The city as an environment for postmodern values formation: theoretical ground of a hypothesis

Doctor of sociology, Professor

Oleksiy Musiyezdov

student Helen Khalina

Annotation

The article deals with theoretical argumentation of the hypothesis that the conditions for the postmodern values formation exist in cities, in groups, whose activities are connected with the global post-industrial economy. The article discusses various theories of post-modern society: «Post-Industrial society» (D. Bell, P Drucker and others), «informational society» (Y Masuda), «third wave» (A. Toffler), «global society» (Z. Bauman, U. Beck, R. Robertson), «space of flows» (M. Castells), «disorganized capitalism» (S. Lash, J. Urry), «high modernity» (E. Giddens), «postmodernism» (J.-F. Lyotard) and others. The authors use the interpretation of postmodern values by R. Inglehart and results of the World Values Survey. The hypothesis is argued with the use f the ideas of M. Castells (about «cosmopolitan elites» and «local masses»), R. Florida (about «creative class»), E. Soja (about «synekism»), as well as the results of sociological researches of the Ukrainian society, carried out by leading sociological centers during the events of Euromaidan and Revolution of dignity.

Keywords: postmodern society, postmodern values, the city, the creative class.

Анотація

У статті здійснюється теоретичне обґрунтування гіпотези про те, що умови для формування постмодерних цінностей існують в містах, в групах, життєдіяльність яких пов'язана з глобальною постіндустріальної економікою. Розглядаються різні концепції постсучасного суспільства, зокрема, теорії «постіндустріального суспільство» (Д. Белл, П. Дракер та ін.), «інформаційного суспільства» (Й. Масуда та ін.), суспільства «третьої хвилі» (А. Тоффлер), «глобального суспільства» (З. Бауман, У Бек, Р Робертсон та ін.), «простору потоків» (М. Кас- тельс), «дезорганізованого капіталізму» (С. Леш, Дж. Уррі), «високої модернос- ті» (Е. Гидденс), «постмодернізму» (Ж.-Ф. Лиотар) та ін. Акцентується увага на інтерпретації постмодерних цінностей Р. Інглехартом і результатах Всесвітнього дослідження цінностей (World Values Survey). Для обґрунтування авторської гіпотези використовуються концепції М. Кастельса (про «космополітичні еліти» та «локальні маси»), Р Флориди (про «креативний клас»), Е. Соджи (про «синойкізм»), а також результати сучасних досліджень українського суспільства, проведених провідними соціологічними центрами під час подій Євромайдану та Революції гідності.

Ключові слова: постсучасне суспільство, постмодерні цінності, місто, креативний клас.

Аннотация

В статье осуществляется теоретическое обоснование гипотезы о том, что условия для формирования постмодерных ценностей существуют в городах, жизнедеятельность которых связана с глобальной постиндустриальной экономикой. Рассматриваются различные концепции постсовременного общества, в частности, теории «постиндустриального общества» (Д. Белл, П. Дракер и др.), «информационного общества» (Й. Масуда и др.), общества «третьей волны» (А. Тоффлер), «глобального общества» (З. Бауман, У Бек, Р Робертсон и др.), теории «пространства потоков» (М. Кастельс), «дезорганизованного капитализма» (С. Леш, Дж. Урри), «высокой модерности» (Э. Гидденс), «постмодернизма» (Ж.-Ф. Лиотар) и др. Акцентируется внимание на интерпретации постмодерных ценностей Р Инглехартом и результатах Всемирного исследования ценностей (World Values Survey). Для обоснования авторской гипотезы используются идеи М. Кастельса (о «космополитичных элитах» и «локальных массах»), Р Флориды (о «креативном классе»), Э. Соджи (о «синойкизме»), а также результаты современных исследований украинского общества, проведенных ведущими социологическими центрами во время событий Евромайдана и Революции достоинства.

Ключевые слова: постсовременное общество, постсовременные ценности, город, креативный класс.

Talks about establishing of a new type of society, which is different from previous stage by specific values system, are quite popular for long time. The investigations of these values are carrying out for long time as well. However, there are no certain answers about causes and conditions of its formation. New hypotheses can clarify them. The main goal of this article consists in theoretical explanation of the hypothesis about the key role of the city with a great part of «creative class» as one of the most important condition of postmodern values formation. Researches directed toward the test of this hypothesis are extremely relevant for Ukraine which is trying to go on the way of sustainable development.

The society acquires new features that make it different from «classic» capitalism in the middle of XX century. As a result different researchers offer theories which are to explain this new society. Let's briefly examine the most common of them. postmodern ukrainian society

The idea of a post-industrial (post-capitalist) society has become popular after the works of D. Bell [1]. It is obviously that new society fits to the scheme of agricultural - industrial - postindustrial society in his definition. First of all, the key feature here is a significant expansion of the service sector, which begins to surpass the industrial production, as well as an increase of the importance of information in production itself:

«As capital and labor were the central variables of industrial society, information and knowledge are the crucial variables of postindustrial society» (D. Bell) [2].

«The change in the meaning of knowledge that began two hundred fifty years ago had transformed society and economy. The knowledge has become the basic condition of the production today. ... The fact that knowledge has become the main resource, not just one of kinds of resources, has transformed our society into the post-capitalist one» (P. Drucker) [3].

It is considered that the concept of the information society was introduced into a scientific language by F. Machlup and T. Umesao in the early 1960s [4, p. 18-21], and the authorship of the concept was credited to Y. Hayashi [5]. Theories of the information society crossed with thetheories of post-industrial society largely because both focus on the role of information and knowledge. For example, D. Bell also talks about post-industrial society this way, and Y. Masuda in his work «The Information Society as a PostIndustrial Society» writes: «Production of the information product, not the material one, will be the driving force of the formation and development of the society» [6, p. 29].

Author of the concept of the «third wave» A. Toffler is talking about fundamental technological differences between the new society and previous ones [7]. According to his point of view, we can distinguish three waves in the history of civilization: agrarian, industrial and postindustrial. While distribution of custom-made goods was prevalent in societies of the «first wave», industrialization, adoption of new technologies and improvement of energy base have created the conditions for mass production, which gave rise a new distribution system in the societies of the «second wave». The era of the «third wave» characterizes by demassification of production and formation of new infosphere.

M. McLuhan continues this logic [8; 9]. He says that like written-print culture («The Gutenberg Galaxy») has replaced the primitive one, now the emergence of a new culture based on communication technology («global village») is going on.

One of the most important characteristics of the new society is globalization, that is understood as the process of simplifying crossing distances between people, resources, goods, capitals, services, information, etc. (M. Cas- tells, Z. Bauman, U. Beck, R. Robertson, etc.) [10-13]. M. Castells, for example, suggests that the space of the information society is a space of flows. It can be described as a combination of three layers. First of them consists of a series of electronic impulses which form the material basis for the processes that are strategically important in the network society. This is spatial form like the «city» and «region» were in the industrial society. Places do not exist by themselves in the network of interactions, they do not disappear, but they acquire new meanings under the influence of inclusion into the space of flows - the process similar to the formation of new «economic regions» caused by the construction of railways. The second layer is formed by thenodes and hubs. The space of flows connects specific locations, with clearly defined social, cultural, physical and functional characteristics. Some places serve as communication hubs to ensure coordination and interaction of elements in the network. Other places are the centers of realization of strategically important functions. Functions that should be performed by each network determine characteristics of places which become preferred nodes. Every network defines its own nodes and their hierarchy according to functions and characteristics of the product or service produced by the network. The third layer of space of flows refers to the spatial organization of the dominant elites performing management functions. In contemporary society space plays a fundamental role in the mechanism of social domination - elites are cosmopolitan, people (masses) are local. The space of power and wealth is projected throughout the world, while life of people and their experiences are rooted in a particular place, its culture and history.

J. Urry continues to develop M. Castells's ideas and offers to consider the world not as an embodiment of human will, but as an «accomplice» of human actions. This means that every process should be explained as a complicated combination of things, nature, information, and human will is equal to the rest here. J. Urry, however, makes a distinction between the «flows» and «scapes». Whereas the «flow» is the set of movements of people, images, information, money and waste that cross national borders uncontrolled, and therefore can bring different kinds of threats, the «scapes» are «the networks connecting together machines, technologies, organizations, texts and actors that form different interconnected nodes through which certain flows can spread» [14, p. 28]. Accordingly, individuals and especially corporations are usually eager to connect to them, becoming a node within a given network.

J. Urry with S. Lash assume that the new society should be considered as «disorganized capitalism», in contrast to the previous liberal and organized capitalist one. Its special feature is decline of national economies, growth of the value of information and communication technologies [15]. In their work «Economies of Signs and Space» [16], authors point out the following features of contemporary economy:

• High mobility of subjects;

• The loss of material properties of the products: products get separated from the material content, become signs;

• Acquiring of emblematic surplus value by material products, which become inseparable from them (aesthetization of material products).

The essence of contemporary economy - economy of signs and flows - is accumulation of patterns and expressive signs. Further development of this idea has led S. Lash to the analysis of culture and J. Urry to the formulation of «mo- bile sociology». J. Urry bases on the fact that the mobility is central moment of contemporary society functioning. It is obvious that mobility blurs the boundaries of territorial sovereignty and undermines the traditional understanding of the society. It leads to necessity of rethinking the concept of society and sociology in general. However, the other fact is more important. In the conditions of the principal possibility of territorial mobility (declared and performed by different actors), one of the key factors is the idea about mobility, which determine the existence of communities. J. Urry writes that «most forms of dwelling depend upon various modes of real or imagined mobility» [17, p. 14]. In other words, degree and forms of our belonging to the community, including to local communities, depends on our ideas about possibility and necessity of mobility. In particular, our ideas about the possibility to take a more successful position in the global networks and flows compared to our current location also determine our belonging to one or another community.

F. Jameson's article «Postmodernism or the cultural logic of late capitalism» (1984) became a landmark in the development of the theme of new society [18]. In author's opinion, the postmodern is a new stage of society development - the third («late») stage of development of capitalism, with its own cultural features. F. Jameson writes: «Non-Marxists and Marxists shared the general feeling that a new kind of society (variously described as postindustrial society, multinational capitalism, consumer society, media society, etc.) began to emerge soon afterwards World War II. New types of consumption; planned goods replacement; rapidly grown rhythm of fashion styles and environment; penetration of advertising, television and the media into the deepest levels of sociality; neutralization of former tension between the city and the village, center and province by the suburb arising and process of universal standardization; the growth of the great networks of superhighways and the arrival of automobile culture - these are some of the features which would seem to mark a radical break with that old prewar society in which high-modernism was an underground force» [19].

According to F. Jameson, the key point of understanding the specifics of postmodern society is the fragmentation of life. In his view, the fragmentation replaces alienation described by K. Marx and by many of his followers. In postmodern society, the social environment and the person fall apart and lose their integrity. Since the person becomes fragmented, its feelings become fragmented as well and do not cover the whole personality. A postmodern person abandons attempts to know his own past, which appears as a set of texts about them that change their interpretation endlessly. The prevalence of reproducing technology of producing leads to huge variety of «cultural products» - images, signs, symbols, that the person cannot deals with.

In the postmodern conceptions a new society is opposed to preceding modern one (J.-F. Lyotard, J. Derrida, G. Deleuze, F. Guattari, J. Baudrillard) [20]. The key point of the modern era emerged in the Enlightenment, is considered to be confidence in unlimited ability of the mind and in power of «metanarratives» - holistic and rational descriptions of (social) world, and rational projects for its reconstruction (for the better, of course). The modernity reached its highest point when the dominance of rationality has led to the highly rationalized methods of termination of the opponents of the certain modern project realization (J.- F. Lyotard) [21]. Thus the crucial point for these theories is not the difference in the ways of production between contemporary society and the previous ones, but the difference in the vision of rationality. For example, in the «The Postmodern Condition» (1979) J.-F. Lyotard writes: «Simplifying to the extreme, I define post-modernity as distrust to metanarratives» (cited in [20, c. 213]).

An original continuation of these ideas is the concept of M. Maffesoli «postmodern solidarity» [22]. In his view, «the imaginary» as opposed to «the discursive» acquires a special significance in postmodern society. This means the necessity to focus on shared “common” symbols as a basis of forming groups rather than on the «narrative» of the common history and/or values. «Postmodern solidarity» is characterized by the existence of social associations («tribes»), emerging as an objectification of certain symbols identified with common experience, fate, life style, and so on. The existence of these constitutive for the group symbols differ the «postmodern solidarity» from the forms of purposeful associations aimed in needs satisfaction.

Some authors disagree with the postmodernist theories. For example, A. Giddens supposes that modernity is not overcome, but it has radicalized (high modernity) [23]. J. Habermas argues that there is possibility to overcome existing difficulties of communication by the creation of «communicative mind» based on rationalism [24]. These difficulties caused by the collapse of ideologies and the loss of belief in theirvalue and significance. The consequence of the collapse of ideologies is the «fragmentation of consciousness»: the various local, marginal, subculture ideological formations are spreading, but neither they nor previous metanarratives can totally describe and explain the world. Attempts to create the ideology encountered with «resistance of the material»: it is very difficult to set anything coherent from the whole mosaic of different ideas, ideologies, beliefs, world views, etc. [25].

The changes that come along with becoming of new society are reflected in values structure change. This process becomes an object of study for many contemporary sociologists. Different theories begin to consider values of self-realization and individualism as postmodern values. For example, Z. Bauman describing this period talks about individualized society and links the emergence of this phenomenon with an identity crisis, which certainly comes in postmodern society [26].

However, today one of the most influential theories about values changes in postmodern society is the concept proposed by R. Inglehart [27]. It is based on the idea that main factor of readiness of the transit from the modern society to the postmodern (post-industrial) one is feeling of existential safety, which is a result of maximal economic growth.

Capital accumulation and economic growth that took place in the modern era were one of the most important goals for the industrial society. This goal caused the necessity of the existence of a centralized bureaucratic structure, strict regulation by the traditional institutions and moral standards and, as a consequence, the existence of appropriate values. However, achieving the maximal economic growth is reflected in the change in values structure, in the role of traditional institutions and signaled a shift from materialist to post-materialist priorities, which acted as the core of post-modernization process.

In other words, R. Inglehart finds a connection between the economic situation and changes in the cultural environment, in particular a change of values, without being a supporter of economic determinism. Comparing his concept with the A. Maslow's pyramid of needs, the sociologist says that people stop caring about physical and, more importantly, the material needs, which leads to increased self-expression values in the period of post-modernity. Self-realization becomes one of the most important values of postmodern society.

The concept of post-materialism meets criticism from different researchers, who reveal the lack of knowledge of the problem of values shift and notes other factors ignorance, but it is dif-ficult to find a more empirically grounded argument than proposed by R. Inglehart In particular, a famous study of values World Value Survey has been performing by his method since 1981 (7 wave of research, which will cover about 60 countries, is scheduled for 2016-2018)..

Technological development, the emergence of the available transportation in the context of globalization, increasing of interdependence of states has made contemporary society a multicultural one. Tolerance became one of the main values, and mobility became one of the most important reasons for explanation of your place that you occupied in the social hierarchy. However, these changes primarily exist due to achievement of the feeling of economic safety in the countries where the postmodern values can already be considered as well-established. We suppose that certain conditions should contribute to the formation of post-modern values: education rate, levels of wages and unemployment, sphere of employment and the number of middle class (and its quality - the «creative class»).

It is logical to assume that these conditions exist in urban areas mainly. For example, M. Castells suggests that the information production requires milieu of innovation, which can usually be found in large metropolitan areas [28].

Well-known theorist of the Los Angeles school E. Soja argues that contemporary social and urban theorists have underestimated the ancient Greek idea of synekism. Synekism means co-location of various people and things in the same area, resulting appearing formation of new qualities by saving time and efforts: «synekism involves the creativity, innovation, territorial identity, political consciousness and societal development that arise from living together in dense and heterogeneous urban regions. In this meaning I define synekism as the stimulus impact of urban agglomeration, and directly connect it with what can be called as the spatial specificity of urbanism - real and imaginary, material and symbolic geographies, or spatial dimensions of urban life» [29].

This trend, which consists in the fact that corporations aim to locate their headquarters and offices in certain places, led the famous American economist R. Florida to the formulation of the concept of «creative class» [30].

Referring to the definition of the Webster dictionary, R. Florida defines creativity as «the ability to create new meaningful forms». He argues that creativity is the main source of competitive advantage. This is true for any historical epoch, but only in the last few decades people have come to a clear awareness of this fact and begin to act accordingly. Therefore, economic production actors are interested in and contribute to the formation of an appropriate environment.

According to R. Florida, the specificity of creative class consists in the fact that «creative class earn money by projecting and doing something new, and it do this with the greater level of autonomy and flexibility than the other two classes do» [30, c. 23-24]. These are people who included in the post-industrial economy and, consequently, in the «global world». The majority of creative class does not belong to the higher class, it is a part of the middle class, which has become the most influential and popular social group in developed countries. However, it can be considered part of the «cosmopolitan elite» of M. Castells because it includes people who usually weakly tied to the workplace due to their activity, and therefore more often guided by considerations of convenience for life, rather than the closeness to working place in the choice of place of residence.

Developing of different forms of creativity requires a favorable socio-economic environment - creative professionals seeking to live where they like, where there is a spirit of freedom and tolerance towards the different. For example, in his studies R. Florida demonstrates a strong correlation between the proportion of gays and lesbians, on the one hand, and the amount of innovation and citizens' income, on the other hand: «I'm not saying that gays and lesbians are the creative class. But their presence shows that the city accepts all kinds of life. It is easy to become an insider by staying your- self» [31]. In other words, the place preferred by the representatives of the creative class, should satisfy their needs, fit their interests, correspond to their values, and such conditions are usually found in urban areas.

Speaking about Ukraine, according to research by World Value Survey, Ukrainian society has not passed any significant way in the direction of post-modernization [32]. Leading researchers (J. Hrytsak, Y. Golovakha, O.Paskhaver, etc.) insist on the fact that only such a transformation («frog leap» - J. Hrycak) able to provide the country's path towards sustainable development [33-35].

The Euromaidan and the Revolution of Dignity became evidence that some potential for this exists. For example, as shown by research conducted in 2014 on the Schwartz methodology, the participants of the initial stage of The Euromaidan were closer to the average citizen of the European countries than to the average citizen of Ukraine in their values [36]. We can also clarify «carriers» of these values - the typi-cal protester was a man, 37 years old, with higher education and above average income [37].

It is traditionally to analytically separate Ukraine in the regions, in particular in the West and East ones. The first part is considered to be closer to the European values, and the second one - to the Russian / post-Soviet values. But it is easy to assume that such a mental map does not work in the case of the typical postmodern values carriers, because there must be another important criterion, rather than regional one. For example, in each region there are large cities with more suitable conditions for the emergence of new values: they have a relatively high average level of wages in Ukraine, low unemployment rate and a large concentration of people with higher education.

Considering the concepts of M. Castells, E. Soja, R. Florida, plausible hypothesis in this case is the following: the conditions for the formation of postmodern values exist in urban areas (1), in the groups, whose activities are connected to the global post-industrial economies (2). Accordingly, in Ukraine such «centers of post-modernization» must be considered large cities with a high proportion of people who can be considered close to the «creative class». Is it so? Further researches should give an answer to this issue, and the results will provide data for the comprehension of the ways of development of Ukraine in the new environment.