Bauman and Heller: Two Views of Modernity and Culture

ABSTRACT Two of the most interesting contributions to the challenge of making sense of modern culture come from thinkers originally from East-Central Europe: Zygmunt Bauman and Agnes Heller. Their emphases differ, Bauman focussing on the dark side from the Holocaust through to the uncertainty of liquid modernity, Heller on the bright side of modernity with a detour via the analysis of Soviet type societies. Bauman, in effect, draws attention to the limits of modernity, Heller to its possibilities. Read together, these arguments usefully throw light on existing debates concerning modernity, the postmodern and the constraints and opportunities of modern culture .