POL S101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Ecocentrism, Eco-Socialism, Christian Fundamentalism
7 Jun 2018
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2018-06-05
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CHAPTER 6
Challenges to Mainstream Western Ideologies
Postmodernism
•For many theorists, postmodernism is a critique of ideologies
•Michel Foucault (1926–1984) and Jacques Derrida (1930–2004)
•The postmodern approach recognizes the limitations inherent in any supposed “master
narrative”
Postmodernism, cont’d
•Postmodernism challenges modern assumptions about reason:
oAbility to penetrate to the “essential truth” of things
oAbility of reason to achieve progress
oThe belief that a real world exists apart from our knowledge of it
Postmodernism, cont’d
•Suggests that the world is too complex to be fully understood, so the search for ultimate
answers is futile
•Diversity should be celebrated
•The world can’t be objectively observed, but is socially constructed
Postmodernism, cont’d
•Some use the term to define a period of time, rather than an ideology
•Non-normative (although this is problematic)
•Associated with relativism as no political or moral commitment is absolute
•Often criticized as destructive, since it can refuse to suggest anything to replace that which
it tears down
Postmodernism, cont’d.
•At its best
oCelebration of difference (differance)
oCorrective for some of the excesses of modernity
oPossibility of seeing the world differently allows for the possibility to live in the world
differently
o
Feminism
•Assumes that the status of women is unequal to that of men
•This subordination is morally wrong and must be clearly identified if it is to be eradicated
•Statistics from every country of the world demonstrate that women earn less money than
men, are less represented in business and politics, and are more likely to be victims of
violent crime
•Until recently, political theory has failed to recognize the fact of this oppression
•Multiple categories of feminism
Liberal Feminism
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