Is Capitalism Still a Bright Light?
Capitalism is no longer a shining beacon: once influential nations are on the brink of being classified as third-world economies; emerging powers no longer aspire to the Western vision of progress. Could a successful alternative be found in abandoning past dependencies and utopian ideals while avoiding environmental destruction?
Dreams of a Lost Future
Nostalgia seems to be a defining feature of our time. It permeates almost everything, from popular culture to art, even politics is veiled in a bittersweet haze of melancholic admiration for the past. A world without mourning is probably impossible. Due to the fact that we are a community of subjects, we persistently hold onto the spirits of the past, unable to easily shake them off.
In the air, there is a lot of emotional and mental energy invested in objects, leading to a characteristic passivity where the psyche is at work. This can be compared to lazily imitating the “procrastination debate at the end,” the antithesis of Jacques Derrida’s original procrastination. Derrida developed his concept through several books and articles, starting with his discussion of Husserl in “Speech and Phenomena”.
Return to Essentialism
Let’s be honest: the unexpected rise of populism as an expression of discontent would be less surprising if we had paid more attention to the concerns caused by capitalist modernity in the post-colonial world decades ago. Clifford Geertz, who observed the consequences of decolonization in various parts of the world, especially in Indonesia, emphasized a critical contradiction associated with the dialectical relationship between tradition and modernity and the increasing integration of local societies into the global flow of cultural standards.
Hypotheses on Modernity
Following Geertz’s diagnosis, insightful new analyses were conducted. Frederic Jameson correctly assumed that modernity, which thrives in the Western world since the advent of capitalism, is a complex amalgamation of two different aspects. Jameson defines “modernization” in terms of advancements in material production, including technology, infrastructure, machinery, and similar aspects, and “modernism,” which he interprets as a value system rooted in personal autonomy and emancipation.
The Neoliberal Demodernization
Focus on the tension between epohalism and essentialism, as described by Geertz, is evidently transforming: the spirit of the time or zeitgeist now seems to lean towards the essence of the individual. The most archaic prejudices of any society are no longer questionable; countries that were once beacons of social progress are now clearly on the path to demodernization. The world, although outwardly more unified, is ironically becoming more fragmented. Is this the decline of the idea of modernity and progress? This is not a conclusion to be reached in this essay. The undeniable fact is the end of associating modernity with a specific part of the world and its development path – the West.