Postmodern Condition as Utopia

Postmodern Condition as Utopia

          ---------A Postmodern Political Theory

By Zhang Ming

 

I. Description of Lyotard's postmodern condition:

There is no metanarrative as the origin of legitimacy. What we have is just small games. Then we face the skeptical challenge: there is no morally wrong or right in postmodern condition. To respond this, Nuyen draws out an postmodern ethics from Lyotard's works.

 

II. Nuyen's two levels of ethics: micro ethics and macro ethics.

Micro ethics applies to particular small games. In postmodern condition, instead of metanarratives we have the little games, the small discourses, each with its own rules. "To play a game entails to obey the rules of the game"(p414). "The rules are binding but the real source of normativity, of the force of obligation, lies in the agent himself or herself who chooses to play a certain game, thus chooses to play by the very rules that define the game"(p414).

The macro ethics applies to the relationship between different games. I see issues on this level as the political issues. On this level, there two kinds of terrorism arise.

 

III. Lyotard's recognization of two kinds of terrorism:

The terrorism of violence and the white terrorism of totality. The former one is visible, the later one is invisible. The most significant contribution of Lyotard is that he realized and recognized the injustice of totalization. So he says that "the question of presenting the unpresentable is the only one worthy of what is at stake in life and thought in the coming century" and calls for us "to wage a war on totality" and to be "witnesses to the unpresentable". Here the ethical problem arises. They are how to avoid totalization and how to present the unpresentable.

Nuyen thinks there are two strategies to respond the ethical demand. But before go into details about the two strategies, I will first do my reconstruction of Lyotard's postmodern condition the key of which is the redefinition of the netanarrative.

 

IV. Nuyen's two strategies deal with the two kinds of terrorism:

Political strategy and reflective strategy. Political strategy deals with the violent terrorism. The reflective strategy deal with the wrongs of differend, that of totalization.

 

V. Reconstruct Lyotard's postmodern condition as an ideal notion of free society and redefine the metanarrative as the totalization itself:

The key of the reconstruction is the reinterpretation of the concept of metanarrative. In Lyotard's mind, it seems like to be a kind of discourse ever existing in the history, that is, in the modern history. However, I would rather understand it as an illusion of legitimate discourse. The death of metanaarative, as claimed by Lyotard, means, in my mind, the nonexistence of metanarrative. There is no such kind of metanaarative as legitimacy. The incredulity toward metanarratives finally turn out to find the truth of history that the so called metanarrative is just the form of totalization of one kind of discourse, where differend is unavoidable. The attempt to be metanarrative is the ambition of totalization. Metanarrative is the justification of totalization. Therefore, I consider all metanarratives in history as products of totalization. That is to say, the metanarrative is just a beautiful coat for totalization. Totalization operates in the name of metanarrative. However, in fact, it is a process of totalization, a process of differendd, a process of causing the wrongs, a history of suffering of victims of differendd.

No metanarrative means no totalization. As long as there is totalization, we will never be in postmodern condition. Therefore I consider the postmodern condition as an ideal notion of free society. Just on this point, I have the same claim with Lyotard and Nuyen, that the war against totality is endless.

 

Further review of the two kinds of terrorism: sharing the same structure of terrorism.

So the rejection of violent terrorism also applies to the rejection of totalization.

 

VI. Reflection on the role of government and Political solution according to the two strategies

Since I see issues on the macro level as political issue, the political problem need a political solution.

The role of government to the violent terrorism:

The role of government to the white terrorism of totality: old government involved in totalization.

Pure notion of government from postmodern condition

We need a government which could not only rule out the violent terrorism but also prevent the totalization.

 

VII. Political missions before us

The mission set by Lyotard and Nuyen: to fight against the totalization and present the unpresentable individually.

The mission set according to my understanding of pure notion of government:

To fight against the old form of government to build up a new kind of government which could fight against the totalization and present the unpresentable.

 

VIII. Other implication of my reconstruction of postmodern condition and the redefinition of metanarrative

Review and evaluation of theories and events in history