After Postmodernism: Reactionary Tribalism

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Issue Date
2000-07Author
Antonio, Robert J.
Publisher
University of Chicago Press
Type
Article
Article Version
Scholarly/refereed, publisher version
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Revived Weimar‐era “radical conservatism” and fresh “New Right” and “paleoconservative” theories offer a radical cultural critique of global capitalism and liberal democracy. Expressing a broader retribalization and perceived failure of modernization, their defense of communal particularity attacks the multicultural nation‐state, liberal rights, and universal citizenship. This essay links reactionary tribalism to a recurrent 20th‐century theoretical tendency, the “total critique of modernity”—a fusion of oversimplified Nietzschean and Weberian ideas. Historically, total critique has promoted convergence between right and left, such as the current overlapping facets of “radical conservatism” and “strong‐program postmodernism.” Total critique counters the “historicist” method of “internal critique” and the “communication model” characteristic of reflexive social theory. The discussion uncovers the mediating role of social theory in the problematic relationship of science and partially disenchanted public spheres in plural, democratic cultures.
Description
This is the published version. Copyright 2000 University of Chicago Press.
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Citation
Antonio, Robert J. "After Postmodernism: Reactionary Tribalism." American Journal of Sociology Am J Sociol 106.1 (2000): 40-87. http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/303111.
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