Past postmodernism

It is somehow amusing to see how the 'postmodern' philosophy is dying out; and it will be interesting to see what will replace it as a leading line of thought in academia. Here are some thoughts and speculations.

Postmodernism didn't become well known-or popular, take your pick-for its intellectual rigor, or its capability to say something useful about philosophy or science. At the time, it was the hip, progressive thing going. The main surprise at this stage is that postmodernism didn't leave a coherent body of political or critical thought.

In retrospect, I think one can fairly say that postmodernism was the main intellectual vehicle to allow a realignment of academia to a business oriented model. Postmodernism didn't emerge because the internal dynamic of intellectual progress somehow made it emerge--it was a market dynamic more than anything else which made it happen. Three things stand out in this market dynamic:

1. Postmodernism made some academic careers at a time when a career crunch for academics was looming, and allowed academics to posture with the allure of film stars. No wonder that Hollywood was such a popular theme.
2. Postmodernism convinced a wider public that Universities still had something relevant to say--something relevant that was moreover easy to understand, but which could be made to look fairly difficult with ease.
3. Postmodernism was capable of attracting students to the sort of departments that might well otherwise have failed in the neo Darwinian universe of the modern university.
   

Its lasting legacy will be that it legitimised the realignment of academic research with the random vagaries of the 'knowledge society', as well as being able to silence most coherent forms of political criticism from both academics and students. It did all this while posturing as a philosophy of the left. Quite a feat, and a delusion which is now happily over.