Cultural Rationalization & Cultural Popularization

Cultural rationalization rooted in enlightenment rational spirit of capitalism. It accelerated the boom of Occident culture. At the same time, however, it resulted in the vertical cleavage and horizontal utilitarianism in the domain of culture. On the one hand, cultural rationalization—its kernel is rationalism —pushed the rationality to its extremity. On the other hand, it led the mode of culture to cultural popularization. Cultural popularization, used popular culture as its main modality, has a lot of falsity. However, it does have its merit in democratization and popularization, and the last two incarnated the time spirit of post-modernity.Since modern times, the main route of Occident culture is from cultural rationalization to cultural popularization. During this course, there are contradictions between modern and postmodern, struggle between rationalism and sensualism, antinomy between structuralism and deconstructionism, dissension between homogeneity and heterogeneity... These contradictions and dissension are the embodiment of transformation from industrial society to post-industrial society in the cultural domain. It provides references for the socialist culture construction of our country.