3. What phenomena identify modern and postmodern times?

Modern and postmodern are terms and conditions that are in no way clear and cannot even be clearly told apart. However, one might say that the modern societies of Europe and North America which grew up in the 19th century were identifiable with separate, easily distinguished societies and environments which, individually, had their own clear outlines and structures. In the classic modern European era, traditional ways and means of production and lifestyles of agriculture, industry and the craftsman had a great deal in common, yet they could be clearly distinguished. In the postmodern era, which can also be called "radicalized modern", such a distinction is difficult, because almost everything is mixed together and the relatively clear outlines of society and its part-systems become confused. The great homogeneous systems are breaking down. Innumerable fragments and subsystems are arising, which in turn very quickly also become mingled. In describing the postmodern one needs above all to remember three factors: first, the unlimited "differentiation" of living conditions due to the enormous expansion and intensification of the production, labor and consumer markets. Economic interests, technological progress, new production zones and new markets are destroying the traditional milieus, including the Church, Confessions, religion and the family. The regional and "sectorial" cultures which have lasted until now are dissolving and mingling. Thus – and this is the second aspect – an unlimited cultural "pluralization" is emerging, an ideological pluralism of relationship and value structures: the cultural traditions previously in force are being abandoned and new kinds of individual and collective lifestyles are being tried out. The third factor that seems to characterize the postmodern is the extreme "individualization" of society. Also for these reasons, the individual has a more open attitude toward traditional ties (family, religion) than preceding generations. He feels obliged – for it is not always a free choice – to move house or change his lifestyle, conditioned as he is by the labor market and other social processes. However, the individual does not see himself only as subject to outside pressures but, thanks to the modern experience of freedom and the history of freedom, recognizes that he can "write his own biography" and live his own lifestyle, free from outside influences. Traditional values and lifestyles have not necessarily become devalued, but they have lost their exclusivity. Everything that is "here and now", that brings instant entertainment and promises a ‘feel good’ factor is permitted and considered a good thing.