The responsible anarchist: postmodernism and social change

In recent years, the adoption of postmodern theoretical perspectives within educational research has prompted strong critical reaction. For some critics (particularly Marxist researchers), the greatest fault of postmodernism is that it lacks an agenda for social change. This paper takes issue with this argument, and with four associated arguments: (1) that postmodernism disempowers those to whom it claims to give voice; (2) that it appeals only to intellectuals and has no practical value; (3) that it denies the possibility of the construction of a new social order; and (4) that it colludes with the status quo in its refusal to act. Addressing each of these points in turn, the author suggests that, contrary to the view of these critics, postmodernism offers a powerful force for social change, through the acceptance of uncertainty, the acknowledgement of diversity and the refusal to see concepts such as 'justice' or 'society' as fixed, or as governed by unassailable 'truths'.