Postmodernism Isn’t Really That New

The term "postmodern" was first used in 1870 by John Watkins Chapman to describe a French painting. Since then, postmodernism has penetrated every art form and provoked new philosophical thought. Many people agree that the postmodern era started after World War II with the spread of mass media and developments in technology.

However, does the fact that postmodernism was not recognized until 1870 mean that it did not exist before the nineteenth century?

One of the most iconic art movements in human history is the Renaissance, and with that came humanist literature. The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli, a popular piece on the political philosophy of monarchs, is an example of the literature produced during the Renaissance era. Machiavelli specified the ideal qualities in a prince, including a balance between cruelty and mercy, a reputation for liberality and an understanding of human nature. However, Machiavelli concluded his publication with, "it is not essential, then, that a Prince should have all the good qualities which I have enumerated, but it is most essential that he should seem to have them." This facade that he recommended for the ruling class was highly controversial, but also a very popular idea. His book dominated political thought in the sixteenth century and influenced Jean Bodin, Francis Bacon and Jean-Jacques Rousseau.

Although this philosophy is classified as realism, it can be argued that The Prince has postmodern characteristics as well. Through the use of the printing press, Machiavelli was able to distribute his ideas and establish the ideal conduct of a ruler. The actual actions of the prince no longer mattered, just his appearance of leadership did. Machiavelli started a differentiation between how politicians should act and how they should present themselves to the public. His most striking example of postmodernism stated, "...men in general judge rather by the eye than by the hand, for every one can see but few can touch. Every one sees what you seem, but few know what you are."

Machiavelli’s work is not the only postmodern example that existed before the nineteenth century, but I do concede that postmodernism was accelerated after World War II. The ideas of "every one can see but few can touch" existed way before the current postmodern world, but now those ideas dominate our lives through incessant media that did not exist during the time of Machiavelli.