All That Is Solid Melts Into Air
The Experience of Modernity

Berman, Marshall

Publisher: Penguin, New York, USA
Year First Published: {18766 All That Is Solid Melts Into Air ALL THAT IS SOLID MELTS INTO AIR The Experience of Modernity Berman, Marshall Penguin New York USA Berman examines the clash of classes, histories, and clutures in the modern world, and ponders our prospects for coming to terms with the relationship between a liberating social and philosophical idealism and a complex, bureaucratic materialism. 1982 1988 384pp BC18766-AllThatisSolid.jpg B Book 0-14-010962-5 CB425.B458 909.82 In All that Solid Melts into Thin Air Berman confronts the central ambiguity of modernism, the attempt by men and women to become objects of modernization in order to understand the world and cultivate it into their home. Berman creates an open-ended dialogue with the reader such that he/she may include their own experiences as an extension of the three-phased history of modernism he outlines within the book. These three historical phases of modernity begin with the first phase ranging from the 16th century to the 18th century, when human civilization is still adapting to modern life. The dichotomous second phase beginning in the 1790s, when concepts of modernity materialized, is initially characterized by a revolutionary public. In the latter half, 19th century society becomes preoccupied with a nostalgic desire to gain knowledge about non-modern civilizations. Finally, with the last phase in the twentieth century, modernity as a process embraces the entire world, yet simultaneously becomes fragmented as society no longer relates to modern art and cultural forms in a useful manner. This is because too many distinct and contradictory ways of understanding modernity render it incapable of lending meaning to people's lives. Berman attempts to address this challenge of fragmentation, caused by the advent of post-modernism in the 70s, by proposing a reappropriation of the dialectical 19th century modernists. Consequently, we will reconnect the contradictory forces of modernist society; including disjointed geographical borders, identities and cultures; that present themselves as obstacles to understanding the modern world. Influenced by thinkers including Rousseau, Nietzsche, Marx, Baudelaire, Goethe and Kierkegaard, the initial three sections of the book examine the impact of works by modernist thinkers. In the first section we learn how Goethe's Faust expresses the modernist quest, whereas the second section questions if Marx's Communist Manifesto (the source for the book title) can account for the relationship between bourgeois economy and modernist culture. Next Berman discusses the importance of Baudelaire's art in providing nineteenth century society with an awareness of their modernity and modern art forms. In contrast, the final two sections of the book focus on geographical places that exemplify modernism. Therefore, section five discusses how Russia experienced economic underdevelopment in opposition to the West's growth. In particular, Berman examines how the imperial and cosmopolitan city of St. Petersburg is a source to explore modern life. The final section of the book illustrates how New York has simultaneously come to represent modernist ruin, modern life imagined and modern man's capacity to build. [Abstract by Amanpreet Dhami] Table of Contents Preface Introduction: Modernity-Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow I. Goethe's Faust: The Tragedy of Development First Metamorphosis: The Dreamer Second Metamorphosis: The Lover Third Metamorphosis: The Developer Epilogue: The Faustian and Pseudo-Faustian Age II. All That Is Solid Melts Into Air: Marx, Modernism and Modernization 1. The Melting Vision and Its Dialectic 2. Innovative Self-Destruction 3. Nakedness: The Unaccommodated Man 4. The Metamorphosis of Values 5. The Loss of a Halo Conclusion: Culture and the Contradictions of Capitalism III. Baudelaire: Modernism in the Streets 1. Pastoral and Counter-Pastoral Modernism 2. The Heroism of Modern Life 3. The Family of Eyes 4. The Mire of the Macadam 5. The Twentieth Century: The Halo and the Highway IV. Petersburg: The Modernism of Underdevelopment 1. The Real and Unreal City "Geometry Has Appeared": The City in the Swamps Pushkin's "Bronze Horseman": The Clerk and the Tsar Petersburg Under Nicholas I: Palace vs. Prospect Gogol: The Real and Surreal Street Words and Shoes: The Young Dostoevsky 2. The 1860's: The New Man in the Street Chernyshevsky: The Street as Frontier The Underground Man in the Street Petersburg vs. Paris:Two Modes of Modernism in the Streets The Political Prospect Afterword: The Crystal Palace, Fact and Symbol 3. The Twentieth Century: The City Rises, the City Fades 1905: More Light, More Shadows Biely's Petersburg: The Shadow Passport Mandelstam: The Blessed Word With No Meaning Conclusion V. In the Forest of Symbols: Some Notes on Modernism in New York 1. Robert Moses: The Expressway World 2. The 1960's: A Shout in the Street 3. The 1970's: Bringing It All Back Home Notes Index CX7770 1 true true false CX7770.htm [0xc0011517d0 0xc00158d800 0xc00158ddd0 0xc0022b5c80 0xc0022f8810 0xc0001d8090 0xc000348480 0xc00037d560 0xc00009acc0 0xc000386c90 0xc00049b290 0xc00049b980 0xc000544cc0 0xc0005756e0 0xc000584a50 0xc0000f54d0 0xc000713230 0xc00096b0e0 0xc0000e50e0 0xc000b069c0 0xc000b074a0 0xc0001b72c0 0xc000875860 0xc00011d8f0 0xc00018a8a0 0xc000477620 0xc0004fa180 0xc000f3e300 0xc000f3e3c0 0xc000f3e4b0 0xc000f3e6f0 0xc00157dc50 0xc0015c0150 0xc001718210 0xc001c801b0 0xc00206fef0 0xc001ff5890 0xc000ed5ad0 0xc000f4f710 0xc0022acd80 0xc0024b3da0 0xc002516420 0xc001eea9f0 0xc000202390 0xc000245050 0xc000326810 0xc000da1890 0xc001156240 0xc0011563f0 0xc001d7d860 0xc002027320 0xc002628d50 0xc002650570] Cx}
Year Published: 1988
Pages: 384pp ISBN: 0-14-010962-5
Library of Congress Number: CB425.B458 Dewey: 909.82
Resource Type: Book
Cx Number: CX7770

Berman examines the clash of classes, histories, and clutures in the modern world, and ponders our prospects for coming to terms with the relationship between a liberating social and philosophical idealism and a complex, bureaucratic materialism.

Abstract:
In All that Solid Melts into Thin Air Berman confronts the central ambiguity of modernism, the attempt by men and women to become objects of modernization in order to understand the world and cultivate it into their home. Berman creates an open-ended dialogue with the reader such that he/she may include their own experiences as an extension of the three-phased history of modernism he outlines within the book. These three historical phases of modernity begin with the first phase ranging from the 16th century to the 18th century, when human civilization is still adapting to modern life. The dichotomous second phase beginning in the 1790s, when concepts of modernity materialized, is initially characterized by a revolutionary public. In the latter half, 19th century society becomes preoccupied with a nostalgic desire to gain knowledge about non-modern civilizations. Finally, with the last phase in the twentieth century, modernity as a process embraces the entire world, yet simultaneously becomes fragmented as society no longer relates to modern art and cultural forms in a useful manner. This is because too many distinct and contradictory ways of understanding modernity render it incapable of lending meaning to people's lives. Berman attempts to address this challenge of fragmentation, caused by the advent of post-modernism in the 70s, by proposing a reappropriation of the dialectical 19th century modernists. Consequently, we will reconnect the contradictory forces of modernist society; including disjointed geographical borders, identities and cultures; that present themselves as obstacles to understanding the modern world.

Influenced by thinkers including Rousseau, Nietzsche, Marx, Baudelaire, Goethe and Kierkegaard, the initial three sections of the book examine the impact of works by modernist thinkers. In the first section we learn how Goethe's Faust expresses the modernist quest, whereas the second section questions if Marx's Communist Manifesto (the source for the book title) can account for the relationship between bourgeois economy and modernist culture. Next Berman discusses the importance of Baudelaire's art in providing nineteenth century society with an awareness of their modernity and modern art forms. In contrast, the final two sections of the book focus on geographical places that exemplify modernism. Therefore, section five discusses how Russia experienced economic underdevelopment in opposition to the West's growth. In particular, Berman examines how the imperial and cosmopolitan city of St. Petersburg is a source to explore modern life. The final section of the book illustrates how New York has simultaneously come to represent modernist ruin, modern life imagined and modern man's capacity to build.

[Abstract by Amanpreet Dhami]

Table of Contents

Preface

Introduction: Modernity-Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow

I. Goethe's Faust: The Tragedy of Development
First Metamorphosis: The Dreamer
Second Metamorphosis: The Lover
Third Metamorphosis: The Developer
Epilogue: The Faustian and Pseudo-Faustian Age

II. All That Is Solid Melts Into Air: Marx, Modernism and Modernization
1. The Melting Vision and Its Dialectic
2. Innovative Self-Destruction
3. Nakedness: The Unaccommodated Man
4. The Metamorphosis of Values
5. The Loss of a Halo
Conclusion: Culture and the Contradictions of Capitalism

III. Baudelaire: Modernism in the Streets
1. Pastoral and Counter-Pastoral Modernism
2. The Heroism of Modern Life
3. The Family of Eyes
4. The Mire of the Macadam
5. The Twentieth Century: The Halo and the Highway

IV. Petersburg: The Modernism of Underdevelopment
1. The Real and Unreal City
"Geometry Has Appeared": The City in the Swamps
Pushkin's "Bronze Horseman": The Clerk and the Tsar
Petersburg Under Nicholas I: Palace vs. Prospect
Gogol: The Real and Surreal Street
Words and Shoes: The Young Dostoevsky
2. The 1860's: The New Man in the Street
Chernyshevsky: The Street as Frontier
The Underground Man in the Street
Petersburg vs. Paris:Two Modes of Modernism in the Streets
The Political Prospect
Afterword: The Crystal Palace, Fact and Symbol
3. The Twentieth Century: The City Rises, the City Fades
1905: More Light, More Shadows
Biely's Petersburg: The Shadow Passport
Mandelstam: The Blessed Word With No Meaning
Conclusion

V. In the Forest of Symbols: Some Notes on Modernism in New York
1. Robert Moses: The Expressway World
2. The 1960's: A Shout in the Street
3. The 1970's: Bringing It All Back Home

Notes
Index

All That Is Solid Melts Into AirThe Experience of Modernity

Subject Headings

All That Is Solid Melts Into Air
The Experience of Modernity