Postmodernism — a severe case of anti-intellectual mumbojumbo
14 Jan, 2026 at 14:42 | Posted in Politics & Society | 1 Comment
That postmodern phrases bounce around the academic world like passwords at seminars and such does not, in itself, matter much — beyond the irritation they cause. The real damage begins when those phrases start to erode the seriousness and rigour of scholarly historical work …
If researchers within the scientific community themselves dissolve the boundary between individual and world, between observer and the observed, between fiction and knowledge, they not only make their own internal discourse less meaningful — if not meaningless — but also risk eroding the support they have so far been able to count on from citizens in the surrounding society. For why should these citizens contribute tax money to an enterprise whose representatives openly declare that they themselves do not believe in the possibilities of science? Why indeed?
While the most immediate threats to science today stem from short-sighted politicians slashing research budgets, we must not overlook the corrosive influence of postmodernist academia. Postmodernist thought that trades in radical posturing while peddling glib, unserious analysis diverts attention from the urgent task of building a rigorous, evidence-based social critique. The Enlightenment project — with its commitment to empirical truth, reasoned debate, and the relentless testing of ideas against reality — remains indispensable. Without these foundations, progressive criticism collapses into demagoguery or empty intellectual trends.
Postmodernism’s allure lies in its veneer of subversiveness, but its actual effect is to paralyse critical thought. By recasting objectivity as an illusion and truth as a mere social construct, it leads well-intentioned scholars into dead ends: relativistic word games, and fashions that prioritise ‘cleverness’ over clarity. Worse, it actively undermines the possibility of a coherent progressive politics. How can we challenge power structures if we dismiss the very tools needed to analyse them — facts, logic, and evidence?
Many scholars who embrace postmodernism, social constructivism, and poststructuralist relativism consider themselves part of the political left. There is no inherent flaw in research guided by political commitments. Yet no matter our personal political sympathies — as scientists, academics, or engaged citizens — we must resist letting ideology distort intellectual rigour. Simply adopting the language of radical critique does not equate to meaningful political engagement.
The allure of ‘deconstructing’ truth, dismissing objectivity, and reducing knowledge to power struggles may seem subversive, but in practice, it often leads to intellectual dead ends. Slogans dressed up as theory, fashionable jargon masquerading as insight, and a reflexive scepticism toward evidence do nothing to advance concrete social change. Worse, they divert energy from the hard work of building a substantive progressive politics — one grounded in empirical reality, logical coherence, and actionable analysis.
Genuine radicalism requires more than contrarian posturing. If the left is to offer a compelling alternative to entrenched power structures, it cannot rely on obscurantist thinking or relativistic platitudes. Social progress depends on our ability to distinguish fact from fiction, to marshal evidence in the pursuit of justice, and to articulate a vision of a better society that is both critical and coherent. Postmodern nonsense — however fashionable — does little to advance that endeavour.
A left that abandons reason and objectivity is a left that disarms itself in the face of oppression. The stakes are too high for lazy thinking.
The stakes extend beyond academia. A world without shared standards of truth is one where propaganda thrives and solidarity fractures. To defend reason, intellectual rigour, and objectivity is not reactionary; it is a radical act. These are the values that allow us to distinguish critique from conspiracy, justice from jargon, and liberation from self-indulgent cynicism.
