Postmodernism theory was born in the euphoria of the Reagan bull market

Evidence

The economic turning-point of the Reagan Presidency came on 12 August 1982, when the American stock-market took off — the start of the feverish bull-run that ended the Carter recession. Three months later, Jameson rose to address the Whitney. — Perry Anderson, The Origins of Postmodernity, 237

Categorization

• SHARE: The precise dating — stock-market takeoff on 12 August 1982, Jameson’s Whitney lecture three months later — is a deliciously specific tidbit for anyone into cultural-economic synchronicities.
• CANDY: A startling juxtaposition: the postmodern turn dated to a stock market rally, three months before the famous lecture.
• XREF: connects to: Postmodernism abandons ideology critique for cynical reason — Martin Jay, The Dialectical Imagination: A History…, 21; Modernism is defined by market hostility while postmodernism affirms the market — Fredric Jameson, Postmodernism, or, The Cultural Logic…, 665; Money’s instability created postmodernity’s crisis of representation — David Harvey, The Condition of Postmodernity: An…, 1883 (+4 more)

Broader Connections

• Postmodernism abandons ideology critique for cynical reason #expands (0.80) — Martin Jay, The Dialectical Imagination, 21
• Postmodernism cannot be understood apart from late capitalism’s economic structure #corroborates (0.80) — Fredric Jameson, Postmodernism, or, The Cultural Logic…, 374
• Money’s instability created postmodernity’s crisis of representation #corroborates (0.75) — David Harvey, The Condition of Postmodernity, 1883
• Modernism is defined by market hostility while postmodernism affirms the market #expands (0.72) — Fredric Jameson, Postmodernism, or, The Cultural Logic…, 665
• Jameson’s periodization of postmodernism rests on intuition, not empirical economics #qualifies (0.72) — Alex Callinicos, Against Postmodernism, 497
• Obama’s 2013 March on Washington speech echoed Reagan-era neoconservative narratives #exemplifies (0.70) — Eddie S. Glaude Jr., Democracy in Black, 251