ABSTRACT
Post-modernity then, should be seen as an intensification of those experiences of time-space compression and institutional rationalization which had originally emerged during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Heritage representations should not be seen as a radical departure from those representations which developed during the previous century. The heritage and museums boom of the late twentieth century should be viewed within its various economic, political and cultural contexts. Most importantly, there probably has been a growing need for ‘roots’ as the experiences of (post-)modernity have intensified. The ‘successes’ of heritage have also to be seen in the light of increasing education and the development of so-called post-material values, along with an increase in disposable income for the majority of people in the First World. At the same time, heritage should be partly considered as an attempt to articulate an idea of ‘nation’ at a time when many nation-states believe their power to be under threat. This threat comes from the increasingly important role played by multinational corporations and capital, the development of supra-national organizations such as the EC, as well as the strengthening of certain regional identities, or micro-nationalisms, for example the Celtic regions of the United Kingdom, or the Basques in Spain. In Britain especially, the loss of Empire and the erosion of the power of the landed classes, certainly since World War II, should be seen as reasons for the emergence of a national heritage industry.
