Rossella Failla

One of the common threads throughout the articles is change. Society changes throughout generations, changing many aspects of life.

Berman presents the issues set by modernization as a paradox to today’s generations. He periodized modernity into three time periods, looking at how modernity changed aspects of society. Berman’s approach is to teach society the ways of past generations, to use their actions as guides during these ironic times. He states that going back can be a way to go forward, to help bring modernism back to its roots. He depicts modern society as a cage, without spirit. The constituents of today’s society have become soulless machines, much like the machines that become the main source of labor replacing manual labor. They rely on constant change, and are constrained by technology. They no longer have the creativity and innovation of past generations, which is why Berman suggests a return to the ideals of the past.

Similarly, Beck addresses social conditions of our society with discontent. The major question posed is why does globalization mean politicization? Society has transitioned to a politics of globalization; a race for global power. Manual labor is become inexistent as corporations export jobs to parts of the world where the cost of labor are significantly less. We live in a jobless capitalist society. One of the main components of capitalism, a market exchange for labor, is challenged day by day. Society is creating an even greater rift between the rich and the poor, and we can’t help but question if this is how capitalism should actually work,

The Rocket Internet is just the tip of the iceberg. It goes hand in hand with Berman’s argument. Society no longer has inspiration and inventiveness to come up with original ideas. The e-commerce venture company essentially “clones” or imitates business ideas, providing service to people worldwide. This just shows that today’s society has become intellectually lazy. They refuse to ponder on new ideas, but would rather clone ideas to receive results in a time efficient manner.

In my opinion the best way to understand this concept is to look at our society, and really reflect on what our priorities are. We’re facing a technological revolution, where we are restrained by the amount of technology we possess. Although change does mean progress, I can’t help but think how much must we rely on these changes? Society is caged by technology, not allowing itself to break free.