Article Analysis: You Say You Want a
Devolution.
The notion that modern society has lost its
ambition or ability to create new ideas and concepts as indicated by Anderson
Kurt (2011) is true. In confirming the sentiments voiced by the writer through
his article “You Say You Want a Devolution,” much of what appears new in the
prevailing era borrow its originality from historical aspects, especially those
developed within the last 20 years. Cases given of technology appear to sway
from the suggested norm of mimicking, but the larger outlook of the prevailing
postmodern society mirrors society. On one part, the aforementioned fact points
to human society (particularly the present) lack a sense of ingenuity or a need
to develop new ideas aimed at ensuring aspects of development and
sustainability. On the other hand, it could signal an inherent notion of
contentment with prevailing developments, hence the choice to conform to the
prevailing status quo of growth and ingenuity. Overall, the suggested practice
points to a lack of originality (authenticity) and identify within the
prevailing era, which could negate envisioned goals of continued development
and sustainability of human societies.
Kurt Anderson is a renowned journalist,
writer (columnist), and novelist. He has produced various literary works that
highlight issues and trends in culture and socio-politics, and entertainment.
He has had an illustrious career as both a journalist and writer, especially
while working with Vanity Fair magazine where he has written various articles
including “You Say You Want a Devolution” that is discussed in this paper. The
article posits that there has not been any significant change in customs and
practices of modern society within the last 20 years (Anderson, 2011). The
author quotes various examples ranging from technology, fashion, entertainment,
and socio-political domains to affirm that the last 20 years have witnessed a
stagnation in ideas and innovation capabilities. Aspects that include nostalgic
gaze (depicting strong association with historical things), amateur stylists
(pointing to poor workmanship among today’s inventors), and loss of appetite
(indicating the larger lack of appreciation for new or unique things) are used
to describe the character or non-innovative nature of modern society (Anderson,
2011). The article concludes by mentioning that prevailing society is confined
to recycling ideas whose originality can be traced to earlier periods in
history.
A look at prevailing trends in society
confirms the sentiments raised by Kurt Anderson (2011) in his Vanity Fair
Magazine article. Modern society also lacks a sense of identity within the
scope of prevailing challenges facing the prevailing era. From the onset, a
noted challenge in the ability to mitigate prevailing social problems that
include incivility, strife, and poverty, among others, could be an indication
that modern society may be using old methods to tackle evolved issues. The
mimicking behavior also encompasses aspects within sociopolitical and culture,
which would explain why issues such as segregation based practices and other
unethical norms that were a preserve of the 80’s and before persist within the
present society. Modern society lacks a sense of originality that comes through
innovativeness. Innovations that are claimed by the prevailing society are
largely improvements of aspects that were created earlier in history. Using
technology as an example, it is evident that aspects such as social media exist
and rely primarily in the internet, which was created more than 20 years ago.
In conclusion, there may be benefits to the
practices alluded by Kurt Anderson. For instance, suggested dependence or
mimicking of history limits the room for error (if it worked before…it can still work now). However, the general
results of depending on history as the solution to prevailing demands and
challenges are complacency and the demise of innovativeness, which can be
correlated to the persistence of societal problems. In line with Kurt Anderson’s
sentiments, there is need for prevailing societies to develop their own
identity and authentic outlook.
Work Cited
Anderson,
Kurt. (December 2011). You Say You Want a Devolution. Vanity Fair Magazine. Retrieved January 27, 2017.
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