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What Is Postnormal When There Is No Normal.Pdf This may be the author’s version of a work that was submitted/accepted for publication in the following source: Cairns, George (2017) What is postnormal when there is no normal? A postdichotomous view of the histories of the past, present, and future. World Futures, 73(6), pp. 412-426. This file was downloaded from: https://eprints.qut.edu.au/115668/ c Consult author(s) regarding copyright matters This work is covered by copyright. Unless the document is being made available under a Creative Commons Licence, you must assume that re-use is limited to personal use and that permission from the copyright owner must be obtained for all other uses. If the docu- ment is available under a Creative Commons License (or other specified license) then refer to the Licence for details of permitted re-use. It is a condition of access that users recog- nise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. If you believe that this work infringes copyright please provide details by email to [email protected] Notice: Please note that this document may not be the Version of Record (i.e. published version) of the work. Author manuscript versions (as Sub- mitted for peer review or as Accepted for publication after peer review) can be identified by an absence of publisher branding and/or typeset appear- ance. If there is any doubt, please refer to the published source. https://doi.org/10.1080/02604027.2017.1357932 What is Postnormal When There is no Normal? – A postdichotomous view of the histories of the past, present and future (Running Title: What is Postnormal When There is no Normal?) George Cairns QUT Business School, 2 George Street, GPO Box 2434, Brisbane, QLD 4001, Australia. Email: [email protected] Abstract: Keywords: Postnormal, postdichotomous, phronēsis, power. Introduction In recent years, Ziauddin Sardar (2010, 2013) has called for a breakdown of binary divisions of East and West in what he refers to as ‘postnormal times’. Defining the parameters of these postnormal times, Sardar (2010, p. 435) states that they are “characterised by three c’s: complexity, chaos and contradiction”. In contrast, he argues (Sardar, 2013) that in ‘normal’ times that preceded them, society was defined in terms of clear divisions of geography, power and authority. Within these, the resultant hierarchy – whilst not immune to dispute and challenge – would oversee progress towards a better future. Here, the ‘good’ would prevail and the evil others – of various political, economic and religious inclinations – would be overcome. Sardar posits that breakdown of the normal that led us into the postnormal came at the time when the neoliberal West’s notion of the ‘end of history’ (Fukuyama, 1989, 2002) and universal acceptance of free market democracy was seen to be a chimera. In this paper, I posit that Sardar’s (2013) notion of some inherent stability that underpins the concept of normal times is flawed. I argue that what was presented by those in power in ‘the West’ as a normalcy of progress towards social, economic and political equilibrium and future betterment was, at best, misplaced optimism and, at worst, a deliberate veil of untruths designed to anaesthetize and cocoon the privileged few and to keep them blind to the reality of the wider world in which they lived. In developing such a line of argument, I first argue that the foundation of neoliberal thinking on social and political stability built on the classical free market economics of Adam Smith was flawed from the outset. I posit that Smith’s ideas were misinterpreted in a narrow and exclusive way and that Smith himself was somewhat naïve in considering basic human drives. From this, I call for a realization that there was no ‘normalcy’ in what is described as normal times and, therefore, the term ‘postnormal times’ itself must be rethought in a more nuanced way. However, I consider that questioning the naming of an idea does not in itself negate the ideals and principles that underpin it. Rather, I will argue that what Sardar and others refer to as postnormal times represents an even more extreme set of ‘normal times’ than existed prior to the breakdown of the end of history thesis. More importantly, I propose that individuals’ responses to a present situation that is perceived as one of extreme normalcy will be different from one that is viewed as novel and truly postnormal, and that this difference is a crucial factor underpinning action, or lack thereof. Whilst critically engaging with characterization of a postnormal world, I concur with the basic rationale of the emergent ‘postnormal theory’, and argue the case for fundamental change to economic and political priorities and for a focus on social needs and values in the very near future if we are to avoid acceleration through inertia towards the apocalyptic collapse of free-market capitalism. However, I posit that proposing responses to a situation of extended normalcy requires a different mindset and starting point than in addressing a new or post-normalcy. Whether we live in postnormal, ‘hyper-normal’, abnormal or ‘new normal’ times, we must accept that, for most of humanity and for the planet on which we live, certainly these are not good times and we must strive to bring about urgent and radical change. Laying Foundations for a Calmly Radical Change In positing the possibilities for meaningful change and success in challenging the status quo of a dominant normalcy, I would argue that it is first essential to avoid relying on broad assertions and generalizations. Such statements will be challenged by those who can cite contrary examples, and they also risk disaffecting like-minded individuals who feel themselves implicated in the generalization. We may infer some degree of generality, but we must do so from examples of the specific. More importantly, it is necessary to offer some constructive concepts and reasonable directions on action that can be taken to bring about challenge to the status quo. I have previously argued that academics must take a lead in seeking to bring about change, and called for a new ‘academic activism’ (Cairns, 2014). This activism, whilst revolutionary in nature, must not be grounded in violence. Rather it must be a ‘revolution of ideas’, as proposed by Polish academic Monika Kostera in her keynote talk at the 2013 Standing Conference on Organizational Symbolism (SCOS) in Warsaw. The key question to me is how such a revolution is to be informed, such that it becomes a movement of inclusion rather than exclusion, is pluri-vocal rather than strident and mono-vocal, and is truly cultural diverse rather than superficially multicultural. However, in arguing for inclusion, I do not then accept that debate becomes one of moral relativism, in which all viewpoints and values are held to be equal. There must be frameworks for building the necessary inclusive conversation but, also, methods for making moral judgments between competing discourses. Accepting that there is nothing particularly unique about the critiques I offer, my aim in this text is to focus on two key questions. Whilst critique may be readily accepted by those that agree with it, it can more often be read as mere criticism by those that disagree, or are the subjects of it. So, I question first how we might seek to transfer, or translate, critical discourse effectively across belief and value systems. However, critique itself is helpful only in as much as it leads to action to alleviate the circumstances being constructively critiqued. This leads me to consider, second, how we might approach engagement to inform action. As such, the later sections of this paper are devoted to presenting some ideas for frameworks and methods that I posit offer possibilities for consideration of radical change – for a revolution of ideas. Challenging the Equilibrium Fallacy As outlined above, in positing postnormal times, Sardar (2013) precedes these with times of perceived normality and equilibrium, in terms of economic growth, social stability, cohesive communities and a general understanding of a future trajectory along similar lines. This trajectory was to be confirmed and embedded as the future of humanity with the ‘end of history’ (Fukuyama, 1989, 2002) and the collapse of the Soviet Union’s opposition to capitalist society. However, I challenge the notion that there was such equilibrium, other than in the chimeric, sanitized worldview of the few living within a bubble of blindness to the situation of the many. Also, I challenge one of the key foundation stones of this flawed worldview, in the classical economic theory of Adam Smith (1776/1999). The justification that underpinned arguments for the end of history and that still dominates notions of free market capitalism as the ideal societal form is largely economic in nature, drawn from the classical economic logic fathered by Adam Smith, extended by Milton Freidman (1962), embraced by UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and US President Ronald Reagan, and perpetuated by the neo-conservative right. However, whilst Smith is celebrated for his legacy, I would argue that those who so admire him fail to acknowledge two factors that are key to interpreting his writing. The first I read as what might now be considered a somewhat naïve assumption of Smith (1790/2009) on basic human nature, which may be attributed to the nature of the society in which he lived and worked. The second, more importantly, concerns the issue of governmental responsibility – a responsibility set out by Smith that was ignored by Thatcher/Reagan, their advisors and acolytes, yet challenges aspects of the free market that they put in place and vehemently protected. Adam Smith was born into a Scottish society in which the religious doctrine of Presbyterianism was dominant, and his mother was a devout follower of the Protestant faith.
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