History Without A Subject

History Without a Subject presents a broad-ranging discussion of the topic of postmodernity. Beginning with an analysis of how changes in the global economy are affecting the lives of ordinary Americans, this book suggests that the postmodern condition in this country can be likened to the balkanization of culture and society and the “Brazilianization” of politics and the economy.Arguing that global trends are now more determining than nationally based institutions and organizations, David Ashley traces connections between the postmodern condition and the following developments: the American obsession with consumerism and debt; the loss of security and confidence in the work place; the “culture wars”; the declining quality of education; the loss of “public” intellectuals and debate about public interests; the bipartisan acceptance of many New Right policies; and the resurgence of ethnic and racial mistrust and division.Postmodernization is associated by Ashley with the removal of barriers that previously afforded Americans a certain autonomy from the rest of the world. As a result, not only are jobs now taken from the first world to the third world but also, and increasingly, third-world conditions are produced in the heart of first-world nations such as the United States. History Without a Subject argues that these globalizing processes have yet to be understood by the people whose lives they are transforming—thus the title of the book.