What is Post-modernism?

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What is Post-Modernism? Is it a new worldview or a consequence of the Post-Industrial Society? In this revised edition, Charles Jencks, a key figure in the Post-Modern Movement, explores its multifaceted nature, revealing the evolutionary, social, and economic forces shaping this new stage of global civilization since the 1960s. He presents a unique analysis, employing specially designed diagrams, to explain the arrival of post-modern culture. Through an ironic parable, 'the Protestant Crusade,' Jencks uncovers hidden origins, highlighting Modernists' disdain for the sensuous and natural, which led to a purgation of values and emotion in the 1920s. This culminated in the 1970s with the 'Protestant Inquisition,' inadvertently giving rise to Post-Modernism—a Counter-Reformation embracing worldliness, humor, and pluralism. Jencks distinguishes between two types of Post-Modernism: deconstructive and reconstructive, noting that the former often mirrors Late-Modernism's nihilism. He analyzes the driving forces of global culture today, including post-modernisation, the electronic economy, and instant communication, in relation to Post-Fordism, Post-Socialism, and the post-national world. Ultimately, he argues that the post-modern world does not signify the end of metanarratives but rather presents a new perspective on belief.