Modernity as Promise and Expectation

What characterizes “modernity” is highly controversial, especially from a global historical perspective. If one rigorously focuses on the presence of certain institutions, economic practices, and conflict resolution patterns, the term is often only suitable for a few (Western) societies and a short period of time. But what happens when modernity is characterized by certain promises and expectations that become non-ignorable reference points in social communication? This question will be discussed on the basis of Björn Wittrock's essay “One, None, or Many? European Origins and Modernity as a Global Condition” (Daedalus 129 [2000], pp. 31-60).