Another important aspect of the condition of postmodernity, and its ‘psychological’ interpretations, is that of the fragmentation of the individual. Rather than seen as an integrated self, the postmodern individual is seen as fragmented, consisting of many different parallel processes, each with a relative autonomy, and not necessarily integrated. In classic postmodernism, this is seen as a kind of ‘realization’ or endgame, an uncovering of the truth of the human condition, as well as the result of the social conditions prevalent under ‘late capitalism’. It also creates a certain ‘despair’ around the human condition, since fragmentation is not always a desirable quality.
However, I believe it behooves us to posit a second phase of postmodernity, which is no longer deconstructive of self and society, but reconstructive, and to see the emergence of peer to peer relationality as an expression of that reconstructive effort. Peer to peer has indeed to be seen as an object oriented sociality, where person-fragments cooperate around the creation of common value. What connects individuals who participate in open and shared knowledge, software or design projects is the ability to connect their own ends, with some transcendental collective goal (building a universal operating system, constructing a universal free encyclopedia, constructing an open source car, etc.). In peer projects, individuals aggregate a particular passionate pursuit into a collective project.
