Postmodern alienation: a critique of forgetting similarity

This paper seeks to analyze new forms of alienation in the postmodern era. To this end, following an explanation of “postmodern era” and theories generated in this era, concepts of "alienation" and "postmodern alienation" will be explored. Finally, an explanation is offered of the genesis of “postmodern alienation”. This paper argues that in postmodern era the concept of “difference” became the most central theme in both social theories and new social movements. By questioning modern meta-narratives, postmodernism sought to recognize the particular, the marginal and the cultural. In this era, theorizing about the concept of “difference” was simultaneous with blacks, women, postcolonial and other social movements. Focus on “difference,” however, resulted in the emergence of forms of knowledge and consciousness incapable of acknowledging similarities with others. Consequently, “postmodern alienation” prevents both social theories and social movements from understanding the logic of neoliberal capitalism and its ties with cultural postmodernism.