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Modernity

Modernity is a critique of the era of capitalistic economic development in which we currently live.

Purpose of the Book

The purpose of the book is fourfold:

Anti-humanism

This work differs from most accounts of modernity in that it rejects the modernistic notion that our present western society is the best vehicle for the development of the human spirit and the resolution of perennial human problems. This position rests on the following observations:

An implicit result of anti-humanism is to return western thought to culturally specific criticism and thus to reestablish the proper limits to the claims of any economic, political or cultural thought.

Marxism and Liberalism

This work is neither a liberal nor a Marxist critique of modernity, since:

The Legacy of Modernity

However modernity deserves a sustained critique because its economic development is ecologically unsustainable:

Political Solutions to Modernity

Political solutions to the problems that modernity has caused must begin with a global decolonisation and disengagement on the part of the developed world. This would allow the creation of various different economies in the various regions of the world, which would be better able to deal with the legacy of modernity.


This PDF file (730K) reproduces the published version of Modernity.


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© John Leonard 2002