Re: [-empyre-] Is Modernity our Antiquity

[Henry Warwick <henry.warwick@sbcglobal.net>]

In this debate, I don't agree with any of it.

I am of the opinion that Postmodernity is a false consciousness,  
based on a Modernity that never really existed.

Push your time out, and you'll see what I mean.

100, 1000, 10,000 years.

These issues flicker and fade quickly in deeper time, but the drive  
of "art making" continues - we adorn and we admire, we hold something  
as special, and we (today) call it art. That continues across the  
ages, and will continue to do so.

I think there is only "The Contemporary". This isn't a "master  
narrative" or a critique of such. It's simply looking at things with  
some perspective and humility. I think it might be more productive to  
discuss things in terms of various axia; time, space, class, work- 
practice...

time: 1960 ce
space: USA
class: middle
work-practice: wage slave

time:  23,000 bce
space: Spain
class: Not Applicable
work-practice: hunter gatherer

or find other axia of illumination - some might be more useful or  
interesting than others...


But to finally dispense with the dreary academic arguments regarding  
"Modernity", "PostModernity", etc. would be a great stride for the  
species. As it is, it seems the world is collectively farting sawdust  
with such debate.

Frankly, I think the consumption of energy is more responsible for  
the creation of so-called "Modern World", and its depletion is  
responsible for its demise.

In the 18th century, we started heavily mining coal. Soon, the first  
"Modern" age of classicalism appeared. In 1859 oil was pulled out of  
the ground in Pennsylvania. One year later, the USA had a Revolution.  
Within a few decades, we were well into the petroleum age, and the  
notion of "Modernity" appeared, as the technological substrate for  
its appearance was created by the one time gift of 2 trillion barrels  
of liquified stored solar energy.

In 1979, the global consumption of energy as distributed on a per  
capita basis, peaked and began to decilne, even though petroleum  
mining continued to increase in actual volume. The Next Thing You  
Know, we're in a "Post-Modern world". According to some, global  
production of petroleum peaked on 16 December 2005. We'll only know  
in hindsight in a few years if this is true or not. If so, it only  
makes sense that we're talking about a post-postModernity (or some  
equally arbitrary notion) of Civilisation. The salient characteristic  
of this cultural moment could well be the slide down the other side  
of Hubbert's Peak - the Culture of Depletion.

Cultural actors can't be neutral during that phase. If mishandled,  
the results are extinction, or worse: a long slide into horror. The  
kind of "aloofness" and "obscurity" fostered by PostModern (tm) and  
rightfully criticised (Habermas, Sokal, etc.) will be replaced with a  
more pointed multi-axis struggle, where the ultimate Petroleum State  
(the USA Empire) slides away from unipolar dominance into being one  
of several regional hegemons (with EU, China, Russia, India, etc.)  
competing for the last few resources to keep their war machines going.

Once the multi-polar system fails under the weight of its own  
entropic depletion curve, history will once again be forced to reckon  
with the Contemporary, only this time, on a permanent basis. I call  
that the "Permanent Contemporary", where even the notion of one's own  
time disappears. Small strokes of history will re-appear - someone  
will pull something out of the ancient landfills that has some "time"  
in it - perhaps an "Art History" book. Even in translation, it won't  
make sense, and the pictures will seem as if they were from another  
planet. A planet of steel, glass, concrete, and a rare mysterious  
substance called "Oil".

In any case, any number of projections can be made from any number of  
axia (PosterModern relativism combined with its parent, Modernist  
Universalism, at your service...) but some will prove more useful  
than others - the focus won't be on "everything goes". It will be on  
"go with everything that works - but GO!"

Linear systems are a tiny subset of non-linear systems.

Personally, I prefer to live in the Permanent Contemporary, now.

"No time like the present!"

dispeptically exhausted and cranky as usual, I give you all my  
kindest regards,

Henry Warwick