StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

Marshall Berman; the Contradictions of Modernity - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
This paper talks that modernity is often described as a collection of studies into the social processes that order the world we live in while remaining in a constant state of flux. If one is speaking with Marshall Berman, modernity is described as “a mode of vital experience…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER97% of users find it useful
Marshall Berman; the Contradictions of Modernity
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Marshall Berman; the Contradictions of Modernity"

Modernity is often described as a collection of studies into the social processes that order the world we live in while remaining in a constant of flux. If one is speaking with Marshall Berman, modernity is described as “a mode of vital experience—experience of space and time, of the self and others, of life’s possibilities and perils—that is shared by men and women all over the world today. I will call this body of experience ‘modernity’” (Berman, 1982). It encompasses the social changes that are constantly taking shape, the way in which these changes are experienced and the reflection of these experiences in various circles. It is a world of definition and ambiguity, a world of static definitions and constant change. For Marshall Berman, the contradictions of modernity are characterized by a tendency to order space and time while simultaneously promoting their ruination and failure. In describing the modern human, Berman says “they are moved at once by a will to change – to transform both themselves and their world – and by a terror of disorientation and disintegration, of life falling apart” (Berman, 1982). Through this statement, it is easy to see the conflicting emotions of an individual undergoing change of any kind. Relating it to everyday life, an individual might strive to pursue a dream career by quitting their job and launching a business of their own, but at the same time be paralyzed by the fear of this new venture failing, or worse, succeeding. Either way, it represents a change in the way things have been. “To be modern is to live a life of paradox and contradiction. It is to be overpowered by the immense bureaucratic organizations that have the power to control and often to destroy all communities, values, lives; and yet to be undeterred in our determination to face these forces, to fight to change their world and make it our own. It is to be both revolutionary and conservative: alive to new possibilities for experience and adventure, frightened by the nihilistic depths to which so many modern adventures lead” (Berman, 1982). In the capitalistic society, it is greatly argued that man has control of the market, the customer is always right and the consumer is the master by reason of making the choice to purchase or not purchase. However, Berman points out that often this is not really the case. Although we might have our choice of traveling by plane, train or automobile, sometimes that ‘choice’ boils down to just one option based on the availability of flights, trains or roads. Idealistically speaking, we have free choice in which doctors to see for various complaints, however, it is actually the insurance companies that dictate to whom we can go and how much can be charged based on the conditions listed. These few examples immediately call into question just how many choices we are actually making on our own and how many are greatly influenced or even made for us by outside influences. “Poor people cant get lawyers in a country that is glutted with them; the HMOs have abolished the autonomy of physicians; college professors are often glorified fundraisers” (Hitchins, 1999). Another way of illustrating this concept of the modern as both ordered and disordered is in the use of a concrete example such as the World Trade Center of New York City. In terms of its very physical structure, Berman describes the towers as “isolated” in that the center was hard to get to and hard to use, “it gave off hostility” as compared to the Chrysler and Empire State Buildings, which were each seen as being in the middle of life and part of the total system. “Their [the Port Authority who designed the buildings] idea of safety involved repelling the people. The slab shape of the Towers and their isolation grew out of an aesthetic voiced best by Le Corbusier, who said that in order to have modern planning we have to ‘kill the streets.’ For him the street epitomized disorder and chaos” (Berman, 2002). By contrast, the Battery Park City Complex was also designed by the Port Authority in much the same way as the World Trade Center, yet was much more user friendly in that it had parks, museums, restaurants and other amenities that invited people to come in and stay awhile. Although the city is perceived as a melting pot of various cultures, people, ideas, practices and numerous other concepts, Berman points out that it also presents “an endless series of completely sterile and empty gigantic spaces all over the world” (Berman, 2002). Following this line of reasoning, one could infer that Berman suggests this very imperturbability inherent in the structures of the World Trade Center themselves led to their selection as targets by terrorists in 2001. This concept can also be seen in the way in which we order time. With our shift into the cities and the factory, we perceived ourselves as being free of the constraints of time we’d known in rural settings. No longer were our days forcibly ended by the setting of the sun or started with its rising, we moved into a society in which our days are compartmentalized into working and non-work times. Broken down into hours and minutes, the modern world seeks to define when we work and when we play, when we rest and when we socialize. However, this world is constantly moving, constantly changing. Instead of being ordered by daytime and nighttime, we are now ordered by day shift, night shift and graveyard shift. Within the office space, even time to work is sometimes set aside as time to socialize, as in the morning breaks around the water cooler. The time it used to take us to send a message to a colleague has also been shrinking in the modern world thanks to innovations in technology such as mobile phones, instant messaging, email and phone. It now often depends heavily on whether the message was sent via courier, fax or internet as to whether we should expect a response in moments, hours or days. More often than not, though, we expect it immediately. This immediacy placed on everything has the effect of giving time an almost nonexistent quality even while maintaining its importance in the structuring of the everyday life. Thus, modernity is defined by a contradictory set of ideas that constantly shifts and changes even while remaining the same. As people are learning to interact within this modern environment, these contradictions are so ingrained that they are not apparent. In cases in which a person struggles to start a company or stay with their current employer, the contradictions are obvious. But examples exist of cases where the contradictions are just beginning to be considered. Situations such as the health plans dictating medical practices or a free society in which the poorest members do not have access to adequate legal representation in the civil sector are excellent cases in point. In addition, these contradictions are apparent in architecture as in New York’s World Trade Center and in the efforts to order time. Therefore, as Berman said, “To be modern is to live a life of paradox and contradiction” (Berman, 1982). References Berman, Marshall. (1982). All That is Solid Melts Into Air: The Experience of Modernity. New York: Penguin Books. Berman, Marshall. (2002). Big Apple Redux: An Interview with Marshall Berman. Retrieved 13 January, 2006 from < http://eserver.org/clogic/4-2/monchinski_berman.html> Hitchins, Christopher. (17-23 November, 1999). Marshall Berman’s Love Affair with Marx. The Village Voice. Retrieved 13 January, 2006 from < http://www.villagevoice.com/books/9946,hitchens,10070,10.html> Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Marshall Berman; the Contradictions of Modernity Essay”, n.d.)
Marshall Berman; the Contradictions of Modernity Essay. Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/social-science/1535794-marshall-berman-the-contradictions-of-modernity
(Marshall Berman; The Contradictions of Modernity Essay)
Marshall Berman; The Contradictions of Modernity Essay. https://studentshare.org/social-science/1535794-marshall-berman-the-contradictions-of-modernity.
“Marshall Berman; The Contradictions of Modernity Essay”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/social-science/1535794-marshall-berman-the-contradictions-of-modernity.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Marshall Berman; the Contradictions of Modernity

Edgar Degas Sculpture Little Dancer, Aged Fourteen

For Marshall Berman, the contradictions of modernity are characterized by a tendency to order space and time while simultaneously promoting their ruination and failure.... If one is speaking with marshall berman, modernity is described as "a mode of vital experience-experience of space and time, of the self and others, of life's possibilities and perils-that is shared by men and women all over the world today.... The sources I have managed to find are not any more in-depth than what is cited below. modernity is often described as a collection of studies into the social processes that order the world we live in while remaining in a constant state of flux....
10 Pages (2500 words) Essay

The Production of Space by Lefebvre

We shall also discuss geographers' understanding of the modern city and the contradictions of modernity, which are characterized by a tendency to order, space, and time whilst, simultaneously, its ruination and fragmentation (Berman 1982).... Berman (1982) states that the contradictions of modernity are characterised by a tendency to order space and time while simultaneously promoting their ruination and... specifications to a geography of modernity in which "an organic community lives in an age where a multiplicity of international and domestic material transformations"(Mackinder 1904: 434)....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

Peculiarities of Modernity

marshall berman describes modernity as “a mode of vital experience—experience of space and time, of the self and others, of life's possibilities and perils—that is shared by men and women all over the world today”.... marshall berman describes modernity as “a mode of vital experience—experience of space and time, of the self and others, of life's possibilities and perils—that is shared by men and women all over the world today” (Berman, 1982)....
1 Pages (250 words) Essay

Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture

This philosophy allows qualities such as double-meanings, paradoxes, and metamorphosis to exist, along with contradictions.... Architecture emerges out of fanatical and unrelenting debate.... Architects can no longer afford to be intimidated by the puritanically moral language of orthodox Modern architecture....
2 Pages (500 words) Essay

The Construction of the Instruments of Mass Tourism in the Form of Mass Transit

Without the advances of the industrial revolution, much of the organization of mass tourism that took place in the mid-nineteenth century would not have been possible.... At the same time, much of the mass tourism that took place had the effect of imposing a largely European ideal… As Rana Kabbani wrote, the primary function of travel was to impose power over the lands and peoples to which one traveled....
14 Pages (3500 words) Essay

The Right to the City vs Play City Theories

It highlights the obligation of the people to initiate a radical restructuring of the urban areas in order to boost their lifestyles.... The Castle Park in Bristol,… The place is green and appealing hence it qualifies as the best place to look at when restructuring the cities.... The region is abundant of pre-war cinemas and many shops, which provide a good place Its location is also appropriate because its location at the heart of Bristol provides it with décor....
11 Pages (2750 words) Essay

Marx and Engels 1848 Communist Manifesto and Marshall Bermans 1982 text on Marx and Modernization

This document provides us with an important insight into the evolution of modernity.... As such, Marshall Berman identifies some powerful visions in The Communist Manifesto to elaborate that regardless of the time frame, the concept of modernity is the same.... This document provides us with an important insight on the evolution of modernity.... As such, focusing on the 19th Century, Marshall Berman identifies some powerful visions in The Communist Manifesto to elaborate that regardless of the time frame, the concept of modernity is the same....
2 Pages (500 words) Essay

The Cauldron of Ethnicity in the Modern World

This paper “The Cauldron of Ethnicity in the Modern World” focuses on Mombasa, Kenya, a port city experiencing a fusion of Arabic and Asian cultures.... Without a doubt, Mombasa exhibits the facet of ethnicity.... Several types of research point out that ethnicity has caused a number of problems in the area....
32 Pages (8000 words) Research Paper
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us