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Hum 104, Lecture notes 2014, class VIII

Chapter 23, The Contemporary World, 1970-2014

Globalization, Terrorism, Postmodernism

I quote-

New York’s World Trade Center (WTC) Project- a post-modern complex set to be completed in 2014-is a powerful symbol of today’s complex, global world. The first WTC, sited on the East River, just steps from Wall Street, was finished in 1973. A modernist jewel, its twin glass towers seemed to signal two messages: the United States is a super power and New York is a major player in the emerging global economy. Those messages were strengthened in 1990, with the end of the cold war and the breakup of the Soviet Union. Even a failed bombing attack against the WTC by Islamic radicals in 1993, only briefly disrupted the period’s generally optimistic mood. But, on September 11, 2011, all of that changed. Islamic radicals brought down the Twin Towers, causing great loss of life. An outraged nation, led by President George W. Bush, vowed to avenge the attacks and rebuild the World Trade Center.

The destruction of the World Trade Center divides this period into two phases: toward a new global order, 1970-2001; and the Age of Terrorism, 1970-present. Before 9/11, the West, driven by globalization and a booming economy, envisioned the future as a peaceful, unified, multicultural world. After 9/11, that global vision was challenged. Conflicts between the West and Islamic radicals, which had been sporadic for decades, now moved to a higher level, most notably in wars against the Islamic states of Iraq and Afghanistan. The globalization ideal remained dominant in cultural conversation. The global economy boomed until the Great Recession that began in 2008. Today, the economy, though shaky, shows many signs of recovery-offering hope for the future. And the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings have, once again, caused the West to rethink its relationship to the Islamic world.

End of quote.

No big wars marked the 70s, but little wars continued. Ethnic conflicts proliferated, and the globe shrank. Détente was the word of the moment as the super-powers became more open with each other, especially economically.

OPEC began to oppose the buying nations that had founded the group. In 1974, they embargoed the sale of oil to the US and Western Europe which led to gasoline shortages, high prices at the pump, and rationing. Some states used an odd/even license plate number to decide which day its owner could get fuel, and some stations sold gasoline only to their regulars and then an appointment was needed.

Presidents of the US during the age were: Richard Nixon, who ended the war in Viet Nam; opened dialogue with China, but wound up resigning from office because of his involvement in the Watergate cover-up. Gerald Ford, appointed VP when Spiro Agnew was forced to resign that office, served the rest of Nixon’s term and brought some calm to the country’s politics. Jimmy Carter, a peanut farmer and former governor of Georgia, was elected during the bicentennial year of 1976. As a Washington outsider, he had little success with legislative efforts and was president during the entire Iran hostage crisis. From Nixon through Carter, the US faced adversity at home and abroad and lost much of its swagger.

That changed with the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980. He restored the national mood by pursuing a 300 ship navy that helped the economy and the nation’s outlook. Reaganomics were a hit with the conservatives even though taxes increased and the trade gap appeared. Disparity of wealth widened the gap between rich and poor. George H. W. Bush succeeded Reagan, invaded Iraq and freed Kuwait. Still, the economy tanked and he lost the election to Bill Clinton in 1992. Clinton was a great consensus builder, balanced the budget and created a surplus, failed to pass a sweeping health care plan, and had personal morality issues. George W. Bush was elected in 2000. He got a major education initiative, No Child Left Behind (NCLB) passed. He was surrounded by scoundrels including his VP, Dick Cheney. He invaded Afghanistan after 9/11, but lost focus and invaded Iraq. He spent Clinton’s budget surplus and reduced tax income while sponsoring two wars creating a huge budget deficit. Barack Obama became the country’s first African heritage President. The Affordable Care Act was passed during his first term, but an intractable stalemate with the Republican House of Representatives and on-going budget issues have stopped progress on many fronts.

Tension rose between the United States and Russia when the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan and suppressed Poland’s Solidarity movement. Tensions were reduced when Mikhail Gorbachev became premier. He was reasonable to work with as he realized that the Soviet Union did not have the economic strength to compete with the US. The Berlin Wall that had been constructed in 1961 came down in 1989. The Soviet Union was dissolved, but Russia retained a commonwealth arrangement with some of the ethnic republics. After 1989, the US was the only super-power for awhile. It did not support the UN all the time as it chose its own alliances and actions when it suited. In South Africa apartheid ended in 1994. In the East, Japan’s economy had melted down on badly overvalued real estate and was not recovering quickly. This should remind you of the US recession’s primary cause in 2008.

Globalization, trading blocks, the Internet, and e-trading changed everything. Dot com stocks climbed far beyond company earnings, and driven by greed, the market crashed in 2001. Sound familiar? Globalization saw a rapid rise in out-sourcing and off-shoring.

The Middle-East saw wars between Israel and its neighbors in 1967 and 1073. President Carter worked to create dialogue between Egypt and Israel. In 1979, the Shah of Iran was forced from office and replaced by a theocratic government under the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, and Iran moved away from the westernization experienced under the Shah. In 1980 Iran was invaded by Iraq under Saddam Hussein, and a stalemate ensued until 1988. In 1990, Hussein invaded Kuwait. The first Gulf War followed with a US lead coalition driving his army out of Kuwait but leaving Hussein in power. Iraq used equipment mostly from Russia, and it proved seriously inferior to the US hardware.

Early Modernism was maybe a golden age, but its adherents harbored doubts about traditional ethics, morality, and religion. It was a culture of the masses. Late Modernism was Existential with a loss of faith in past and future. Art was stripped of all extras.

Postmodernism in the late 70s returned to an optimistic view of history. People tended to think good was going to happen, the world would be stable, and man could again look to the past and future. People went back toward the roots of western tradition. The feeling of optimism existed until 2008 in spite of all the world’s issues. Even terrorism such as the first attack on the WTC in 1993, the Oklahoma City bombing of 1995, and the second WTC attack in 2001 were brief interludes in the era’s generally optimistic outlook that survived the terrorism, wars, the early 1990’s recession, and AIDS. The Great Recession beginning in 2008 seems to have tempered optimism pretty substantially.

Advances in medicine bolstered optimism. DNA work and stem cells offer great possibilities. Advancing science also poses questions in areas such as cloning and genetically altered food. Cell phones and other technology advances seriously erode privacy, and Orwell’s, 1984, seems off mostly in its date!

Pope, now Saint, John XXIII (1958-1963) called the Second Vatican Council to order, but he did not live to see its conclusion. Pope Paul VI (1963-1978) saw Vatican Council II to its conclusion and implemented many of its reforms. Pope, now Saint, John Paul II (1978-2005) was the first non-Italian to be Pope in 455 years. He helped hasten the fall of the USSR. He reached out to other religions, but he was a conservative on most gender and social issues. Pope Benedict XVI served from April 2005 until retiring in February of 2013. Sex and financial scandals rocked the church during his reign. Pope Francis of Buenos Aries, Argentina assumed his position on March 13, 2013. His inclusionary style and care for the poor have resulted in much acclaim as has his simplistic life style that he also urges on the church’s bishops and cardinals.

Islamic radicalism or militarism is very active. Groups ranging from Al Qaeda to Hezbollah, to Hamas, to the Muslim Brotherhood, to the Taliban create pressure militarily and politically on mainstream Islam and to the West as well. They are alternatives for many who suffer under dysfunctional, corrupt regimes, or who wish to raise strong voices against Israel and the West. Russia is again saber rattling under Vladimir Putin as Ukraine teeters on the edge of civil war. North Korea continues to appear unstable as it seeks to have nuclear weapons and delivery systems and as it keeps tensions high with South Korea, Japan, and the USA.

In the arts, literature is mostly entertainment instead of classic caliber writing though in South America, Columbian writer, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, won a Nobel Prize in 1967. Postmodernist painters don’t exhibit a uniform style. Abstraction plays a major role, and much of the Neoclassicism of the 20th century looks like Post Impressionism of the late 1800’s. Music is all over the board from rap and hip hop to rock, in its many variations. Opera, symphonies, musical theater, jazz and blues continue to have significant audiences. Music can now be accessed through many forms of technology.