ABSTRACT
Castells, Lyotard, and Bauman emphasise the speed of change and uncertainty that characterises postmodern, ‘networked’ societies and that its consequent globalisation means there is no ‘outside’ cognitive nor material space. At the same time, the desire to construct a stable identity becomes an emotional imperative. There is, then, a distinct contradiction between ‘liquidity’ and the power of identity. I argue that the very necessity of liquidity as performative adaptability is a demand that members, literally, cannot endure. The result is a stand-off between the ‘innovative’ and the ‘conservative’ demands of membership. Liquidity ‘collapses’ into imperative, if opportunistic solidarities.
