Time–space compression

Time–space compression (also known as space–time compression and time–space distanciation) is an idea referring to the altering of the qualities of <a href="/facts/Spacetime/uRIN1x4b">space–time</a> and the relationship between space and time that is a consequence of the expansion of <a href="/facts/Capital_(economics)/lLkzDdoB">capital</a>. It is rooted in <a href="/facts/Karl_Marx/CXYTK95X">Karl Marx</a>'s notion of the "annihilation of space by time" originally elaborated in the <a href="/facts/Grundrisse/GNA0B7G7">Grundrisse</a>, and was later articulated by Marxist geographer <a href="/facts/David_Harvey_(geographer)/nIvSSkIV">David Harvey</a> in his book The Condition of Postmodernity. A similar idea was proposed by <a href="/facts/Elmar_Altvater/t0wdXPC2">Elmar Altvater</a> in an article in PROKLA in 1987, translated into English as "Ecological and Economic Modalities of Time and Space" and published in <a href="/facts/Capitalism_Nature_Socialism/yn8tJRs0">Capitalism Nature Socialism</a> in 1990.
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 <a href="/facts/Communication_technology/vxoj1cxR">technologies of communication</a> (<a href="/facts/Telegraph/JhRYDSDu">telegraph</a>, <a href="/facts/Telephone/P7uEgWQX">telephones</a>, <a href="/facts/Fax_machine/EBvf1cHA">fax machines</a>, <a href="/facts/Internet/Xw1rVvJU">Internet</a>) and <a href="/facts/Travel/6CqKImN7">travel</a> (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 <a href="/facts/Paul_Virilio/JsdlqXKp">Paul Virilio</a>, 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). 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 <a href="/facts/First_World_War/vITTUanQ">First World War</a>, 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".

Time–space compression open-in-new

Time–space compression