Modernity and Self-identity

The main argument of this study is that "late" modernity is a post-traditional order characterized by a developed institutional reflexivity. Under influence of the globalizing tendencies of modern institutions, the self becomes a "reflexive project".

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This study aims to develop a new account of modernity and its relation to the self. Building on ideas set out in "The Consequences of Modernity", Giddens argues that "high" or "late" modernity is a post-traditional order characterized by a developed institutional reflexivity. In the current period, the globalizing tendencies of modern institutions are accompanied by a transformation of day-to-day social life having implications for personal activities. The self becomes a "reflexive project" sustained through a revisable narrative of self-identity. This reflexative approach, Giddens argues, is a form of control or mastery which parallels the overall orientation of modern institutions towards "colonizing the future". Yet it also helps promote tendencies which place that orientation radically in question - and which provide the substance of a new political agenda for late modernity.