POSTMODERNITY, CULTURAL CRISIS AND RELATIVISM

AUTEUR : DONATIEN CICURA

ABSTRACT

The current article addresses Postmodernity as a Western phenomenon that represents the end of Western thought as the absolute norm for what is true and right, in its metaphysical and essentialist version, yet replaces it with consumerism. A Western standard (essentialist rationalism) is replaced with another Western standard (materialistic consumerism); the dominance of the civilising mission in the name of rational and religious superiority is replaced with another dominance hidden behind the veil of pluralism and relativism, namely the dominance of capitalism and consumerism. Henceforth value is conferred by the ability to participate in the market and to consume the goods produced by transnational corporations. The Nation-State as ultimate instance ascribing value disappears and capital, with consumerism as its complement, prevails. Even religious traditions survive only as products of choice for the believer who is transformed into a consumer of “faith”. To believe is no longer to accept some timeless “truth” or an eternal worldview, but to choose among the many “faith” systems on the menu the one that fits one’s subjective feeling of the moment