Time–space compression: Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|Idea in space–time}}

''' Time–space compression''' (also known as '''space–time compression''' and ''' time–space distanciation''') is an idea referring to the altering of the qualities of [[spacetime|space–time]] and the relationship between space and time that is a consequence of the expansion of [[Capital (economics)|capital]]. It is rooted in [[Karl Marx]]'s notion of the "annihilation of space by time" originally elaborated in the ''[[Grundrisse]]'',<ref>Marx, Karl. ''Grundrisse''. Penguin Classics, 1993. pp.&nbsp;539.</ref> and was later articulated by Marxist geographer [[David Harvey (geographer)|David Harvey]] in his book ''The Condition of Postmodernity''.<ref>Harvey, David. ''The Condition of Postmodernity: An Enquiry into the Origins of Cultural Change''. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell, 1990.</ref> A similar idea was proposed by [[Elmar Altvater]] in an article in ''PROKLA'' in 1987,<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Altvater |first=Elmar |year=1987 |title=Ökologische und ökonomische Modalitäten von Zeit und Raum |journal=PROKLA. Zeitschrift für kritische Sozialwissenschaft |volume=17 |issue=67 |pp=35–54 |language=de |doi=10.32387/prokla.v17i67.1338|doi-access=free }}</ref> translated into English as "Ecological and Economic Modalities of Time and Space" and published in ''[[Capitalism Nature Socialism]]'' in 1990.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Altvater |first=Elmar |year=1989 |title=Ecological and economic modalities of time and space |journal=Capitalism Nature Socialism |volume=1 |issue=3 |pp=59–70 |doi=10.1080/10455758909358384}}</ref>

Time–space compression occurs as a result of technological innovations driven by the global expansion of capital that condense or elide spatial and temporal distances, including [[communication technology|technologies of communication]] ([[telegraph]], [[telephone]]s, [[fax machine]]s, [[Internet]]) and [[travel]] (rail, cars, trains, jets), driven by the need to overcome spatial barriers, open up new markets, speed up production cycles, and reduce the turnover time of capital.

According to [[Paul Virilio]], time-space compression is an essential facet of capitalist life, saying that "we are entering a space which is speed-space ... This new other time is that of electronic transmission, of high-tech machines, and therefore, man is present in this sort of time, not via his physical presence, but via programming" (qtd. in ''Decron'' 71<ref>Decron, Chris. ''Speed-Space.'' Virilio Live. Ed. John Armitage. London: Sage, 2001. 69–81.</ref>). In ''Speed and Politics'', Virilio coined the term '''dromology''' to describe the study of "speed-space". Virilio describes velocity as the hidden factor in wealth and power, where historical eras and political events are effectively speed-ratios. In his view, acceleration destroys space and compresses time in ways of perceiving reality.

Theorists generally identify two historical periods in which time–space compression occurred; the period from the mid-19th century to the beginnings of the [[First World War]], and the end of the 20th century. In both of these time periods, according to Jon May and Nigel Thrift, "there occurred a radical restructuring in the nature and experience of both time and space ... both periods saw a significant acceleration in the pace of life concomitant with a dissolution or collapse of traditional spatial co-ordinates".<ref>May, Jon and [[Nigel Thrift]]. "Introduction." ''TimeSpace: Geographies of Temporality''. NY: Routledge, 2001. pp.&nbsp;1–46.</ref>

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==Criticism==

[[Doreen Massey (geographer)|Doreen Massey]] critiqued the idea of time-space compression in her discussion of globalization and its effect on our society. She insisted that any ideas that our world is "speeding up" and "spreading out" should be placed within local social contexts. "Time-space compression", she argues, "needs differentiating socially": "how people are placed within 'time-space compression' are complicated and extremely varied". In effect, Massey is critical of the notion of{{vague|date=September 2025|reason=Resents TSC, or the suggestion of its existence?}} "time-space compression" as it represents capital's attempts to erase the sense of the local and masks the dynamic social ways through which places remain "meeting places".<ref>{{cite book|last1=Massey|first1=Doreen |authorlink=Doreen Massey (geographer)|chapter=A Global Sense of Place|title=Space, Place, and Gender|date=1994 |isbn= 0816626162|publisher=[[the University of Minnesota Press]]}}</ref>

For [[Moishe Postone]],<ref>[[Postone, Moishe]]. "Theorizing the Contemporary World: Robert Brenner, Giovanni Arrighi, David Harvey" in ''Political Economy of the Present and Possible Global Future(s)'', Anthem Press, 2007.</ref> Harvey's treatment of space-time compression and postmodern diversity are merely reactions to [[capitalism]]. Hence Harvey's analysis remains "extrinsic to the [[social form]]s expressed" by the deep structure concepts of capital, value and the [[commodity]]. For Postone, the postmodern moment is not necessarily just a one-sided effect of the contemporary form of capitalism but can also be seen as having an emancipatory side if it happened to be part of post-capitalism. And because postmodernism usually neglects its own context of embeddedness it can legitimate capitalism as postmodern, whereas at the level of deep structure it may in fact be more concentrated, with large capitals that, accumulate rather than diverge, and with an expansion of commodification niches with fewer buyers.

Postone asserts that one cannot step outside capitalism and declare it a pure evil or as a one-dimensional badness, since the [[Emancipation|emancipatory]] content of such things as equal distribution or diversity are potentials of capitalism itself in its abundant and diverse productive powers. This initial perspective misfires however, when forms of society such as modernity and subsequently postmodernism take itself as the true whole of life for being oppositional to capitalism, when in fact they are grounded in the reproduction of the same capitalist relations that created them.

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* [[Social production of space]]

* [[Space of flows]]

* {{annotated link|Social acceleration}}

== References ==

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|chapter=Time-Space Distanciation and the Generation of Power}}

* [[Jeff Lewis (professor)|Jeff Lewis]] (2008), ''[https://au.sagepub.com/en-gb/oce/cultural-studies/book229164 Cultural Studies]'', Sage, London. {{ISBN|9781412922302}}.

* [Sophie Raine] (2022), ''[https://www.perlego.com/knowledge/study-guides/what-is-time-space-compression/ What is Time-Space Compression?]''

{{Globalization|state=autocollapse}}

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[[Category:Cultural geography]]

[[Category:Globalization]]

[[Category:Philosophy of space and time]]