ABSTRACT
An important tendency within the postmodern political condition is what has been characterized as 'neo-tribalism'. In the wake of the disintegration of institutional borders, processes of social spacing have not disappeared, rather borders are being constructed with all the more vehemence and urgency. Cognitive borders are being raised continuously in a never-ending succession of forms. Dean MacCannel (1992) argues that the paradox of postmodernity is that when the postmodern tendency is to get every thought and action onto a balance sheet, to extend commercial values into every space and human relationship, the central problem of postmodernity will be to create ersatz 'communities', to manufacture and even to sell a 'sense' of community where no community exists. According to MacCannell, the 'drive' to accomplish this feat should not be underestimated.
