The Condition of Postmodernity 13 - autonomous learning

.l :o .j'14Time and space as sources off:J social powerlL/" \1 " ",,-r ·r-,riJ"'f\ /"1 we.owe the idea that c9.mmand over space is a fundamental and all­( pervasive source of soclaf ower in and ove da hte tatflepersistent VOIce 0 enri Lefebvre. How that form of social powerarticulates with control over time, as well as with money and otherforms of social power, requires further elaboration. The generalargument I shall explore is that in money economies in general, andin capitalist society in particular, the intersecting mmand of money,. time, and spac !9RJlS a substantial nexus of social power that wecannot a-ffOr(I to ignore. 'Time measurement,' Landes (1983, 12)declares in his authoritative study of the subject, 'was at once a signof new-found creativity and an agent and catalyst in the use ofknowledge for wealth and power.' Accurate timekeepers and accurate(maps have long been worth their weight in gold, and command overspaces and times is a crucial element in any search for profit. Forexample, the property speculator who has the money to wait whilecontrolling development on adjacent spaces is in a much bettersituation to make pecuniary gains compared to someone who lackspower in any one of these dimensions. Furthermore, money can beused to command time (our own or that of others) and space. Conversely,command of time and space can be converted back intocommand over money.Two very general questions then emerge. Ei those who define,.the material practices, forms, and meanings of money, time, or spacefix certain basic rules of the social game. I do not wish to imply bythis that those who define the rules always win any contest that mayensue. There are too many examples of unintended consequences (inwhich those in power define rules that undermine their own powerbase), and of oppositional groups learning and using the rules tooverwhelm those who devised them, for such a simple equation to becredible. It is nevertheless the case that ideological and political--- __• .. __..m_ .. _ . . ,.,.-,- . ,.'-'.. :" , .{---- .-//Time and space as so.urces o.f social po.wer 227/emony' in_ anY.2iiLE£_2.1:"ll_}l1(E!L!.2.£"C?E,g_ol th macon.E0E . ..2L£E.gE.