Modernism’s decline stems from political defeats rather than economic change

Evidence

What could be observed was something different: namely a gradual degradation of modernism itself, as it had become increasingly commodified and integrated into the circuits of post-war capital. The sources of this decline, however, were to be traced in the first instance, not so much to larger economic changes, or any immanent aesthetic logic, as more directly to the political history of the time. — Perry Anderson, The Origins of Postmodernity, 216

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Political defeat turned Viennese bourgeois assimilation into a retreat into art — Alex Callinicos, Against Postmodernism: A Marxist…, 207; Modernism’s aesthetic withdrawal from reality was a retreat from politics — Alex Callinicos, Against Postmodernism: A Marxist…, 216; Avant-garde death followed the loss of the anticipated revolution — Alex Callinicos, Against Postmodernism: A Marxist…, 253 (+7 more)

Broader Connections

• World War II’s outcome destroyed modernism’s spurring historical forces #corroborates (0.85) — Perry Anderson, The Origins of Postmodernity, 218