In my various posts on the subject of postmodernism, I have in time past advanced an argument that I believe to be a real pippin. But thus far, I have not really seen anyone attempt to engage with it. This is either because the argument is beneath contempt, and it would sully the minds of philosophers to even attempt to throw it away, or, and this would be my opinion, it is a devastating argument for anyone (particularly Christians) who have been manning the pom-poms on behalf of soi-disant postmodernism.
Here is the argument again, in short form. Modernity has a political and civic expression or manifestation. That manifestation is Western liberal democracy. Any form of postmodernity that does not challenge that embodied manifestation is not really being post-anything. Muslim fundamentalists who advocate the imposition of Sharia law are therefore postmodern, and Brian McLaren isn’t at all.
For those who have the time and interest, I would encourage them to go back and read Francis Fukuyama’s essay, “The End of History?” In it he makes very clear the fact that modernity enculturated is Western liberal democracy. And so there is no way to be postmodern without being post-the whole thing. To believe otherwise would be comparable to looking at post-Christian Europe with the expectation that, despite the Faith itself dissolving, the cathedral-building will carry on, as robust as ever.
What Fukuyama means by the end of history is “the end point of mankind’s ideological evolution and the universalization of Western liberal democracy as the final form of human government” (p. 1). Any movement which does not abandon this pluralism cannot be called genuinely postmodern. Fukuyama asks, “If we admit for the moment that the fascist and communist challenges to liberalism are dead, are there any other ideological competitors left? Or put another way, are there contradictions in liberal society beyond that of class that are not resolvable? Two possibilities suggest themselves, those of religion and nationalism” (p.9). In my view, Fukuyama’s dismissal of religion as a contender was remarkably short-sighted for an essay filled with such trenchant observations. If we are to turn away from modernity in a true postmodern move, then I believe we have a basic choice of visions — Ahmadinejad’s or Leithart’s.