Abstract: the article is devoted to the problem of studying the postmodern society theories. Currently, there is a huge amount of research on the postmodern society problems. However, most of this papers are limited to the framework of the Western civilization paradigm. At the same time, so far postmodernists cannot offer a single classification of society elements, periodization of its beginning as a “postmodern epoch” or a clear structure of such a society.
According to the author, to understand the phenomenon of postmodern society, it is necessary to define more clearly the concept of “modernity” or “modern society”. The term “modern society”, controversial in sociology, generally refers to European society from about 1650 to 1950. Postmodern society correlated with the period of development of European and many other “post-industrial” societies from 1950 onwards. The author of the article concludes that in Western historiography, which is fundamental in the studies of postmodern society, theories based on the Western-centric model of the world and the Western civilizational paradigm are priorities. This state of affairs in Western science, and as a result, in domestic science, as most of the conceptual approaches are derived from European studies, leads to a methodological simplification of postmodern society problem. An analysis of the postmodern society concepts in Western historiography showed that theories of most researchers are based on purely descriptive models that cannot reveal structural and functional relationships between the described postmodern society elements. Therefore, it is necessary to develop an integrated methodological approach to the postmodern society.
Keywords: postmodernism, postmodern society, “consumer society”, virtual reality, cultural values reduction