI GI NS OF POSTMODERNI TY
singc cOntinuOus cquivacnt O a thc passiOnatc mctcOrOOgics
Othc past. JhctOtaizcr is nOW cXtcrna; but that dispaccmcnt
bcOngs tO thcmOmcntOhistOry that thc thcOryitsccXpains.
O
)IUOd ij5 ](

jIturJjQyi( |

($_

nOt cmbat-
tcd, but cOmpaccnt bcyOnd prcccdcnt. Kcsistancc can Ony
startby staring dOWnthis Ordcr asitis.
Scope
Jhc cassica avant-gardcs rcmaincd cstcrn, cvcnithchctcr-
OdOX currcnts OmOdcrnism, OWhich thcy Ormcd Onc strcam,
rcpcatcdy sOught inspiratiOn in thc Lricnta, thc Prican, thc
Pmcrican-ndian. Jhc scOpc O amcsOn`s WOrk cXcccds this
Occidcnta bOundary. Lut it can bc askcd Whcthcr, in dOing sO,
it ncvcrthccss sti prOccts an unduy hOmOgcncOus cutura
univcrsc at argc, mOdccd Onthc ^Orth Pmcrican systcm atits
cOrc. `NOdcrnism`, Writcs ctcr Ocn, `is nOt bcing succccdcd
by a tOtaizing cstcrn pOstmOdcrnism but by a hybrid ncW
acsthctic in Which ncW Orms O cOmmunicatiOn and dispay
Wi bc cOnstanty cOnrOntcd by ncW vcrnacuar Orms O
invcntiOn and cXprcssiOn`, bcyOnd thc ` stilingy !urOccntric
discOursc` Othc attcr-day mOdcrn and pOstmOdcrn aikc.'`Jhc
samc kind O Ob cctiOn acquircs mOrc dOctrina Orm in thc
cOrpus O `pOstcOOnia thcOry` . Jhis bOdy O criticism has
dcvcOpcd sincc thc mid-cightics, argcy in dircct rcactiOn tO thc
inlucncc O idcas O pOstmOdcrnism in thc mctrOpOitan
cOuntrics, and in particuar tO amcsOn`s OWn cOnstructiOn O
thchcd.
Jhc gravamcn O thc chargc against his thcOry is that it
ignOrcs Or supprcsscs practiccs in thc pcriphcry that nOt Ony
cannOt bc accOmmOdatcd Withinthc catcgOrics OthcpOstmOd
crn, but activcy rccct thcm. Or thcsc critics, pOstcOOnia
cuturc is inhcrcnty mOrc OppOsitiOna, and ar mOrc pOitica
than thc pOstmOdcrnism O thc ccntrc. Lhacnging thc Ovcr
Wccning prctcnsiOns O thc mctrOpOis, it typicay has nO
hcsitatiOn in appcaing tO its OWn radica Orms O rcprcscnta
tiOn Or rcaism, prOscribcd by pOstmOdcrn cOnvcntiOns. Jhc
43 Raiding the Icebox, pp. 205, 209.
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AFTER- EFFECTS
champiOns Othc pOstcOOnia `Wish Oncc and lOr a tO namc
and discaim pOstmOdcrnlsm as ncO-impcriaist` . Or `thc cOn-
ccpt O pOstmOdcrnity has bccn cOnstructcd in tcrms Which
mOrc Or css intcntiOnay Wipc Out thc pOssibiity O pOst-
cOOnia idcntity` - that is, thc nccd O thc victims O cstcrn
impcriaism tO achicvc a scnsc O thcmscvcs `uncOntaminatcd
by univcrsaist Or !urOccntric cOnccpts and imagcs` .'' Or this,
What thcy rcquirc arc nOt thc pcrniciOus catcgOrics O a tOtaiz-
ing cstcrn NarXism, but thc discrctc gcncaOgics O, say,
NichcOucaut.
OstcOOnia thcOry has arcady attractcd a scrics OpOWcru
rcOindcrs,WhichitWOud bc OtiOsc tO rcpcathcrc.'`Jhc nOtiOn
O thc `pOstcOOnia` itsc, as typicay uscd in this itcraturc, is
sO castic thatit Oscs virtuay any critica cdgc. JcmpOray, its
advOcatcs insist, pOstcOOnia histOry is nOt cOnhncd tO thc
pcriOd sincc indcpcndcncc O statcs that Wcrc Oncc cOOnics -
rathcr, it dcsignatcs thcir cntirc cXpcricncc sincc thc mOmcnt O
cOOnizatiOn itsc. Spatiay, it is nOt rcstrictcd tO ands cOn-
qucrcd by thc cst, but cXtcnds tO thOsc scttcd by it, sO that
by a pcrvcrsc Ogic cvcn thc !nitcd Statcs, thc summit O ncO
impcriaismitsc, bccOmcs a pOstcOOnia sOcicty in qucst O its
brcachcss idcntity.' Jhis inlatiOn O thc cOnccpt, tcnding tO
dcprivc it O any OpcratiOna signihcancc, nO dOubt OWcs much
tO its gcO-pOitica Origins - Which ic nOt Whcrc might bc
cXpcctcd, inPsia Or Prica, butinthc Ormcrhitc LOminiOns.
^cW Zcaand, Pustraia, Lanada; and pcrhaps sOmcthing tO its
44 Simon During, 'Postmodernism or Postcolonialism?', Landfall, Vol 39, No 3,
1985, pp. 369; 'Postmodernism or Postcolonialism Today', Textual Practice, V
,
No 1, 1987, p. 33. These two texts from New Zealand, each of which
Jameson to task, contain the earliest and clearest statement of key themes
literature. For remarks on an 'underlying realist script' in postcolonial liter:
Stephen Slemon: 'Modernism's Last Post', Jan Adam and Helen Triffn (eds), '
the Last Post, New York 1991, pp. 1-1 1, a contribution from Canada.
45 See, in particular, Arif Dirlik, 'The Postcolonial Aura: Third World Criticism in
the Age of Global Capitalism', Critical Enquiry, Winter 1994, pp. 328-356; and
Aijaz Ahmad, 'The Politics of Literary Postcoloniality', Race and Class, Autumn
1 995, pp. 1-20.
46 See Bill Ashcroft, Gareth Griffths, Helen Triffn, The Empire Writes Back:
Theory and Practice in Colonial Literatures, London 1 989, p. 2: the authors write
from Australia.
119

THE ORI GI NS OF POSTMODERNI TY

intccctua sOurccstOO- thc banaizatIOnOpOWcri nOucaut`s
OvcrstrctchIng O thc cOnccpt cOmcs tO mind. Pt a cvcnts, a
cOnccptiOn O thc pOstcOOnIa as aqucOus as this can scarccy
acctItstargct.
P mOrc rcasOnabc cOnstrua O thc tcrm takcs Its prchX In
css cavaicr ashiOn, tO dcnOtc a histOrica pcriOd Whcrc dccO-
OnizatiOn has indccd Occurrcd, but ncO-impcrIa dOminatiOn
pcrsists - nO Ongcr dIrccty bascd On miitary Orcc, but On
Orms O idcOOgica cOnscnt that ca Or ncW kinds OpOitica
and cutura rcsIstancc.' Jhis vcrsiOn Othc Idca OpOstcOOnI-
aIsm ccary rclccts mOrc O thc rcaity O thc cOntcmpOrary
WOrd, cvcn i thc sccOnd sign In thc tcrm sti mIsscs part O its
targct, sIncc such maOr statcs as Lhina - thc spccIhc Obcct O
this rcIntcrprctatiOn - Or ran Wcrc ncvcr cOOnIzcd, and mOst
O !atIn Pmcrica ccascd tO bc sO ncary tWOccnturics agO. Lut
InIts insistcncc Onthcstrcngth OmarkctpcnctratiOn OpOpuar
cuturcs Outsidc thc cOrc zOnc O advanccd capitaIsm, it gOcs
ar tO mcct - rathcrthan cOntcst - amcsOn`s dcscriptiOn Othc
impact O pOstmOdcrnism; indccd, at thc cvc O dctai,
cXprcssy cOnhrms it. SO, tOO, thc vitaity O mutant Orms O
rcaIsm In thc arts Othcpcriphcry- Whcrc, say, cmpOymcntO
magIca mOtIs can bc sccn asa typica rcsOrt tO `WcapOns Othc
Wcak` - and thcir unscttIng ccct, tO WhIch pOstcOOnia critics
cgitImatcy pOint, dOcs nOt cOntradict thc cOnhguratiOn Othc
ccntrc. Jhcrc atcr a pOstmOdcrnIsm, cspcciay On Its cItra
sOpc, aWays Incudcd ccrtaIn rcaist appcas, and has had nO
dIhcutyInincOrpOratingsupcrnaturatWists tOthcm.
P mOrc substantia Ob cctIOn tO amcsOn`s casc Or a gOba
dOminancc O thc pOstmOdcrn cOmcs nOt rOm caims Or thc
pOstcOOnIa, but rathcr sImpy rOm thc ack O u capitaist
mOdcrnizatIOn Itsc in sO many arcas O What Was Oncc thc
JhIrd Ord. n cOndItIOns Whcrc thc minimum cOndItiOns O
mOdcrnIty - Itcracy, industry, mObiIty - arc sti basicay
abscnt Or Ony patchiy prcscnt, hOW can pOstmOdcrnity havc
anymcaningr tIs a OngWayrOmLiamOnd Lust ShOcs tO thc
47 See Shaobo Xie, 'Rethinking the Problem of Postcolonialism', New Literary
History, Vol 28, No 1, Winter 1977 (Issue on 'Cultural Studies: China and The
West'), p. 9ff.
120

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JakamakanOrrraWaddy. amcsOn`s argumcnt, hOWcvcr, dOcs
nOt dcpcnd On any cOntcntiOn - ObvIOusy absurd - that
cOntcmpOrary capitaism has crcatcd a hOmOgcncOus sct O
sOcia cIrcumstanccs rOund thc WOrd. !ncvcn dcvcOpmcnt is
Inhcrcnt In thc systcm, WhOsc `abrupt ncW cXpansiOn` has
`cquayuncvcny` ccipscd Odcr Orms Oincquaity and muti
picd ncW Oncs `Wc as yct undcrstand css Wc`. Jhc rca
qucstiOn is Whcthcr this uncvcnncss Is tOO grcat tO sustain any
cOmmOncuturaOgic.
OstmOdcrnism cmcrgcd as a cutura dOmInant in unprccc-
dcnty rich capitaist sOcictics With vcry hIgh avcragc cvcs O
cOnsumptiOn. amcsOn`s hrst rccOnnaIssancc inkcd It dIrccty
tO thcsc, and hc has sincc insIstcd urthcr On its spccIhcay
Pmcrican Origins. OudIt nOtthcrcOrcbc rcasOnabc tOthink
that Whcrc cvcs O cOnsumptiOnWcrc ar OWcr, and thc stagc
O Industria dcvcOpmcnt much css advanccd, a cOnhguratIOn
cOscr tO mOdcrnism - as it Oncc lOurishcd in thc cst- WOud
bc mOrc ikcy tO prcvaI ! JhIs Was a hypOthcsis tO WhIch , at
anyratc, Was draWn.'" nthcsc cOnditIOns, mightOnc nOt cXpcct
tO hnd a prOnOunccd duaism O hIgh and OW Orms, cOmpar-
abc tO thc !urOpcan dividc bctWccn avant-gardc and mass
cuturc, pOssiby WIth a stI WIdcr gu bctWccn thc tWOr Jhc
ndiancIncmaWOud appcartOOcra casc inpOInt.thccOntrast
bctWccn Satyait Kay`s hms and thc avaanchc O sOng-and-
dancc gcnrcs rOm thc LOmbay studIOs OOkIng as stark as any
in thc dcvcOpcd WOrd. LutthIs, O cOursc, is ancXampc rOm
a hIghy prOtcctcd natIOna markct In thc sIXtics. JOday, gOba
cOmmunicatIOns systcmscnsurcanincOmparaby grcatcr dcgrcc
O cutura pcnctratIOn O thc Ormcr SccOnd and JhIrd

by thc irst. n thcsc cOnditIOns, thc inlucncc O

+
Orms bccOmcs Incscapabc - i n thc architccturc O cItIcs
ShanghaI Or uaa !umpur, thc art shOWs O Laracas Or LcI

nOvcs andhmsrOm NOscOW tO LucnOs Pircs.

. ~
nlucncc, hOWcvcr, Is nOt ncccssarIy dOmInancc. Jhc prcs-
cncc O sIgnihcant grOups O artIsts, Or custcrs O buidings,
WhOsc rccrcnccs arc ccary pOstmOdcrn dOcs nOt cnsurc any
48 Late Marxism, p.249,
49 'NodernityandKevoIut:on`,AZone of Engagement, pp.40, 54.
121

THE ORI GI NS OF POST MODERNI TY

local hegemony. ln rhe rerms |ameson himseli uses, airer
Raymond Williams, rhe posrmodern could well be only 'emer-
genr' rarherrhanrhemodern being 'residual ' . This, cerrainly,
is rhe view oi such a level-headed criric as |onarhan Arac,
surveyingrhese issues inrhe counrrywheretheyaremorehorly
debaredrhanperhaps anywhere else roday, rhePeople's Repub-
lic oiChina.`Wirhnearlya billionpeople srillonrhe land, rhe
conclusion is diiGculr ro conresr. lr would be open ro |ameson
roreplyrharrheglobalhegemonyoirheposrmodernisjusrrhar
a ner predominance arworld level, which does nor exclude a
subordinare role ar rhe narional level, in any given case. How-
ever rhar may be, rhere is anorher considerarionwhich musr be
weighed in rhe scales. Posrmodern culrure is nor j usr a ser oi
aesrheric iorms, ir is also a rechnological package. Television,
which was so decisive in rhe passage ro a new epoch, has no
modernisr pasr. lr became rhe mosr poweriul medium oi all in
rhe posrmodern period irseIi. Bur rhar power is iar grearer
more absolurely disproporrionare ro rhe impacr oi all orhers
combined in rhe1ormer Third World rhan ir is in rhe Iirsr

irseli.
This paradoxmusrgivepausero anyover-quickdismissal oi
rhe idea rhar rhe damned oi rhe earrh roo have enrered rhe
kingdom oirhe specracle. lr is unlikely ro remain tsolared. Ior
j usrahead lies rheimpacr oirhenewrechnologiesoisimularion
or presridigirarion whose arrival is quire recenr even inrhe
richculrures.Wenowhaveasrrangelyaugusrdioramaoirhese,
in|ulianSrallabrass'sremarkable Gargantua. Here, quireunex-
pecredly, |ameson's call ior a sequel ro Adorno and Horkhei-
mer' s ' Culrure lndusrry' , ro address subsequenr iorms oi
manipularion, has been iulGlled. Mo work since rhar iamous
analysis has so closely marched irs ambirion, or represenred
such a Grring succession, alrhough here rhe counrervailing
iniluence oiBenjamin rilrs an Adornian projecr away irom rhe
declararively sysremaricrowardsamorepointilliste phenomenal
plane. Srallabrass surveys digiral phorography, cyberspace
exchange and compurer games ~ as well as a more iamiliar
50 'Postmodernism and Postmodernity in China: an Agenda for Inquiry', New
Literary History, Winter 1997, p. 144.
122

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AFTER- EFFECTS
andscapc O autOmObics, mas, grahti, dctritus, tccvisiOn
itsc- as prchguratiOns O a uturc mass cuturc that thrcatcns
tO supcrscdc thc spcctacc itsc, as knOWn hithcrtO, by cacing
thc bOundarics bctWccn thc pcrccivcd and thc cnactcd
atOgcthcr. ith this dcvcOpmcnt, thc ncW tcchniqucs cOnurc
thc pOssibiity O a sc-scacd univcrsc O simuatiOn capabc O
vciing- and sO insuating- thcOrdcrOcapitamOrccOmpctcy
than cvcr. P quict gravity O tOnc, and prccisiOn O dctai,
charactcrizcthisunscasOnabcargumcnt.
Lut its Ogic is in Onc signihcant rcspcct at variancc With its
ramcWOrk. StaabrassWihavc ittc truckWithany tak Othc
pOstmOdcrn, and hOds tO a radica scparatiOn O rich and pOOr
zOncs OthcWOrd- Which, hc suggcsts, it is Onc Othc crucia
unctiOns O mass cuturc tO mask.`' Lut a mOrc pausibc
dcductiOn pOints thc Othcr Way. Jhc tcchnOOgics hc cXpOrcs
arc in bOth timing and ccct prc-cmincnty pOstmOdcrn, i thc
tcrm has any mcaning at a; and thcy Wi surcy nOt, as hc
sOmctimcs sccm tO assumc, rcmain cOnhncd tO thc irst Ord.
LOmputcr gamcs arcady havc a thriving markct in thc Jhird.
crc tOO, as With tccvisiOn, thc arriva O nOvc kinds O
cOnncXiOn and simuatiOn Witcnd tO uniy rathcr than dividc
thc urban ccntrcs O thc cOming ccntury, cvcn acrOss vast
dicrcnccs in avcragc incOmcs. SO Ong as thc systcm Ocapita
prcvais, cach ncW advancc in thc industry O imagcs incrcascs
thc radius OthcpOstmOdcrn. nthat scnsc, itcan bc argucd, its
gObadOminanccisvirtuayOrcOrdaincd.
amcsOn`s OWn dcmOnstratiOn prOcccds at anOthcr cvc. Or
him, as aWays, thc prOO O thc pudding is in thc cutura
practiccs thcmscvcs. Jhc saicncc O a pOstmOdcrn that is
Ongcr Occidcnta can bc udgcd rOm cXcmpary WOrks O
pcriphcry. Jhc mOdcrnist Ormat O Lidc`s Counterfeiters,
its mOra rcsOutiOn, scrvc as bcnchmarks Or thcir start:
cOntcmpOrary transOrmatiOn in !dWard Aang`s Terrorizer,
its rcatiOn tO thc ncW Wavc hms in JaiWan that Orm, io
amcsOn`s vicW, `a inkcd cycc mOrc satisying Or thc vicWcr
than any natiOna cincma knOW ( savc pcrhaps thc rcnch
Gargantua - Manufactured Mass Culture, London 1997, pp.6-7, 1 0-1 1 , 75-77,
214, 230-231.
123
THE ORI GI NS OF POST MODERNITY
prOductiOns O thc Zds and Jds) ` . n nOt dissimiar ashiOn,
Lrccht`s cOnccptiOn O Umfunktionierung bccOmcs itsc unprc-
dictaby rctOOcd in thc `dignihcd hiarity` O idat Jahimik`s
Perfumed Nightmare, Whcrc thc standard OppOsitiOns O cu-
tura natiOnaism - irst and Jhird Ords, Od and ncW - arc
battcrcd Out O shapc intO ramshackc cOmpOsitcs, as ingcni-
Ousyscrviccabcasthc iipinO ccpncyitsc.`
tWOud bc hard tO think O sympathics css !urOccntric than
thcsc, Or mOrc cOngrucnt With Ocn`s cOnccrns. n act, thc
ZairOis paintcrs Or ^igcrian musicians With WhOm Raiding the
I cebox cOncudcs, crcativc dcviscrs O a `para-tOurist art` inscp-
arabc rOm thc cccts O pOstmOdcrn travc, tcach thc samc
cssOn. that `thc chOicc bctWccn an authcntic natiOnaism and a
hOmOgcnizing mOdcrnity Wi bccOmc mOrc and mOrc Out-
mOdcd`. `` Jhc hna cmphasis in bOth critics is thc samc.
symptOms O stcriity and prOvinciaism in thc mctrOpOis,
nOtatiOnsOimaginativcrcncWainthcpcriphcry.JhcpOstmOd-
crn may asO signiy this. `t is bccausc in atc capitaism and in
its WOrd systcm cvcn thc ccntcr is marginaizcd`, Writcs amc-
sOn, that `cXprcssiOns O thc marginay uncvcn and uncvcny
dcvcOpcd Issuing rOm a rcccnt cXpcricncc O capitaism arc
Otcn mOr

intcnsc and pOWcru`, and `abOvc a mOrc dccpy

symptOmatic andmcaninguthananythingthc cnccbcdccnt cr
stihndsitscabc tOsay` .`'
Politics
!ncvcn dcvcOpmcnt. symptOmatic mcaning. Jhcsc arctcrms O
art Which bring us tO a hna cruX in amcsOn`s WOrk. Pt thc

52 The Geopolitical Aesthetic - Cinema and Space in the World System, London
1992, pp. 1 20, 21 1 .
Raiding the Icebox, pp. 197, 202-204.
54 The Geopolitical Aesthetic, p. 155. Jameson's comments on the vacuity of high
metropolitan forms in North America, and more widely in the First World, have.
been consistently - on occasion, it might be argued, even unduly - sharp. See, as
examples, his interview in Lef Curve, No 12, 1988; 'Americans Abroad: Exogamy
and Letters in Late Capitalism', in Steven Bell et al. (eds), Critical Theory, Cultural
Politics and Latin American Narrative, Notre Dame 1991; introduction to South
Atlantic Quarterly special issue on postmodernism in Latin America, Summer 1993.
124

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hcad Ohis hrst maOrbOOk, Marxism and Form, thcrc rcads an
cpigraph rOm Naarmc. 'Il n'existe d'ouvert a la recherche
mentale que deux voies, en tout, Ou bifurque notre besoin, a
savoir, l'esthetique d'une part et aussi l'economie politique'.55
Kcitcrating it Oncc again i nPostmodernism asthcvcry cmbcm
O his cntcrprisc, amcsOn gOsscd thc dictum as a `pcrccptiOn
sharcd by bOth discipincs O thc immcnsc dua mOvcmcnt O a
panc O Orm and a panc O substancc`` thc hiddcn cOncOrd
O cmscv and NarX. Jhc scnsc in Which amcsOn`s Ocuvrc
can bc sccn as a cuminatiOn O thc cstcrn NarXist traditiOn
has bccn indicatcd abOvc. Jhc Ong suit O that traditiOn Was
aWays acsthctic, and amcsOn has paycd an cXtraOrdinary
hand With it. Lut undcrying thc acsthctic cnquirlcs O this inc
O thinkcrs, O cOursc, thcrc Was aWays a sct O ccOnOmic
catcgOrics dcrivcd rOm Capital that inOrmcd thcir Ocus and
dircctiOn. Jhc WOrk O a !ukacs Or PdOrnO is unthinkabc
WithOut this cOnstant, immancnt rccrcncc. Pt thc samc timc,
thc traditiOn itsc prOduccd nO signihcant dcvcOpmcnt in thc
hcd O pOitica ccOnOmy as NarX- Or !uXcmburg Or icrd-
ing- undcrstOOd it. crcitrcicd On anintccctuacgacyitdid
nOt cXtcnd. Pn atcrnativc cassica traditiOn, that did scck tO
pursuc NarXist ccOnOmic anaysis intO thc cra O thc Lrcat
LcprcssiOn, Was gcncray ignOrcd. Ly thc cnd O thc SccOnd
Ordar,thisincitschadapscd.
Jhus Whcn, tWcnty ycars atcr - atthchcight OthcpOstWar
bOOm- amcsOn Was starting tOWritc, thc divOrcc bctWccn thc
acsthctic and ccOnOmic dimcnsiOns O a cuturc O thc ct Was
atits Widcst. is OWnWOrk tOOkup thcgrcatacsthctictrad L|.
Lut Whcn thc ccOnOmic traditiOn rcvivcd at thc start O
scvcntics, asWOrdcapitaismbcganitssidcintOaOngrcc
Wavc, it is striking hOW activcy and crcativcy hc
it. Jhc dccisivc rOc O !rncst Nandc`s Late Captlnlt.
stimuating his turn tOWards a thcOry O pOstmOdcrnism
arcady bccnnOtcd. JhisWasnOstrayinucncc. n The Gun
55 'Magie', Oeuvres, Paris 1945, p. 399. Jameson renders this as: 'Only two paths
stand open to mental research: aesthetics, and also political economy' (Postmodern
ism, p. 427), which omits the crucial 'where our need divides'.
5
6
Postmodernism, p. 265.
125
THE ORI GI NS OF POST MODERNI TY
Turn, amcsOn has nOtaby dcvcOpcd his accOunt Othc pOst
mOdcrnthrOugh anOriginaapprOpriatiOnOLiOvanniPrrighi` s
Long Twentieth Century, WhOsc synthcsis ONarX and Lraudc
Ocrs thc mOst ambitiOus intcrprctatiOn O thc Ovcra histOry
O capitaism attcmptcd tO datc. crc thc dynamic O hnancc
capita On thc `panc O substancc` rccascs a mOvcmcnt O
ragmcntatiOnOnthc `panc OOrm` , traccabc athcWayrOm
thc hmic prcvicW tO pOstmOdcrn cOagcs O thc cOmmOnpacc.
ncach casc,thcccOnOmic rccrcnt unctiOns nOt as an cXtcrna
suppOrt, but as an intcrna ccmcnt Othc acsthctic cOnstructiOn
itsc. Jhc hna tcXt in thc samc vOumc, `Jhc Lrick and thc
LaOOn`, hints at a Way Lavid arvcy`s Limits to Capital cOud
pay a nOt dissimiar rOc.`
Naarmc`s tWO paths arc thus rcOincd. Lut i thc Ob cctivc is
a cOntinuatiOn ONarX`s prOcctintO a pOstmOdcrn WOrd, arc
thc acsthctic and ccOnOmicthc cXcusivc incs O marchr hcrc
dOcs this cavc thc pOiticar ts tracc is nOt OrgOttcn in thc
mOtivating dictum. Naarmc spcaks, atcr a, nOt O ccOn
Omics, but OpOitica ccOnOmy. Jhis canOnica tcrm, hOWcvcr,
is css uncquivOca than it sccms. Lriginay dcsignating thc
cassica systcms OSmith, KicardO andNathus, itWasprcciscy
thcObcctONarX`scritiquc;butWhcnthcncO-cassicathcOrics
Oaras,cvOnsandNcngcrbccamccstabishcd asOrthOdOXy,
With thc marginaist rcvOutiOn, NarX himsc Was assimiatcd
tO thc prcdcccssOrs With WhOm hc had brOkcn, as sO many
Ossis O thc prc-histOry O thc discipinc - thc critiquc O
pOitica ccOnOmy bccOming nO mOrc than its dOgmatic ast
chaptcr. n rcactiOn, atcr NarXists WOud Otcn caim thc
traditiOnas indccdthcirOWn, inOppOsitiOntO thcOrmaism O
`purc` ccOnOmics cOdihcd by thc hcirs O thc ncO-cassica
thinkcrs.Lutassuch,itrcmaincd a rcsiduacatcgOry- `pOitica`
Ony insOar as itcXcccdcdthc cacuusOthc markct,tOWards
a sOcia rccrcncc OthcrWisc ct indctcrminatc. Jhis Wcak scnsc
WasncvcrsuhcicnttOdchncNarX`sparticuarcgacy.
Lut i thc pOctic adagc cavcs nO indcpcndcnt spacc Or thc
pOitica, this hgurcs prOmincnty cscWhcrc, in thc titc O
The Cultural Turn, pp. 136-144 ff. , 1 84-1 85 ff.
126

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AFTER- EFFECTS
amcsOn`s mOst systcmatic thcOrctica WOrk in thc hcd O
itcraturc itsc. The Political Unconscious Opcns With thc
WOrds. `Jhis bOOk Wi arguc thc priOrity O thc pOitica
intcrprctatiOn O itcrary tcXts. t cOnccivcs O thc pOitica
pcrspcctivc nOt as sOmc suppcmcntary mcthOd, nOt as an
OptiOnaauXiiarytO Othcr intcrprctivc mcthOds currcnttOday-
thc psychOanaytic Or thc myth-critica, thc styistic, thc cthica,
thc structura - but as thc absOutc hOrizOn O a rcading, and
a intcrprctatiOn`. amcsOn nOtcs that this pOsitiOn Wi sccm
cXtrcmc. Lut its mcaning is spct Out a cW pagcs atcr, Withthc
dccaratiOn. `Jhcrc is iOthingthat is nOt sOcia and histOrica -
indccd, cvcrything is in thc ast instancc` pOitica` . ` Jhis is
thc cOmprchcnsivc scnsc O thc tcrm that givcs its Orcc tO thc
bOOk`s titc. ithin thc intcrprctivc stratcgy tO Which it prO-
cccds, hOWcvcr, thcrcisanOthcr and csscr spacc OthcpOitica,
undcrstOOd in a mOrc rcstrictivc scnsc. n this mOdc amcsOn
argucs thatthcrc arc `thrcc cOnccntric ramcWOrks Whichmark
Outthc scnsc Othc sOciagrOundOatcXt,thrOugh thcnOtiOns,
hrst O pOitica histOry, in thc narrOW scnsc O punctua cvcnt
and chrOnicc-ikc happcnings in timc; thcn O sOcicty, in thc
nOW arcady css diachrOnic and timcbOund scnsc O a cOnstitu-
tivc tcnsiOn and struggc bctWccn sOcia casscs; and, utimatcy,
O histOry nOW cOnccivcd in its vastcst scnsc O thc scqucncc O
mOdcs O prOductiOn and thc succcssiOn and dcstiny O thc
variOus human sOcia OrmatiOns, rOmprchistOricic tO What-
cvcrar uturc histOryhasinstOrcOr us` .`"
crc thcrc is a ccar hicrarchy, running rOm thc undamcnta
tO thc supcrhcia. ccOnOmic sOcia pOitica. n thc attcr,
`histOry is rcduccd` - thcvcrb indicatcsWhatis ikcytOOOW__
tO `thc diachrOnicagitatiOnOthcycar-tO-ycar,thcchrOnicc-
annas Othcriscand aOpOitica rcgimcs and sOcia)}]j
and thc passiOnatc immcdiacy O struggcs bctWccn
individuas`.' hat this rccas, pcrhaps mOrc than anything
csc, is Lraudc`s dcscriptiOn O l'histoire evenementielle in hIs
amOusticrOhistOricatimcs- thatcvancsccntOamOcpisOdcs
58 The Political Unconscious, pp. 1 7, 20.
59 The Political Unconscious, p.75.
60
The Political Unconscious, pp. 76-77.
127
THE ORI GI NS OF POS T MODERNI TY
and incidcnts Which hc cOmparcdtOthc surOnthc Wavcs rOm
Prica, brcaking immcmOriay On thc shOrcs O Lahia undcr thc
aint ight O thc stars. Jhc Orma simiaritics bctWccn thc tWO
tripartitc schcmas, adusting Or thc gcOgraphica rathcr than
ccOnOmic cmphasis O l'histoire immobile, arc cvidcnt cnOugh.
hat thcy sccm tO sharc is a rcscrvc tOWards thc pOitica
cOnccivcd in a strOng scnsc - that is, as an indcpcndcnt dOmain
OactiOn,prcgnantWithitsOWncOnscqucnccs.
n Lraudc`s casc, this rcticcncc is cOhcrcnt With thc WhOc
structutc and prOgrammc Ohis WOrk. n thc casc Oa NarXist,
itmightbc dOubtcdWhcthcrthiscOudbc sO. amcsOn, hOWcvcr,
has Ocrcd rcasOns Why it might bc. n thc mOst cacuatcdy
shOcking Ohis tcXts, hc suggcsts a naturakinship bctWccn Onc
O thc mOst cXtrcmc vcrsiOns O ncOibcraism - thc univcrsa
mOdcing O human bchaviOur as utiity-maXimizatiOn by thc
LhicagO ccOnOmist Lary Lcckcr - and sOciaism, in sO ar as
bOth dO aWay With thc nccd Or any pOitica thOught. `Jhc
traditiOna cOmpaint abOut NarXism that it acks any autOnO-
mOus pOitica rclcctiOn`, hc Writcs, `tcnds tO strikc Onc as a
strcngth rathcr than a Wcakncss` . Or NarXism isnOt a pOitica
phiOsOphy, and Whic `thcrc ccrtainy is a NarXist practicc O
pOitics, NarXist pOitica thinking, Whcn it is nOt practica in
that Way, has cXcusivcytO dO With thc ccOnOmic OrganizatiOn
O sOcicty and hOW pcOpc cOOpcratc tO Organizc prOductiOn`.
Jhc ncO-ibcrabcicthatincapitaism Onythc markctmattcrs
is thus a cOsc cOusin Othc NarXist vicW that WhatcOunts Or
sOciaism ispanning. ncithcrhavc anytimcOrpOitica disquis-
itiOns in thcir OWn right. `c havc much in cOmmOn With thc
ncO-ibcras,inactvirtuaycvcrything- savcthccsscntias ! ` .

LchindthcbuOyantprOvOcatiOnOthcscincsicsa cOnvictiOn
O principc - it is nO accidcnt Naarmc`s Ormua rcappcars
ust hcrc. Lut thcy asO cOrrcspOnd tO a scnsc O immcdiatc
6
1 Postmodernism, p. 265.
62
For Jameson's fullest meditation on Mallarmi"s dictum, and its effects for concep
tions of politics, see his interview in the Cairene j ournal Alif, 'On Contemporary
Marxist Theory', No 10, 1990, pp. 124-129, after a course taught in Egypt.
It should be said that Mallarme himself is not to be reduced to the dichotomy of
Magie. During the Mac-Mahon crisis of 1 876-77, when the constitution of the
Third Republic hung in the balance, he published an article in La Republique des
128

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priOrltics. Kcturning tO his tripartitc schcmc atthc cnd O The
Geopolitical Aesthetic, amcsOn rcmarks O Jahimik`s hm that
What is instructivc abOut it is `thc Way in Which hcrc thc
ccOnOmicdimcnsiOnhas cOmctOtakcprcccdcnccOvcrapOitica
Onc Which is nOt ct Out Or rcprcsscd, but Which is Or thc
mOmcnt assigncd a subOrdinatc pOsitiOn and rOc` . Or this is a
gcncra cssOn O thc timc. n thc prcscnt cOnuncturc, O pOst-
mOdcrnity, `Our mOst urgcnt task Wi bc tirccssy tO dcnOuncc
thc ccOnOmic Orms that havc cOmc Or thc mOmcnt tO rcign
suprcmc and unchacngcd` - `a rcihcatiOn and cOmmOdihcatiOn
Lettres declaring that 'nothing less than the sovereignty of the people' was at stake,
under the rubric of - indeed - La Politique. For the text, see P . S. Hambly, 'Un
article oublie de Stephane Mallarme', Revue d'Histoire Litteraire de la France,
January-February 1989, pp. 82-84. It was in this - intensely eventful - context that
he issued the famous ringing statement: 'The participation of a hitherto ignored
people in the political life of France is a social fact that will honour the whole of the
close of the nineteenth century. A parallel is found in artistic matters, the way being
prepared by an evolution which the public with rare prescience dubbed, from its
frst appearance, intransigent, which in political language means radical and
democratic' (in 'The Impressionists and EdouardManet', September 1 876) . Two
decades later, it was the Panama crisis of 1 893 that set the stage for Mallarmi"s
retur to political commentary with the text that became Or, the frst of ' Grands
Faits Divers' collected in Divagations, of which Magie was the second in time, from
the same year. Both breathe an indomitable aversion to the fetishism of fnance, the
alchemy of speculation. Fumee le milliard, hors le temps d'y faire main basse: ou, le
manque d'eblouissement voire d'interet accuse qu'elire un dieu n'est pas pour le
confner u l'ombre des coffes de fer et des poches - La pierre nulle, qui reve ['or,
dite philosophale: mais elle annonce, dans la fnance, le futur credit, pdddant le
capital ou le reduisant u l'humilite de monnaie! - see Oeuvres, pp. 398, 400. [A
billion is smoke, beyond the time to get your hands on it: or, the lack
` `
bedazzlement even of interest indicates that a god is not elected to be cOllte
the shadow of iron coffers and pockets - The stone is null which dreams of
called philosophical: but it announces in fnance a future credit, preceding
'

and reducing it to the humility o cash!] Topical thoughts indeed, that could al
l
head Jameson's penultimate essay in The Cultural Turn.
When Mallarme came to write his series of articles 'Variations sur un Sujet' in L
Revue Blanche during 1 895, Dreyfus had been sentenced and the political clouds of
the Affair were gathering. By now his disillusion with the Opportunist parliamentary
regimes of the time was complete. Jaunes effondrements de banques aux squames
de pus et le candide camelat apportant u la rue une reforme qui lui lelate en la main,
ce repertoire - u defaut, le pietinement de Chambres otl le vent-coulis se distrait u
des crises ministerielles - compose, hors de leur drame prop re u quoi les humains
129
THE ORI GI NS OF POS T MODERNI TY
that havc bccOmc sOunivcrsaizcd astO sccm Wc-nigh natura
and Organic cntitics` . ` !vcn thc pOitics O natiOna ibcratiOn
itsccanOnybc inscribcdinthisargcrbattc.
amcsOn`s thcOrctica prOgrammc - Wc might ca it, in
hOnOur Oits cpigraph, a matcriaistsymbOism- has thus bccn
Ormidaby cOnsistcnt. ts cOhcrcncc can bc vcrihcd a contrario
by thc Onc signihcant abscncc in its apprOpriatiOn O thc
cstcrn NarXist rcpcrtOirc. Or that traditiOn Was nOt WithOut
a suprcmcy pOitica mOmcnt. PntOniO Lramsci is thc Onc grcat
namc substantiay missing rOm thc rO-ca O Marxism and
Form. n part, that is nO dOubt duc tO thc sidcOng pOsitiOn O
tay in amcsOn`s impOsing usuruct O thc rcsOurccs O !urO-
pcan cuturc as a WhOc, Whcrc rancc, Lcrmany and !ngand
arc thc ands O rccrcncc. Lut it is asO that Lramsci`s WOrk,
sont aveugles, le spectacle quotidien see Oeuvres, p. 414. [Yellow collapses of
banks with scales of pus and the candid hawker bringing to the street a reform that
bursts in his hand, this repertory - or failing that, the stalling of Assemblies where
wafts of air distract themselves with Ministerial crises - composes, beyond their
own drama to which humans are blind, the daily spectacle.] The text from which
this passage comes, La Cour ('pour s'aliener les partis'), is the most revealing of
Mallarme's interventions of that year - a remarkable example of the fusion of
'aristocratic' and 'proletarian' motifs in the avant-garde culture of the time. To
gauge the import of Mallarme's articles in La Revue Blanche, it is necessary to
remember their context. They appeared in the same issues of the journal, not just
with drawings by Toulouse, Vallotton or Bonnard, but side by side with laudatory
articles on Bakunin, Herzen, Proudhon and Marx - a celebratory review by Charles
Andler on the publication of the Third Volume of Capital; not to speak of an
eleven-part serialization of the memoirs of the enrage General Rossignol, Hebertiste
commander in the suppression of the Vendee, honoured with a heroic representation
by Vuillard. See La Revue Blanche, 1 895, VIII, pp. 175-178, 289-299, 391-395,
450-454; IX, pp. 51-63, etc.; and for the frst note on Dreyfus, attacking his
'ingenious torturers on Devil's Island', see VIII, p. 408.
A careful study of Mallarme's political development has yet to be written. The
belated publication of a substantial section of Sartre's projected work on the poet,
dating from 1952, suggests what we have missed: see 'L'Engagement de Mallarme',
Obliques, No 18-19, 1979, now available as Mallarme - La Lucidite et sa Face
d'Ombre, Paris, 1986. The disappearance of the full manuscript must be accounted
a major loss. The fragment that survives makes it clear that this would in all
probability have been Sartre's true biographical chef d'oeuvre: richer in detail and
sharper in focus than his subsequent account of Flaubert .

63 The Geopolitical Aesthetic, p. 212.

130

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AFTER- EFFECTS
thc prOduct Oa LOmmunist cadcr i nprisOn, rclccting Onthc
dccat O Onc rcvOutiOn and thc Ways tO pOssibc victOry O
anOthcr, dOcs nOt ht thc biurcatiOn O thc acsthctic and
ccOnOmic. t Was cmincnty pOitica, as a thcOry O thc statc
and civi sOcicty, and a stratcgy Or thcir quaitativc transOr
matiOn. Jhis bOdy O thOught is by-passcd in amcsOn`s cXtra
OrdinaryrcsumptiOnOcstcrnNarXism.
hO can say that his intuitiOn Was WrOngr Jhc grandcur O
thc Sardinian is strandcd tOday, amid thc impassc O thc
intccctua traditiOn hc rcprcscntcd, pain Or a tO scc. Jhc
currcnt O histOry has passcd cscWhcrc. thc cgacics O
rankurt OrarisOrLudapcstrcmainmOrc avaiabc, itis asO
bccausc thcyWcrc css pOitica - thatis, subccttO thc `cOntin
gcncics and rcvcrsas` pccuiar tO l'histoire evenementielle as
amcsOn has sccn it. Jhc purihcatiOn O cstcrn NarXism tO
thcacsthctic and ccOnOmichas, asthings stand, bccnvindicatcd.
Jhc thcOry O pOstmOdcrnism as thc cutura Ogic O atc
capitaism is its dazzing issuc. Act at thc samc timc, prcciscy
hcrc thc OrcusiOn O thc pOitica pOscs a paradOX. amcsOn
cOnstrucsthcpOstmOdcrn asthatstagcincapitaistdcvcOpmcnt
Whcn cuturc bccOmcs in ccct cOcXtcnsivc With thc ccOnOmy.
hat is thc apprOpriatc stancc, thcn, O thc critic Within this
cuturcr amcsOn`s ansWcr rcsts On a thrcc-Od distinctiOn.
Jhcrc is tastc, Or OpiniOn, that is a sct O subcctivc prccrcnccs
- in thc
g
s OIft!c intcrcst - Or particuar WOrks O art.
Jhcn thcrc is anaysis, Or thc Obcctvc study O `thc histOrica
..,a..-, O pOssibiity O
g
,cc K Orms` . inay
__
c
j
s

auatiOn, Which invOvcs nO acsthctic udgcmcnts in thc tra-

dItIOna Scnsc, but rathcr sccks tO `intcrrOgatc thc quaity O
sOcia ic by Way O thc tcXt Or individua WOrk O art,
hazard an asscssmcnt O thc pOitica cccts Ocutura currc
Or mOvcmcnts With css utiitarianism and a grcatcr vmnatp
Or thc dynamics O cvcryday ic than !hc imprimaturs
indcXcsOcaricrtraditiOns`.`
amcsOn, Whic avOWing sOmc pcrsOna cnthusiasms as a
cOnsumcr O cOntcmpOrary cuturc, scts nO spccia stOrc by
6
4 Ibid.
6
5 Postmodernism, p.298 f.
131
THE ORI GI NS OF POST MODERNITY
thcm. Jhc task OhistOrica and Orma anaysis, On thc Othcr
hand, has bccn thc maOr part O his WOrk as a thcOrist and
critic - mOst systcmaticay articuatcd in The Political Uncon
scious. hat thcn O cvauatiOnr Wc OOk at Postmodernism,
What Wc hnd arc unOrgcttabc ctchings O thc quaity O ic in
this histOrica Orm, With `its intcrna quOticnt Omiscry and thc
dctcrminatc pOtcntiaity O bOdiy and spiritua transhguratiOn
it asO aOrds, Or cOnqucrs`.Lut O caibratiOn Othc `pOitica
cccts O cutura mOvcmcnts` , thcrc is signihcanty css. Jhc
^cW SOcia NOvcmcnts dO hgurc, as a nOW standard topos, in
amcsOn`s survcy O thc pOstmOdcrn, Whcrc thcy arc vicWcd
With sympathy, but asO a Wary cautiOn against inlatcd caims
madc On thcir bcha. Lut thcir invOcatiOn is WithOut dctai Or
dicrcntiatiOn, pcrhaps bccausc thcy arc nOtinthc hrst instancc
- as thcir namc impics - cutura mOvcmcnts stricto sensu at
a. P mOrc appOsitc casc is Ocrcd by thc anti-institutiOna
cOnccptuaism rcprcscntcd by artists ikc aackc, WhOsc strat-
cgy O `undcrmining thc imagc by Way O thc imagc itsc` is
capturcd graphicay, i bricly. Lut this is a rcativcy isOatcd
rccrcncc, thatOnytcndstO undcrincthcactthatthcrcarcnOt
many Othcrs.
Lutis nOtthis, itmight bc askcd,a air rclcctiOn Othc actua
paucity O OppOsitiOna - Or indccd many pOsitiOna - cutura
mOvcmcnts in thc pOstmOdcrnr Lcrtainy, thc ccipsc O Organ
izcd avant-gardcs, and thc dccinc O cass pOitics that cOnsti
tutcs its Widcr histOrica backgrOund, arc pOWcruy rcgistcrcd
by amcsOn in thcsc samc pagcs. Lut thcy sccm insuhcicnt in
thcmscvcs - Or ncithcr arc absOutcs - tO cXpain thc distancc
bctWccn prOmisc and dcivcry. crc sOmc dccpcr dihcuty may
bc at WOrk. amcsOn`s marriagc O acsthctics and ccOnOmics
yicds a WOndrOus tOtaizatiOn O pOstmOdcrn cuturc as a
WhOc, WhOsc OpcratiOn O `cOgnitivc mapping` acts - and this
is its intcntiOn - as a pacchOdcr O diacctica rcsistancc tO it.
LutitspOintOcvcragcncccssariyrcmains inthatscnscOutsidc
thc systcm. nsidc it, amcsOn Was mOrc cOnccrncd tO mOnitOr
than tO adudicatc. Pt this cvc, hc has cOnsistcnty Warncd O
66 Postmodernism, p.302.
67 Postmodernism, p.409.
132

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thc dangcrs OtOO casy dcnunciatiOnOspccihcOrmsOrtrcnds,
as pitas Oa stcric mOraism. Jhat did nOt mcan, in thc Othcr
dircctiOn, any cOnccssiOns tO pOpuism, Or Which amcsOn has
ncvcrhad muchincinatiOn. Jhcrc, his rcbukctO cutura studics
can bc takcn as a gcncra mOttO. `Jhc standardizatiOn O
cOnsumptiOn is ikc a sOund barricr Which cOnrOnts thc
cuphOria O pOpuism as a act O ic and a physica aW at thc
uppcr rcachcs Othcsystcm` .
Sti, it rcmains truc that Postmodernism cOntains nO sus
taincd attackOn any spccihc bOdy OWOrk OrmOvcmcntWithin
thc cuturc it dcpicts, in thc cOnvcntiOna scnsc O thc tcrm. n
part, this is nO dOubt a qucstiOn O psychic ccOnOmy - this sOrt
O thing has anyWay ncvcr much attractcd amcsOn`s cncrgics;
rOm cach accOrdingtOthcirtcmpcramcnt. Lutthatthcrc is asO
a thcOrctica issuc at stakc can bc sccn, pcrhaps, rOm a
signihcant tcnsiOn - vcry unusua in this Writcr - in amcsOn`s
handing O a thcmc O ccntra impOrtancc tO his thOught.
namcy, tOpian Onging. Jhc OsciatiOn, pOintcd Out by ctcr
- '%-'
IIttIng,Is thIs.' Cn thc onchand,hc has InsIstcd It Is onc ol
his mOst daring and distinctivc thcmcs - that utOpian impuscs
arc inhcrcnty at WOrk in thc rcihcd prOducts O mass cOmmcr
cia cuturc tOO, sincc thcsc `cannOt bc idcOOgica WithOut at
Onc and thc samc timcbcing impicity Or cXpicity utOpian as
Wc, thcy cannOt manipuatc uncss thcy Ocr sOmc gcnuinc
shrcd O cOntcnt as a antasy bribc tO thc pubic abOut tO bc sO
manipuatcd` - a bribc that Wi cOnsist in sOmc hguratiOn, nO
mattcr hOWdistOrtcd Or buricd, O a rcdccmcd cOcctivc Ordcr.
Jhis unctiOnamcsOntcrmsthcir `transccndcntpOtcntia - that
dimcnsiOn O cvcn thc mOst dcgradcd typc O mass cuturc`
Which rcmains `ncgativc and critica O thc sOcia Ordcr
!rr
Which, as a prOduct and a cOmmOdity, it springs` . Jhc @
Whichiustratcthc argumcnt arcJaws and The Godfather.
Ln thc Othcr hand, rcprcscntatiOns O utOpia prOpcr in
cuturc - rOm NOrc tO atOnOv tO !cLuin - arc invariaby
hcd tO dcmOnstratc that this is ust What Wc cannOt imaginc.
68
' On Cultural Studies', Social Text, No 34, 1993, p. 51.
6
9 Paper a t conference on postmodernism held at Changsha, Hunan, i n June 1997.
70 Signatures of the Visible, p.29.
133
THE ORI GI NS OF POST MODERNI TY
`!tOpia`s dccpcst subcct` turns OuttObc`prcciscy Our inabiity
tO cOnccivc it, Our incapacity tO prOducc it as a visiOn, Our
aiurc tO prOcct thc Lthcr O What is, a aiurc that, as With
hrcWOrks dissOving back intO thc night sky, must Oncc again
cavc us aOnc With this histOry` . ' Jhis impOtcncc, amcsOn
insists, is cOnstitutiOna. hat mass cuturc can intimatc, ulO-
pian hctiOn cannOt cmbOdy. s thcrc a cOmmOn

casurc
bctWccnIndependence Day and Chevengur, Oristhis anapOriar
Jhc mOst rccvant pOint, pcrhaps, ics cscWhcrc. ^O pOitica
critcriOnisgivcnOr discriminatingbctWccndicrcnthguratiOns
OutOpian Onging, cithcrincOmmcrcia disguisc Or inprOphctic
imaginatiOn. Lut hOW can such Orms bc scparatcd rOm thcir
substancc - thc shapc O a pOitica drcamr Lan udgcmcnts
bctWccn thcm bc avOidcdr crc, pOscd in its mOst acutc Orm,
is thc mOrc gcncra prObcm raiscd by thc pOsitiOning O thc
pOstmOdcrnbctWccn acsthctics and ccOnOmics.
Or missing in this biurcatiOn is a scnsc O cuturc as a
battchcd, that dividcs its prOtagOnists. Jhat is thc panc O
pOitics, undcrstOOd as a spacc initsOWnright. c dOnOthavc
tO yicd tO scctariantcmptatiOnsWithinNarXism, Or Ovcrhcatcd
cOnccptiOns O an avant-gardc, tO rcaizc this. Such an undcr
standing gOcs back tO ant, Or WhOm phiOsOphy itsc Was
cOnstitutcd as a Kampfplatz a nOtiOninthc air Othc Lcrman
!nightcnmcnt, WhOsc miitary thcOrizatiOn camc a gcncratiOn
atcr in LauscWitz. t Was a maOr thinkcr O thc Kight WhO
gavc cOnscqucnt cXprcssiOn tO this cmphasis in thc hcd O
pOitics. Schmitt`s dchnitiOn Othc pOitica asinscparabcrOm
a divisiOn bctWccn ricnd and Oc is, O cOursc, nOt cXhaustivc.
Lut that it capturcs an inciminabc dimcnsiOn O a pOitics is
scarccytO bc dOubtcd; and itisthatscnsc OthcpOitica Which
bcars On thc cuturc Othc pOstmOdcrn. JO rcca this is nOt tO
summOn any intrusiOn. Jhc acsthctic and thc pOitica arc
ccrtainy nOt tO bc cquatcd Or cOnuscd. Lut i thcy can bc
mcdiatcd, it is bccausc thcy sharc Onc thing in cOmmOn. LOth
arc inhcrcnty cOmmittcd tO critica udgcmcnt. discriminatiOn
bctWccn WOrks Oart, Orms Ostatc. PbstcntiOnrOm criticism,
in cithcr, is subscriptiOn. OstmOdcrnism, ikc mOdcrnism, is a
71 The Ideologies of Theory, Vo1 2, p. 1 01 .
134

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AFTER- EFFECTS
neldolrensions. Divisioni saninescapablecondirionolengage-
menrwirhir.
|usrrhis can be seen lrom |ameson'srexrssincePostmodern
ism, as rhe inllexion ol his wriring on rhe posrmodern has
become sreadily sharper. Ior wharrhey rrace is, in ellecr, an
involurion. Posrmodernism,|amesonnowsuggesrs, canalready
be periodized. Alrer irs nrsr crearive release in rhe sevenries
rhar 'rhunderous unblocking ol energies', ol whose reliel he
originally wrore rhere has lollowed a perceprible regression
in rhe mosrrecenrperiod, delineared inrhe essays on rhe 'End
ol Arr' and 'Translormarions ol rhe Image' in The Cultural
Turn. Onrhe one hand, rheposrmodernreleaselrom rhebonds
ol rhe modern Sublime , ' dwelling among dead monumenrs' \ ,
originallyanemanciparion,hasrendedrodegenerareinroanew
culr ol rhe Beaurilul, rhar represenrs a 'colonizarion ol realiry
generallybysparialandvisuallorms' rharis also 'acommodin-
carion ol rhar same inrensively colonized realiry on a world
scale'. Wirh rhis degraded aesrhericism, arr appears ro sink
backonceagaininroaculinarycondirion.Arrhesamerime,rhe
inrellecrual liberarionwroughrwirh rhe comingolTheory, asa
break-down ol barriers berween ossined disciplines and rhe
emergence olmore ambirious andunexpecred srylesolrhoughr,
has undergone a regression roo. Ior rhe laresr phase has seen a
reinsraremenr ol all rhe ourdared aurarchies rhar rhe de-diller-
enriaring impulses ol posrmodernism soughr ro sweep away,
srarringwirherhicsandaesrhericsrhemselves.
Suchrecidivism,lor|ameson,isnorirreversible.rheposrmod-
ern spirir could rake orher rurns. Bur il we ask ourselves whar
rhe culrural slide he criricizes mighrcorrespond ro, rhe answer
is chronologically clear. When |ameson nrsr srarred w

abour posrmodernism in rhe early eighries, rhe regimes |

Reaganand Tharcher were alreadyserring rhe pace inrhe

rhe USSR was 8 rhe lasr rhroes ol Brezhnevisn, and narionaI
liberarionaladingmemoryinmosrolrheThirdWorld. Burrhe
world-widerriumph olcapiralism wassrillrocome.Evenashe
nnished Postmodernism, ar rhe rhreshold ol rhe nineries, rhe
Postmodernism, p. 313.
7 3 See The Cultural Turn, p. 87.
135
THE ORI GI NS OF POS T MODERNI TY
SOvict statc sti nOminay cXistcd. tis thc cOmpctc cXtinctiOn
O thc LOmmunist atcrnativc, its virtua dcctiOn rOm thc
histOrica rccOrd, OOWcd by thc rccntcss advancc O ncO-
ibcraism thrOugh thcJhird Ord, ciminating Onc vcstigc O
ccOnOmic autOnOmy atcr anOthcr - a prOccss nOW rOing
thrOugh thc ast bastiOns O !ast Psia itsc - that Orms thc
backgrOund tOamcsOn`s nOW mOrc uncOmprOmisingtOnc. Jhc
idcOOgica thcmcs O thc cnd O histOry, thc hating O timc at
thc bOurnc O ibcra capitaism, bccOmc thc Obcct O a dctOta-
izing irOny in thc magnihccnt `PntinOmics O OstmOdcrnity`
( 1+) , With its rcdcsign O antian catcgOrics Or Our cOntcm-
pOrary cnightcnmcnt; and thcn mOrc dirccty again in `!nd O
Prt- !nd O istOryr ` itsc ( 16) , Which cOOy sWitchcs thc
+ + + - .
inc O Ocvc and ukuyama tO an unschcducd tcrminus.'
Lthcr tcXts sOund thc `statc Othc dcbt` tO NarX. P maOrWOrk
OnLrcchtWi bcWith us sOOn.`
Jhcsc statcmcnts arc pOitica intcrvcntiOns at u tit. n thc
past, amcsOn`s Writing Was sOmctimcs taXcd With bcing insu-
hcicnty cngagcd With thc rca WOrd Omatcria cOnlicts- cass
struggcs Or natiOna risings - and sO hcd `unpOitica` . Jhat
Was aWays a misrcading O this unWavcringy cOmmittcd
thinkcr. crc, Wc havc nOtcd a thcOrctica rcscrvc tOWards thc
`cvcntu` that cOud cad tO histOrica tOtaizatiOn WithOut
punctua divisiOns inthc cutura arcna- traccabc, ccrtainy, tO
a disincinatiOn tO yicd autOnOmy tO thc pOitica, but thc
OppOsitc O its abncgatiOn. rathcr its absOrptiOn intO thc vcry
shapc O thc tOtaity itsc. Jhis has shitcd, tOWards grcatcr
triage. Lut cOnsidcratiOns ikc thcsc rccr inWards, tO thc prOb-
cms O cutura thcOry as such.nthcargcrrcatiOnship Othis
bOdy OWritingtO thc OutWardWOrd,amcsOn`svOicc has bccn
WithOut cqua in thc carity and cOqucncc O its rcsistancc tO
thc dircctiOn O thc timc. hcn thc !ct Was mOrc numcrOus
and cOnhdcnt, his thcOrcticaWOrk kcpt a ccrtain distancc rOm
immcdiatc cvcnts. Ps thc !ct has bccOmc incrcasingy isOatcd
and bccagucrcd, and css capabc O imagining any atcrnativc
'See The Cultural Turn, pp. 50-72 and 73-92.
` See 'Marx's Purloined Letter', New Left Review, No 209, January-February
1995; and Brecht and Method (forthcoming), London-New York 1998.
136

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AFTER- EFFECTS
tO thc cXisting sOcia Ordcr, amcsOn has spOkcn cvcr mOrc
dirccty tO thc pOitica charactcr O thc agc, brcaking thc spc
Othcsystcm.
WithWhatviocnccbcncvocnccisbought
What costin gcsturc usticc brings
WhatWrongs domcsticrightsinvovc
Whatstaks
thissicncc
137
1
**^

<

=
"
!ndcx
Adenauer, Konrad 85
Adorno, Theodor 47, 60, 69-70,
71, 76, 107, 108, 1 17, 122, 125
Ahmad, Ai jaz 119
Albers, J osef 95
Althusser, Louis 71, 74, 76
Anaximander 12
Andler, Charles 130
Ando, Tadao 108
Andrade, Mario de 4
Antin, David 15, 96
Apollinaire, Guillaume 15
Arac, Jonathan 122
Arrighi, Giovanni 126
Ashbery, John 18, 103
Ashcroft, Bill 119
Asher, Michael 101
Auden, Wystan 15
Aulard, Fran<ois-Alphonse 102
Bakunin, Mikhail 130
Balzac, Honore de 50
Barnet, Miguel 75
Barth, John 1 8
Bartheleme, Donald 1 8
Barthes, Roland 47, 50-51
Bataille, Georges 39, 40
Baudelaire, Charles 37, 85, 87
Baudrillard, Jean 28, 52
Becker, Gary 128
Beckett, Samuel 17, 19, 67
Bell, Daniel 25, 37, 40
Belting, Hans 97-99
Benamou, Michael 24
Benjamin, Waiter 47, 48, 69-70,
76, 122
Benn, Gottfried 39, 40
Berque, Jacques 17
Blanqui, Auguste 90
Bloch, Ernst 47, 70, 71
Bofll, Ricardo 108
Bonnard, Pierre 13 0
Borges, Jorge Luis 4
Bove, Paul 1 6
Braudel, Fernand 127-128
Brecht, Bertolt 48, 85, 104,
1 1 1-112, 117
Breton, Andre 70
Brezhnev, Leonid 91, 135
Broodthaers, Marcel 101
Brown, Denise Scott 20, 106
Buchloh, Benjamin 97
Buren, Daniel 101
Burroughs, William 67
Butterwick, George 9
Cabral, Amilcar 90
Cage, John 17-18, 27, 95
139
I NDEX
Callinicos, Alex 78-80, 91
Cal vin, Jean 114
Caramello, Charles 24
Carter, Jimmy 92
Castoriadis, Cornelius 28
Celine, Louis-Ferdinand 104
Chiang Kai -shek 8
Churchill, Wins ton 85
Cisse, Souleymane 75
Clark, T. ]. 83
Clausewitz, Karl von 134
Conrad, Joseph 74
Corneau, Alain 1 1 0
Cournot, Auguste 100
Craxi, Bettino 86
Creeley, Robert 7, 1 1
Crimp, Douglas 106
Croce, Benedetto 113
Crow, Thomas 104
Cunningham, Merce 27
D'Annunzio, Gabriele 103
Danto, Arthur 97, 99-100
Danton, Georges 102
Dario, Ruben 3
Da vis, Mike 78
De Gasperi, Alcide 85
De Gaulle, Charles 85
De Man, Henri 100
De Man, Paul 61
Della Volpe, Galvano 69
Derrida, Jacques 103
Diaghilev, Sergei 103
Dickens, Charles 74
Dirlik, Arif 1 19
Doctorow, E. L. 61, 103
Dreyfus, Alfred 129-130
Duchamp, Marcel 18, 19, 24, 30,
95, 99, 101
During, Simon 1 19
Eagleton, Terry 78, 91, 115-1 1 7
Eichendorff, Josef von 74

Eisenhower, Dwight 7
Eisenmann, Peter 58, 102, 108
Eliot, Thomas Stearns 9, 15, 93,
103
Emerson, Ralph Waldo 60
Ensor, James 104
Etzioni, Amitai 14
Fanon, Franz 74
Fichte, Johann Gottlieb 100
Fiedler, Leslie 13-14, 57, 63, 64
Fitting, Peter 133
Flaubert, Gustave 74, 85, 87
Flavin, Dan 101
Foster, Hal 101, 106
Foster, Norman 23
Foucault, Michel 1 8, 39, 40, 61,
119, 120
Fourier, Charles 43, 90
Frampton, Kenneth 108
Freitas, Bezerra de 4
Fried, Michael 58, 62
Fuller, Buckminster 17
Ga tes, Bill 8 6
Gaudi, Antonio 22
Gehlen, Arnold 100
Gehry, Frank 58
George, Stefan 103
Gibson, William 1 12
Gide, Andre 123
Giscard d'Estaing, Valery 29
Gober, Robert 60
Godard, Jean-Luc 76, 84
Gramsci, Antonio 44, 69, 70, 73,
81, 1 12-1 14, 1 15, 1 30-131
Graves, Michael 23, 102, 108,
109
Greenaway, Peter 100
Greenberg, Clement 58, 83, 95,
99, 106
Greimas, Algirdas 47
140
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I NDEX
Griffths, Gareth 119
Grosz, Georg 85
Guevara, Ernesto 90
Haacke, Hans 60, 101, 103, 1 32
Habermas, Jiirgen 36-46, 55, 57,
64
Harvey, David 78-79, 126
Hassan, Ihab 1 7-20, 23, 26, 45,
55, 57, 64, 67, 96, 106
Hebert, Jacques Rene 102
Hegel, Georg Wilhelm 76-77, 98,
99-100
Heidegger, Martin 11, 17
Hemingway, Erest 74
Herzen, Alexander 13 0
Hilferding, Rudolf 125
Hitler, Adolf 80
Hjelmslev, Louis 125
Ho Chi Minh 90
Hofmannsthal, Hugo von 103
Hollein, Hans 42
Hoover, Paul 103
Horkheimer, Max 69
Howe, Irving 12, 13, 14
Hughes, Robert 89
Hughes, Ted 103
Ibsen, Hendrik 85
Izenour, Steven 20
James, William 19
Jameson, Fredric vii, 47-77, 78,
84, 88-89, 91, 92, 107-110,
117-1 18, 120-137
J arm an, Derek 1 1 0
Jencks, Charles 22-24, 26, 30-31,
37, 45-6, 57, 64, 103
Jevons, William 126
Johns, Jasper 95, 101
Johnson, Samuel 115
Jorn, Asger 84
J6zsef, Attila 15
Joyce, James 93, 103
Judd, Donald 96, 101
Kafka, Franz 17, 93
Kant, Immanuel 31, 134
Karatani, K6jin 74
Khlebnikov, Velemir 15
Khrushchev, Nikita 90
Kier, Leon 42
Kieslowski, Krzysztof 110
Kojeve, Alexander 100
Koolhaas, Rem 58, 108, 109, 1 17
Korsch, Karl 69
Kosuth, Joseph 101, 117
Krauss, Rosalind 106
LaReuueB/ancbe 129-130
Lacan, Jacques 27
Lang, Beryl 97
Lange, Oskar 7-8
Lao She 74
Larkin, Philip 103
Le Corbusier (Charles-Edouard
Jeanneret) 42, 105
Le Guin, Ursula 133
Leduc, Paul viii, 75
Lefebvre, Henri 53, 69-70, 71
Leger, Fernand 104
Lenin, Vladimir 90
Levesque, Rene 24
Levin, Harry 13, 57, 64
Levinas, Emmanuel 25
Lewis, Wyndham 68
Lewitt, Sol 101
Liebeskind, Daniel 102
Locke, John 1 14
Loos, Adolf 105
Lorca, Federico Garcia 4, 15
Lowell, Robert 15
Lu Xun 74
141
I NDEX
Lukics, Georg 47, 48, 49, 69-71,
73, 74, 76, 1 17, 125
Luxemburg, Rosa 90, 125
Lynch, David 103
Lyotard, Jean-Francois 24-36,
44-45, 46, 53-55, 57, 64, 92,
106
MacEwan, Malcolm 22
Machado, Antonio 4
Machiavelli, Niccolo 114
McLuhan, Marshall 1 8
Mac-Mahon, Marie Edme 128
Mainardi, Patricia 106
Mallarme, Stephane 104,
125-126, 128-131
Malthus, Thomas 126
Mandel, Erest 52, 72-73, 78,
125-126
Mann, Thomas 85
Mao Zedong 8-10, 90
Marcuse, Herbert 69-70, 71
Marinetti, Filippo Tommaso 15,
89
Marx, Karl 8, 25, 27-28, 45, 47,
85, 1 14, 125, 126
Melanchthon, Philip 114
Melville, Herman 7
Menger, Karl 126
Michael, WaIter Benn 61
Michelangelo ( Buonarroti) 114
Mies van der Rohe, Ludwig 20
Milken, Michael 86
Mills, C. Wright 12
Monnet, Jean 85
Montaigne, Michel de 1 14
Moore, Charles 23, 52, 102, 108
More, Thomas 1 33
Morris, Robert 96
Motherwell, Robert 83
Nahas, Mustafa 17
Nehru, Jawaharlal 8
Neruda, Pablo 4, 11, 15
NeuLeftReu|eu 54
Nietzsche, Friedrich 25, 65
Nixon, Richard 16, 86
October 106
O'Hara, John 85
Olson, Charles 7-12, 15-17, 18,
44, 75, 95, 137
Onls, Federico de 4, 19-20, 23,
102
Ortega y Gasset, Jose 4
Owen, Robert 42
Owens, Craig 106
Parsons, T alcott 25
Payne, Robert 8, 9
Perelman, Bob 103
Perkins, David 102
Pevsner, Nicholas 21
Platonov, Andrei 104, 133
Pound, Ezra 7, 11, 12
Prevert, Jacques 104
Proudhon, Pierre Joseph 130
Proust, Marcel 74, 93, 103
Pynchon, Thomas 18
Rauschenberg, Robert 17-18, 95,
101
Ray, Satyajit 121
Reagan, Ronald 32, 80, 91,
92-93, 104, 135
Riboud, Jean 8
Ricardo, David 126
Rilke, Rainer Maria 103
Rimbaud, Arthur 12, 1 6, 85
Robespierre, Maximilien 102
Rodchenko, Alexander 104
Rogers, Richard 23
Roosevelt, Franklin Delano 7
Rorty, Richard 103
Rosenquist, James 96
142

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Rossi, Aldo 108

Rossignol, Jean 130
Rothko, Mark 27, 83
Rudolph, Paul 52
Ruskin, John 21, 103
Sartre, Jean-Paul 47, 68, 69-70,
74, 76, 85, 130
Schmitt, Carl 39, 40, 1 34
Schumpeter, Joseph 85
Scully, Vincent 52
Sembene, Ousmane 74
Shakespeare, William 114
Sidky, Ismail 17
Simon, Claude 103
Sjahrir, Sutan 8
Slemon, Stephen 119
Smith, Adam 126
Smithson, Robert 96
Snow, Michael 24
Sokurov, Alexander 103
Solas, Humberto 74, 1 10
Son tag, Susan 67
Soseki, Natsume 74-75
Spanos, William 16
Sprinker, Michael 76
Stalin, J osef 90
Stallabrass, J ulian 122-123
Stein, Gertrude 15
Steinberg, Leo 96
Stella, Frank 101
Stern, Robert 21
Stravinsky, Igor 60
Strindberg, August 103
Tafuri, Manfredo 53
Tahimik, Kidlt 75, 124, 129
Tanaka, Kakuei 86
Tate, Allen 15
Tatlin, Vladimir 104
Terry, Quinlan 42
I NDEX

Thatcher, Margaret 91, 135

Thompson, Edward 22
Tinguely, Jean 18
Toulouse-Lautrec, Henri de
130
Touraine, Alaine 25
Toynbee, Arnold 5-6, 13, 24
Triffn, Helen 119
Trotsky, Leon 117
Truman, Harry 8
Unamuno, Miguel de 4
Vallejo, cesar 4
Vallotton, Felix 130
Van Gogh, Vincent 60
Vasari, Giorgio 98
Venturi, Robert 20-22, 42, 52,
106
Vuillard, Edouard 130
Walras, Leon 126
Warhol, Andy 18, 20, 60, 67, 96,
99, 100, 103-105
Weber, Max 39, 62, 84-85, 87
Weiss, Peter 40
Wiener, Norbert 11
Williams, Raymond 64, 103, 122
Williams, William Carlos 11, 15
Winstanley, Gerard 1 14
Wittgenstein, Ludwig 25, 26, 39,
40
Wollen, Peter 70-71, 83, 97,
104-105, 106-107, 1 1 8, ^
Xie, Shaobo 120
Yang, Edward 75, 123
Yeats, William Butler 12
Zayyat, Latifa 17
143