Consuming Identities: Pancapitalism and Postmodern Formations

Abstract

The dramatic rise of identity anxieties in most parts of the world — as reflected in posttraditional movements in politics and postmodernist movements in art, architecture, and social theory — calls for an explanation. Also known disparagingly asfundamentalismorneoconservatism, posttraditionalismis often a response from the peripheral sectors of the population to the onslaught of rapid modernization, often accompanied by social disequilibria, income inequities, and feelings of relative deprivation. The Bible Belt in the United States, the oriental Jews in Israel, the rural and semi–urbanized Muslims in the Islamic world, the evangelical Protestants in Latin America, and the Hindu nationalists in secular India demonstrate the rich diversity and complexity of such political religions. By contrast,postmodernistmovements are primarily situated in the intellectual circles of the contemporary world. In the face of an economically globalizing and technologically accelerating history, they represent a dual response to homogenizing forces by reasserting cultural pluralism and nihilism.