Monday 24 May 2010

What is Social Acceleration? Part Four: Hartmut Rosa and the Contraction of the Present

So if the accelerating rhythm of advanced capitalist / post-industrialist / late-modern society is captured by the metaphor of the wheel spin, is it susceptible to a more analytic account, and will it be possible to provide a description of the motors that are driving this acceleration?

Rosa distinguishes between three manifestations of social acceleration; the acceleration of technological change, of social change and of the pace of life (1). The acceleration of technological change is the easiest to objectively verify. Moore’s law states that computer processing speeds will double every eighteen months and this has proved to be the case since it’s formulation in the 1960’s. Concurrent with this change in processing speed has been a proliferation of technical innovations giving rise to a perpetual revolution in all areas of society, but perhaps most significantly in the field of communication.

Social change, whilst less easy to quantify, is nonetheless fairly familiar. It relates to the rate of circulation and change of attitudes, fashions, lifestyles and the institutional vehicles for these things. This highlights something that gets to the heart of what people mean when they talk about modernity. Obviously people mean a lot of different, not always compatible, things when they talk about modernity, but at the very least, it must indicate a certain relation to time. Being modern, in terms of fashion, attitudes and tastes made perfect sense in the 1960’s. It must have made sense in the 1860’s because Nietzsche railed against it soon after. But in the 13th century? Modernity implies a temporal directionality that was absent, or very differently conceived, before the renaissance.

Acceleration of the pace of life is the most subjective of the three. It relates to feelings of hurriedness, time pressure and the perception that one is unable to keep pace. One way of analysing it objectively would be by quantifying the amount of time people spend engaged in certain activities such as eating, sleeping and talking to one’s friends or family. However, I think this would be to neutralise the most interesting approach to the topic and our most immediate experience of the phenomenon. After this is, after all, where social acceleration really bites. But more of that later.

Separating out these three forms of acceleration is obviously a pragmatic way of highlighting features of a sociological and phenomenological situation which is highly complex, many sided and inter-related. However a concession is made to their interpenetration when Rosa considers a paradox inherent to social acceleration, namely that whilst the acceleration of technology is, in many cases, a response to the desire to save time, the consequence seems to be that time is becoming an increasingly scarce commodity. This links back to an earlier posting in which I suggested that all of these time saving gadgets and mechanisms should have left us wallowing in a glut of surplus time, but that this is patently not the case.

Rosa accounts for this by arguing that the acceleration of technological innovation has been outstripped by the increase in the quantity of activity. So, we may be in possession of an impressive array of time-saving devices, but if the amount things that we need to do is increasing faster than the time being saved by all our gadgets, then rather than saving us time, their macro effect is to increase the metabolic rate of our interactions. This creates a feedback loop. Technological innovation enables increases in social and commercial activity, which, in turn, generate time scarcity, the alleviation of which requires further technological innovation. Social networking sites make it quick and easy to stay in touch with people. Soon you’re in touch with vastly more people than you previously were and you’re spending far more time maintaining those contacts than you ever would have when the only option was to write a letter. Widespread ownership of cars was never going to mean that people’s travelling time was slashed to a fraction of what it had previously been, even if this was the initial attraction. The macro result was that new scales of interaction were introduced that gave rise to a reconfiguration of the field of social and commercial interaction.

This seems to be the pattern. There is a micro change in technology which enables something to be done faster or more efficiently. This has an obvious benefit so long as the macro environment in which the change took place remains unaffected. However, before too long the cumulative effect of such micro changes is to re-configure that macro environment, ushering in new expectations and assumptions regarding scales, velocities and rates of productivity.

From a certain perspective, the replacement of the handloom by the power loom towards the end of the 18th century was indisputably a good thing. How could you possibly argue that the slower, less productive technology was preferable to the faster alternative? On a purely micro level this might be the case. The weaver who previously spent the entire day producing a given quantity of cloth could now complete the task in a matter of hours and spend the rest of the day wallowing in that glut of surplus time. Of course this is not at all what happened. For a start, ownership of the power loom required capital investment, so the handloom owner could forget it. Instead their livelihood and way of life was going to be utterly displaced by a new macro environment involving highly productive factories regulated by the timetable and hourly rates of pay and powered by external sources of power (external to the previously existing community that is. Obviously innovations of this sort played havoc with the meaning and scale of community).

In his article Steel Axes for Stone Age Australians(2), Lauriston Sharp showed how the introduction of steel axes into an aborigine society that ascribed symbolic and social importance to the traditionally made stone axes had the effect of de-structuring the social bonds that held the society together. The production of the stone axe had an important role to play in maintaining social links with neighbouring tribes, ownership of the axes was important in maintaining the social hierarchy and the stone axes held an important symbolic position in the mythology of the Yir Yoront. When the first kid was offered a steel axe by a missionary, this was surely a good thing- she didn’t have to go and pester her father for this symbolically important object- she could just take it and chop the damn wood. However the macro effects of the ready availability of steel axes were devastating.

When we get that new iPad, sign up to that new social networking site or buy that wonderfully clean, efficient and fast Nespresso maker the micro benefits are all to clear to see. What we tend to be completely unaware of are the tectonic transformations that are taking place at a macro level. Which is not to say I'm a Luddite, I think the question of evaluation is particularly thorny and generally used to forestall further consideration of the topic. I don't think the point is to either give our assent to or withhold our assent from such developments, but rather to recognise them for what they are, which is to say in the context which is appropriate to them. The car was never a labour saving and time saving technology. It was, and is, a symptomatic component of the cultural and psychological upheaval that is affecting societies and peoples across the planet. It is the visible sign of a metabolic shift which is taking place both in our societies and in ourselves. And so is the iPad. And the Nespresso maker. It seems to me that the nature of that metabolic shift is worth thinking about.

One of the ways Rosa approaches this is by talking about the 'contraction of the present'. Rosa defines the past as that which no longer holds or is no longer relevant to us and the future as that which does not hold yet. The present then is “the time span for which the horizon of experience and expectation coincide”. Rosa claims that this time span has been gradually contracting. Focusing primarily on the areas of work and family, he suggests that the pace of change has itself changed from being inter-generational, through being generational to the present situation where it is intra-generational.

“Thus, the ideal-typical family structure in agrarian society tended to remain stable over the centuries, with generational turnover leaving the basic structure intact. In classical modernity, this structure was built to last for just a generation: it was organized around a couple and tended to disperse with the death of the couple. In late modernity, there is a growing tendency for family life-cycles to last less than an individual lifespan: increasing rates of divorce and remarriage are the most obvious evidence for this.” (1)

While there is something intuitively convincing about this characterisation of the decaying time span of the present, it is a little unsatisfying in that the treatment that it receives from Rosa doesn’t really do justice to its importance as a determining feature of the transformation of our societies at a macro level in the postmodern era. Also I think that the relation to temporality holds promise as an mode of analysis that has the capacity to connect the extraneous technologies and timetables with the apparently subjective sense of the pressingness of time, or, to use Gleick’s phrase, ‘hurry-sickness'. It's for this reason that I find Rosa most interesting when he engages with such 'subjective' features such as pace of life, but also find his analysis a little bound by his apparent obligation to the methodological conventions sociological research. David Harvey, in his book The Condition of Postmodernity, provides a far fuller, though differently conceived, account of the contraction of the present, which he calls “space-time compression”. I will look at Harvey’s account in the next posting along with a consideration of possible motors of social acceleration.

1. Hartmut, R. (2003) Social Acceleration: Ethical and Political Consequences of a Desynchronized High–Speed Society, Constellations, Vol. 10 Issue 1, Ps 3-33

2. Sharp, L. (1952) Steel Axes for Stone age Australians, Human Organization, vol. 11, no. 2, pp. 17-22.

38 comments:

  1. V P Associates Chartered Tax Advisors and Chartered Certified Accountants, represent an authoritative source on most aspects of tax and specialise in the following: Self-Assessment Tax advice, Self Employed Tax Returns, Company and Corporation Tax advice, Capital Gains Tax advice, Buy-To-Let Property Tax advice, Tax Planning and Tax Consultancy Services. With over 25 years of experience in the business of providing expert tax advice, V P Associates Chartered Tax Advisors offer valuable information to clients to help them save money, reduce and mitigate tax. V P Associates, Chartered Tax Advisors & Chartered Certified Accountants, are the first and foremost specialists in taxation matters. Visit their site for a comprehensive list of services: http://vpassociates.com/

    Accountants Horsham

    ReplyDelete
  2. V P Associates Chartered Tax Advisors and Chartered Certified Accountants, represent an authoritative source on most aspects of tax and specialise in the following: Self-Assessment Tax advice, Self Employed Tax Returns, Company and Corporation Tax advice, Capital Gains Tax advice, Buy-To-Let Property Tax advice, Tax Planning and Tax Consultancy Services. With over 25 years of experience in the business of providing expert tax advice, V P Associates Chartered Tax Advisors offer valuable information to clients to help them save money, reduce and mitigate tax. V P Associates, Chartered Tax Advisors & Chartered Certified Accountants, are the first and foremost specialists in taxation matters. Visit their site for a comprehensive list of services: http://vpassociates.com/

    Accountants Hove

    ReplyDelete
  3. V P Associates Chartered Tax Advisors and Chartered Certified Accountants, represent an authoritative source on most aspects of tax and specialise in the following: Self-Assessment Tax advice, Self Employed Tax Returns, Company and Corporation Tax advice, Capital Gains Tax advice, Buy-To-Let Property Tax advice, Tax Planning and Tax Consultancy Services. With over 25 years of experience in the business of providing expert tax advice, V P Associates Chartered Tax Advisors offer valuable information to clients to help them save money, reduce and mitigate tax. V P Associates, Chartered Tax Advisors & Chartered Certified Accountants, are the first and foremost specialists in taxation matters. Visit their site for a comprehensive list of services: http://vpassociates.com/

    Accountants Hove

    ReplyDelete
  4. V P Associates Chartered Tax Advisors and Chartered Certified Accountants, represent an authoritative source on most aspects of tax and specialise in the following: Self-Assessment Tax advice, Self Employed Tax Returns, Company and Corporation Tax advice, Capital Gains Tax advice, Buy-To-Let Property Tax advice, Tax Planning and Tax Consultancy Services. With over 25 years of experience in the business of providing expert tax advice, V P Associates Chartered Tax Advisors offer valuable information to clients to help them save money, reduce and mitigate tax. V P Associates, Chartered Tax Advisors & Chartered Certified Accountants, are the first and foremost specialists in taxation matters. Visit their site for a comprehensive list of services: http://vpassociates.com/

    Accountants London

    ReplyDelete
  5. V P Associates Chartered Tax Advisors and Chartered Certified Accountants, represent an authoritative source on most aspects of tax and specialise in the following: Self-Assessment Tax advice, Self Employed Tax Returns, Company and Corporation Tax advice, Capital Gains Tax advice, Buy-To-Let Property Tax advice, Tax Planning and Tax Consultancy Services. With over 25 years of experience in the business of providing expert tax advice, V P Associates Chartered Tax Advisors offer valuable information to clients to help them save money, reduce and mitigate tax. V P Associates, Chartered Tax Advisors & Chartered Certified Accountants, are the first and foremost specialists in taxation matters. Visit their site for a comprehensive list of services: http://vpassociates.com/

    Accountants Hove

    ReplyDelete
  6. http://diaryofagrumpyteacher.blogspot.com/2013/07/create-social-media-buttons-using.html?showComment=1414482477126#c287707871982568502

    ReplyDelete
  7. V P Associates Chartered Tax Advisors and Chartered Certified Accountants, represent an authoritative source on most aspects of tax and specialise in the following: Self-Assessment Tax advice, Self Employed Tax Returns, Company and Corporation Tax advice, Capital Gains Tax advice, Buy-To-Let Property Tax advice, Tax Planning and Tax Consultancy Services. With over 25 years of experience in the business of providing expert tax advice, V P Associates Chartered Tax Advisors offer valuable information to clients to help them save money, reduce and mitigate tax. V P Associates, Chartered Tax Advisors & Chartered Certified Accountants, are the first and foremost specialists in taxation matters. Visit their site for a comprehensive list of services: http://vpassociates.com/

    Accountants Redhill

    ReplyDelete
  8. V P Associates Chartered Tax Advisors and Chartered Certified Accountants, represent an authoritative source on most aspects of tax and specialise in the following: Self-Assessment Tax advice, Self Employed Tax Returns, Company and Corporation Tax advice, Capital Gains Tax advice, Buy-To-Let Property Tax advice, Tax Planning and Tax Consultancy Services. With over 25 years of experience in the business of providing expert tax advice, V P Associates Chartered Tax Advisors offer valuable information to clients to help them save money, reduce and mitigate tax. V P Associates, Chartered Tax Advisors & Chartered Certified Accountants, are the first and foremost specialists in taxation matters. Visit their site for a comprehensive list of services: http://vpassociates.com/

    Accountants Redhill

    ReplyDelete
  9. Diese Frauen sind NUR auf der Suche nach Gelegenheitssex. Gerne blasen und nuckeln wir deinen Schwanz auf der Rückbank deines Autos Autoankauf Düsseldorf

    ReplyDelete
  10. Geile Sachen warten auf dich! Besuche uns jetzt unter Autoankauf Berlin und komm zu unser geilen Fickparty

    ReplyDelete
  11. Geile Sachen warten auf dich! Besuche uns jetzt unter Autoankauf Berlin und komm zu unser geilen Fickparty

    ReplyDelete
  12. Vpn service
    As the leading VPN review website, BestVPNService brings you a comprehensive list of 5 best vpn service providers along with a detailed and thorough vpn reviews of each provider. Compare and contrast 5
    Best VPN service providers on a variety of factors with BestVPNService to find out the VPN provider that suits your needs the best.

    ReplyDelete
  13. steam showers Canada
    A steam shower is a type of bathing where a humidifying steam generator produces water vapor that is dispersed around a person's body. A steam shower is essentially a steam room that offers the typical features of a bathroom shower. steam showers are generally found in
    self-contained enclosures that prevent the water vapour from escaping into the rest of the room, avoiding damage to drywall, paint, or wallpaper. steam shower combine the functionality of a standard steam room with many additional features including a shower, FM radio and hydrotherapy. steam showers are available in a variety of materials, including tile, acrylic, fiberglass, glass, stone, and wood.

    After all, the average steam shower Canada spends about 80 hours in the simple act of showering every year. Start off the morning with your favourite music, played on the stellar sound system in our units.Sing (or even dance) in the shower in the morning to your energizing tunes, or enshroud yourself in misty steam clouds at night while listening to relaxing meditative tracks. Visit our showroom and you’ll covet a Perfect Bath steam showers Canadais the minute you step foot inside!

    ReplyDelete
  14. At Translatezilla.com, you can find professional translation services along with some helpful tools. Our free online translate tool makes it easy to spend less time and get the best possible results.

    For More please click here:
    translate english to german

    ReplyDelete
  15. Exkash, Most Popular, Trusted and Certifide E-currency Exchange Network, working around the world. Simple and Secure, Fast and Efficient, Process to convert Bitcoins, Perfectmoney, Okpay & Webmoney into bank account.

    for more for more Perfect money to bank account

    ReplyDelete
  16. Exkash, Most Popular, Trusted and Certifide E-currency Exchange Network, working around the world. Simple and Secure, Fast and Efficient, Process to convert Bitcoins, Perfectmoney, Okpay & Webmoney into bank account.

    For More please click here:

    Perfect money to bank account

    ReplyDelete
  17. Just look for yourself how quickly you can insure your own drone and how easy the completion of a drone insurance actually works! Browse now purely and get professional manner!
    For more Drone Insurance

    Schauen Sie einfach selbst, wie schnell Sie Ihre eigene Drohne versichern lassen können und wie einfach der Abschluss einer Drohnen Versicherung tatsächlich funktioniert! Klicken Sie sich jetzt rein und sichern Sie sich professionell ab!
    voor meer Drohnen Versicherung

    ReplyDelete
  18. I love good and healthy food. Particularly important to me is the low time expenditure and that my Rez epte cheap and delicious. Very very unique stylish and great look eye styleis,Nail, Nail palish etc so please click here.
    Food and Stylish beauty

    ReplyDelete
  19. Take a look at our cross cut paper shredder comparison table to see all the technical details, prices and ratings.
    More info Please visit best cross cut shredder

    ReplyDelete
  20. Hemp Oil ONLINE SHOPPING BRAND NEW CBD PRODUCTS AND TRUST IN THE QUALITY OF OUR CBD...!!!

    ReplyDelete

  21. for lendy reviewGet an additional promotional funds of 0,5% of the total amount invested within the first three months with this link.

    ReplyDelete
  22. very nice post, i certainly love this website, keep on it buy instagram followers

    ReplyDelete



  23. ap?f?a?e?? t?µe? ? eta??e?a Apofraxeis, d?ast????p??e?ta? st? ???? t?? s??t???s??, ap?f?a???, ?a?a??sµ?? ap??ete?t???? a????? ?a? µetaf???? ??µ?t?? ap? t? 1960. ??a??t??ta? p???et? eµpe???a ?a? ta p?? s??????a ap?f?a?t??? µ??a??µata d?asfa?????µe t?? ?GG??S? t?? e??as??? µa?, µe ?????? ??S??S ?a? ta??tat??? ??????? e??p???t?s??.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Pantallas LED baratas Imaginis es un canal de contenidos personalizado para anunciantes. Contenidos digitales emitidos a traves de vinilos planos colocados en cristal (escaparates) creado grandes pantallas de publicidad.

    ReplyDelete
  25. aesthetics By claiming your Business Profile, businesses can add custom text or descriptive information about their services, insert company logos and add photographs for consumers to view.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Best Aroma rice cooker The best Aroma small rice cooker is simplified your work and cut your labor mainly by saving time. Totally different models of it have some useful functions. You’ll be able to monitor the amendment of state time and temperature clearly with it. Except that, these normal area gadgets unit low cost in worth too. You need to not worry relating to money issue. Multiple functions with smart setting Associate in Nursing configuration presents an exquisite amendment of state experience for you. On completely totally different occasions, you will prepare varied things by practice an identical cooking utensil.

    ReplyDelete
  27. 1xbet yeni adresi 1xbet Türkiye, online bahis şirketi hakkında giriş ve inceleme bilgileri. Onebahis firması için 2020 güncel yeni giriş adresi, ödemeler ve üyelik işlemleri için detaylı bilgiler, 1xbahis sayfamızda yer almakta.

    ReplyDelete
  28. https://directoryofangels.com Playing sports and having sex is very much likened. The only thing I have likened is that, over time, they will both last longer. You know the fatigue from that rawness in the early days. You get tired immediately because you haven’t played sports for a long time. Your breath runs out in a very short time. After a while, you start to get used to it. The same thing exists in sex. You cannot share very long-term relationships with your partner. Over time, you train yourself and your body on this subject. Apart from that, it has no direct relationship with sports. We notice this change when I do not meet men for one night in my bed. In particular, I see more clearly with men I have sex at least once a week. They also know that they have seen a rapid recovery. I’m not talking about bodily improvement alone. In addition, of course, his skills in sex are also developing. It’s really important to know how to use this 15 to 20-centimeter piece of meat. Men They see this in my call girl rate in Goa services. They also start learning. They discover how much they can change on a woman.

    ReplyDelete
  29. safe online casinos Compare the best legit online casinos that pay real money including the best crypto casinos, best mobile casinos and the best online casinos in 2021

    ReplyDelete
  30. motherhood CO.MOM is a fun new online magazine and social network community created by moms for moms. Read interesting articles, get advice from our agony aunt, aunt\y anne, learn how to earn an income online with our guru debbie or you can even seek medical advice from our resident physician dr samantha and relax while checking out the latest horoscopes from our trained mystic. Theres even a thriving forum community where moms of the world can get together and enjoy good conversation along with lots of other fun ways to kill some time with a cuppa when taking a break from being super mom at co.mom.

    ReplyDelete