Time–space compression: Difference between revisions

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'''Time–space compression''' (also known as '''space–time compression''' and '''time–space distanciation'''), articulated in 1989 by geographer [[David Harvey (geographer)|David Harvey]] in ''The Condition of [[Postmodernity]]'',<ref>Harvey, David. ''The Condition of Postmodernity: An Enquiry into the Origins of Cultural Change''. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell, 1990.</ref> refers to any phenomenon that alters the qualities of and relationship between space and time. Harvey's idea was rooted in Karl Marx's theory of the "annihilation of time by space". A similar idea was proposed by [[Elmar Altvater]] in an article in ''[[PROKLA]]'' in 1987, translated into English as "Ecological and Economic Modalities of Time and Space" and published in ''[[Capitalism Nature Socialism]]'' in 19891990.

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