Unfinished Business

Habermas has an interesting stance on postmodernism: he is not a fan. He places a notable amount of faith in modernity, modeling after enlightenment, claiming that modernity still has some unfinished business. He likes to pick at the neoconservatives who are not open to changes in society and tend to blame culture for all that is going wrong. Habermas argues that just because the avant-garde and surrealists may have not fulfilled modernity’s destiny, does not mean that it is no longer alive. The issue at hand may be that the capitalist agenda or neo-conservatism is hindering our creativity and evolution of our culture. While I am still trying to fully grasp what neo-conservatism is, I understand that neoconservatives aim to maintain the status quo and dispel anything that threatens to change it.

I can see how this is prevalent in the “three autonomous spheres” of science, morality and art. All of these dimensions are encouraged or even manipulated to adhere to capitalistic endeavors. During the enlightenment, the goal was to “develop objective science, universal morality and law, and autonomous art according to their inner logic.” It also was intended for the arts science to “promote not only the control of natural forces but also the understanding of the world and of the self, moral progress, the justice of institutions and even the happiness of human beings” (103). I hate to sound cynical but currently the majority of science, art, and morality do not seem geared towards these goals. At least, not the mainstream or what is intended for the larger public.

When I think of popular culture, it is very rare that any of it has concerns about moral progress or the wellbeing of humanity. Look at the majority of television shows and top music artists, and you will find themes of wealth, sex, and status. When popular artists do call attention to issues in our society (Beyonce in Formation) they are scrutinized and called back to their capitalistic purpose of keeping the public distracted and entertained. Meanwhile with art that is truly uplifting or “enlightening” tends to be “high art”, which alludes back to what we talked about it class about how there is low and high art. High art is usually only consumed by upper classes which results in the majority of the public being excluded from exposure to high art. I think Habermas is arguing that this is what capitalists want. They do not want to the masses being exposed to art that brings into question the greater good of humanity and moral evolution. We are encouraged to continue to inflate our ego with consumerism so that the sole objective of making money is never challenged.