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I think a lot of it is rooted in the psychological warfare between Western liberalism and communism from the cold war onwards. Hell, postmodernism is largely ba
by beaconstudios 8y ago
I think a lot of it is rooted in the psychological warfare between Western liberalism and communism from the cold war onwards. Hell, postmodernism is largely based on socialist (actual socialist, not "left of libertarian") critiques of liberalism, and it seems to me that the postmodern tradition of criticising everything without providing a viable alternative is the root of a lot of dystopian ideas.
Human history has been on the slow crawl from worse to better for a long time. We're living in the greatest era in history, but we still act like it's a horrible time to be alive.
- jeffreyrogers 8y agoWhat postmodernists are you referring to? I thought that as well, but after reading some actual postmodernists like Richard Rorty and Foucault I find it hard to support that idea any more. Most postmodern thinkers are left of center, sure, but I think that reflects a bias in academia more than a secret agenda.
- beaconstudios 8y agoI'm thinking Derrida, Heidegger, and Horkheimer. I don't think there's any secret agenda going on, more that postmodernism - being built within a Marxist intellectual framework (not a conspiracy, this is well documented) - is inherently oriented towards critiquing and bringing down Western liberalism and capitalism. It doesn't take much effort to go from deconstructionism or critical theory to the kind of dystopian imagery we're talking about. I mean, most dystopian fiction is based on effectively "late-stage capitalism" conditions, and how such a system would degrade.