Cynicism and Postmodernity

A powerful political critique of postmodernism. Melancholic and introspective, ironical and apolitical, the urban cynic is a myth of our time. In this original and provocative book, Timothy Bewes descends into the modern cynical consciousness and emerges with a critical assessment of the preoccupations of contemporary society. Bewes charts the development of a culture of cynicism in forms such as an obsession with finality and integrity, a widespread retreat into introspection and inertia, and a neurotic attachment to metaphysical truth. The inflated currency of the term "cynicism" reflects a very real crisis in the constitution and practice of politics. Cynicism and Postmodernity proposes a means of negotiating this terrain with political sensibility intact. Immersed in the phenomena of contemporary culture, this is a book for all those fascinated by the state of politics, critical thinking and the plight of the individual in society as a new century looms.

Timothy Bewes is Associate Professor of English at Brown University. He is an editor of New Formations and a contributor to New Left Review, New Literary History and Parallax.