Acceleration and alienation

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Acceleration and Alienation: Draft of a Critical Theory of Late Modern Temporality (in the original: " Alienation and Acceleration. Towards a Critical Theory of Late-Modern Temporality" ) is a book published in 2013 by the sociologist and political scientist Hartmut Rosa . It deals with social life in the time of capitalism . Rosa answers his question “why we don't have a good life” with a sense of alienation that comes with the ongoing acceleration .

acceleration

Social acceleration

Hartmut Rosa raises the question of whether we can speak of “social acceleration” as a process or whether a variation in possibilities is not the reason for an acceleration. He also takes a critical look at whether one can speak of an acceleration of society or whether it is a matter of processes and procedures within society accelerating. A general look at the different areas of life reveals various areas in which an acceleration has taken place. There are more and more fast food restaurants, the opportunity to get to know someone via speed dating, to take a short power nap to relax or to drive through a drive-in pharmacy to get your medication faster.

Overall, Hartmut Rosa divides the broad term "social acceleration" into three areas: technical acceleration, acceleration of social change and acceleration of the pace of life.

Technical acceleration

This is an acceleration that is taking place within society. As a definition, he adds that it is about the "intentional increase in the speed of targeted transport, communication and production processes". Deliberately targeted acceleration also describes developments and possibilities, the acceleration of procedures in organization and administration.

In 1999 Karlheinz Geißler wrote that, for example, data processing increased by a factor of 10 6 (1,000,000 million times). It can be assumed that it has risen significantly again to this day.

But what are the effects of the technical acceleration? Hartmut Rosa writes about this that there is a change in the “space-time regime” in society. This means that “the perception and organization of space and time in social life” changes completely. The space as it is perceived as such exists less and less. Due to the technical acceleration, for example in the form of industrialization, the room is becoming more and more compact and appears to be pulled together. The time to get from one place to another has been massively reduced. If you used to travel overseas by ship, nowadays you fly by plane. The way you get to the place is more and more irrelevant, the space loses its meaning, so to speak.

Accelerating Social Change

This refers to the acceleration of society itself. Is considered u. a. thereby the "increased rate of change in social relationship patterns". This includes attitudes and values ​​as well as lifestyles, social relationships and also fashions. There is no empirical measurement here, as is possible with technical acceleration. Up to now there are no uniformly established indicators in sociology that make it measurable.

These areas, which change quickly and selectively, turn a rather cohesive society into a widely scattered, small-scale network. For example, it used to be common for the son and the father to have worked in the same job throughout his life. Nowadays this tradition has almost disappeared. Nowadays children can develop freely in their choice of profession, as long as it corresponds to the qualifications. In addition, it is also increasingly the case that various professions have been exercised within a professional life, which also indicates the acceleration of society. Based on Hermann Lübbe, Hartmut Rosa speaks of a contraction of the present as a result of the acceleration of social life * . The present is reduced to the moment in which space of experience and space of expectation coincide. This is the period in which one can refer to experiences already made in order to be able to orient oneself in action. Simply put, where conclusions can be drawn for the future from the past.

*For more information on this see: Lübbe 1997, Gegenwartsschrumigung. In: Klaus Backhaus and Holger Bonus (eds.): The acceleration trap or the triumph of the turtle.

Acceleration of the pace of life

While the two previous types of acceleration related to society, the acceleration of the pace of life refers to the individual individuals of society. Rosa defines the acceleration as an "increase in the number of action and experience periods per unit of time". There is a subjective and an objective way of measuring the pace of life.

In terms of subjective measurability, individuals have the feeling that they can no longer cope with all activities in the limited time available for them, because time feels “running”. You get the feeling that you can no longer keep up with society.

Objectively, the acceleration of the pace of life can be determined by the fact that more actions are carried out in less time. The time in which something is undertaken is reduced because it can be done faster, for example through digitization. At the same time, gaps in time - available time, such as breaks - are increasingly used to do even more activities. There is talk of condensed actions.

Engines of social acceleration

Now that the three dimensions of acceleration have been briefly introduced, the question now is to what extent they are mutually dependent and thus the social acceleration is constantly driven. According to Hartmut Rosa, on the one hand there are external factors, competition and the promise of eternity. And on the other hand the acceleration circle, in which the three factors described above influence and drive each other.

Acceleration circles

Figure 1: The acceleration circle according to Hartmut Rosa, 2016

But how are the individual types of acceleration mutually dependent?

Due to the shortage of time or the desire to increase activities in a given time, new technologies were introduced, which has caused the technical acceleration (see Fig. 1, 1.).

This in turn brings about many different changes in society. For example, the Internet has not only accelerated economic processes, it has also changed the form and route of communication (via e-mail). The internet also influences people's opinion. In no time at all, information is published that needs to be responded to. These are all indicators that, due to technical acceleration, social change is also accelerating (see Fig. 1, 2.).

It was previously described how the acceleration of social change leads to a shrinking of the present. This shrinkage in turn means that people want to do more in less time or want to use the time available for even more activities. Thus, the acceleration of social change also causes the pace of life to accelerate. Consequently, an acceleration that affects society as a whole must also affect the individuals within society (see Fig. 1, 3.).

But the technical acceleration also influences the acceleration of the pace of life. According to Hartmut Rosa, this also includes the paradox effect (see Fig. 1, 4.). The technological progress in society frees up time resources for individuals. For example, through the ever increasing focus on machine production. But with the time gained, even more activities can be done.

Hartmut Rosa mentions another example in his book. By using e-mails instead of letters, it is possible to answer many more e-mails in less time than letters. But the time that is freed up is not used for idleness, but equipped with even more activities. Thus the technical acceleration and the acceleration of the pace of life are mutually dependent.

alienation

Figure 2: Possibilities for alienation based on Hartmut Rosa

Social acceleration automatically leads, according to Rosa, to a distorted relationship between the self and the world. Humans become alienated from themselves due to social alienation and alienation from space, time, things and their own actions (see Fig. 2).

Alienation from space

Social acceleration and globalization require or enable increased changes of location, be it through travel, relocation or in the digital space, whereby an individual in the western world is exposed to a wide variety of environments in a very short time. According to Rosa, this ensures that you get tired of settling in and changing places in the long run. With the number of moves, the willingness to deal intensively with the conditions of a place decreases, so that only rooms such as offices, supermarkets or kindergartens are internalized in everyday life. The digital space that exists alongside physical space in late modern society creates the possibility of decoupling social relationships from physical proximity. The spatial location thus loses its meaning, which makes identification with the room seem unnecessary.

Alienation from things

According to Rosa, all objects that accompany a person for part of his life have an influence on his individual identity. Especially things that are self-produced or repaired and thus internalized “become part of our everyday life experience, identity and history”. According to Hartmut Rosa, the acceleration leads to a reduction in the number of goods that contribute to identification. The technical acceleration has the consequence that the production of goods has become cheaper than their repairs, whereby the exchange rate of the objects increases and their lifespan decreases. As a result, humans no longer develop a long-term bond with these objects. In addition, the increasing complexity of many goods often prevents repairs to be carried out by yourself, for example on cars. As a result, Rosa says, the individual loses his “cultural and practical skills”. The lack of knowledge about the function and treatment of things leads to the development of a guilty conscience towards these very objects. The result is an increasing alienation of man from the world of things.

Alienation from time

In his book Hartmut Rosa deals with the changed subjective perception of the duration of an event. According to him, the experience of time is based on the “subjective time paradox”. This means that “experienced and remembered time are inversely proportional to one another”. This means that time seems to pass quickly on a day with many stimulating events (e.g. a day of vacation with hiking, swimming, boat tour and cinema). However, if you remember that day, it seems very long. It is the same with a day without many stimulating impressions, for example when you are stuck in a traffic jam. The experienced time seems very long, while looking back one would perceive the day as rather short. In addition to these “long / short” or “short / long” time sensations, nowadays, according to Rosa, a “short / short” relationship between time experience and time memory can also be determined. This occurs when there is a certain anonymity of the experience and the senses are not activated much, as is the case with television consumption (isolated action episodes). Hartmut Rosa takes up W. Benjamin's differentiation of experiences ** and experiences (identity-shaping experience) with the assumption that today a lot is experienced but not experienced. Usually people do not create such isolated episodes of experience as a memory, which consequently leads to an alienation from the experiences, the time invested for them and ultimately also to self-alienation.

**Events experienced by someone as impressive in a certain way ( http://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/Erlebnis )

Alienation from one's own actions

Hartmut Rosa sees two reasons why people become alienated from their own actions. On the one hand, he cites a connection with the “alienation from work tools and technical products”. He assumes that the population is being confronted more and more with devices, processes and tools without ever having learned how to use them properly. Alienation comes from not having the time to properly inform about the things that are being done. Masses of information that are available (even more so thanks to the Internet), for example package inserts, contracts, instructions for use, recipes, etc., create a feeling of alienation.

But not only the indirect alienation just mentioned leads to alienation from one's own actions, but also active action against what the individual actually intended to do. It is resolved to do something, but before that only this and that have to be done. So something is done voluntarily, even though you actually didn't want to do it. For example, someone would like to study for an exam, but has to briefly reread the emails beforehand. There are emails that need to be replied to urgently, so do this. More and more time goes by, the actual exam fades into the background, and you get a guilty conscience for not having done anything about it. This goes hand in hand with the feeling of external control and thus also causes the alienation from one's own actions.

Social alienation

In addition to experiences, actions, objects and environments, the social acceleration also affects the social world. Constant changes of location and new means of communication increase the number of social contacts an individual has and the short-lived encounters. “When this increase leads to extremes, we reach a stage of social saturation” in which relationships are only superficial and impersonal. Establishing resonance relationships takes time and all too often carries the risk of a painful dissolution due to the accelerated way of life.

Self-alienation

According to Rosa, the identity of every individual is shaped by their experiences, their actions, their spatial and material surroundings and the social environment. If there is no longer a personal relationship with these factors, this inevitably leads to self-alienation.

criticism

"Hartmut Rosa collects insightful things about the acceleration of life and does not really make you curious about the theory that is to follow." - FAZ, September 25, 2013, Thomas Gross

"Hartmut Rosa has presented a very stimulating book that is a good introduction, especially for the interested layman, to get to know the work of the respected Jena sociologist. The essay is written very understandably and vividly, regardless of its intellectual density. ”- taz, January 7, 2014, Wolfgang Storz

“His criticism [...] is directed [...] against acceleration as a metaphor. As the book shows, it deserves at least as much attention as the term globalization. ”- SPIEGEL ONLINE, July 3, 2013, Sebastian Hammelehle

outlook

Hartmut Rosa's criticism of the effects of the ongoing acceleration caused by growth and consumption can be found again in the idea of ​​the post-growth economy. The post-growth college at the University of Jena, co-led by Rosa, deals with the question of whether there can be another stabilizer for modern societies instead of economic growth. The German economist Niko Paech deals in more detail with the topic of a new form of economy . The growth critic describes in his book “Liberation from Abundance. On the way to the post-growth economy “the turning away from capitalism to a sufficient and subsistent way of life. Similar to Hartmut Rosa, he sees today's society confronted with sensory overload and a feeling of lack of time. The constant urge to grow has a variety of negative effects. For example, on ecology, where finite resources are extinguished and the environment is destroyed in favor of industry. But also on people who consume beyond their own capabilities and whose feelings of stress and unhappiness are increased by the ballast of affluence.

Niko Paech clearly distances himself from so-called "green growth", that is, the endeavor to use sustainable technologies and innovations, for example with compostable T-shirts, passive houses or renewable energies, to act in an environmentally friendly manner and at the same time to be able to maintain the standard of living. According to him, the implementation of new innovations does not lead to ecological decoupling, but to the emergence of new problems (rebound effects), such as the competition for land between food and energy crops triggered by the expansion of biogas plants.

His counter-concept, the post-growth economy, is based on a “shortening of complex production chains combined with sufficient formulations of claims”. The former means de-globalization towards regional supply with a regional complementary currency for corresponding products, which increases transparency and empathy between the various market players, shortens transport routes, facilitates closed production cycles and eliminates the need for costly logistics and distribution efforts. Paech calls for a combination of subsistence and regional economies, supplemented by global services that are kept as low as possible. Subsistence means greater independence from industrial production and monetary income and can be achieved, for example, through self-sufficiency, maintenance of goods or communal use. The basic prerequisite for more subsistence is a reduction in paid work to 20 hours and an increase in sufficiency, i.e. distancing yourself from the overstimulation and the associated shortage of time. Niko Paech therefore calls for a reduction in the commercial corporate sector combined with an increase in the de-commercialized sector characterized by subsistence and sufficiency.

literature

List of figures

  • Figure 1: The acceleration circle according to Hartmut Rosa, 2016, p. 44.
  • Figure 2: Possibilities for alienation based on Hartmut Rosa.
  • Figure 3: Overview of the post-growth economy according to Niko Paech, 2013, p. 151.

supporting documents

  1. ↑ Sebastian Hammelehle: Acceleration. The all-ruling monster. (No longer available online.) July 3, 2013, formerly in the original ; accessed on August 24, 2017 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.spiegel.de  
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g h Rosa, Hartmut, 1965-: Acceleration and Alienation Draft of a critical theory of late modern temporality . 1st edition, new edition Suhrkamp, ​​Berlin 2013, ISBN 978-3-518-73159-8 .
  3. ↑ Geißler, Karlheinz A .: From the tempo of the world: at the end of the time . 3rd edition Herder [u. a.], Freiburg [u. a.] 2000, ISBN 978-3-451-26977-6 .
  4. ↑ a b Sebastian Hammelehle: Acceleration. The all-ruling monster. (No longer available online.) July 3, 2013, formerly in the original ; accessed on August 24, 2017 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.spiegel.de  
  5. ↑ Gergen, Kenneth J .; May, Frauke: The saturated self: Identity problems in today's life . 1st edition Carl-Auer-Systeme, Verl. And Verl.-Buchh, Heidelberg 1996, ISBN 978-3-931574-30-7 .
  6. ↑ Thomas Gross: Hartmut Rosa: Acceleration and Alienation. Everything is going too fast today! FAZ Feuilleton, September 25, 2013, accessed on August 24, 2017 .
  7. ↑ Wolfgang Storz: lawn at a standstill. taz, January 7, 2014, accessed August 24, 2017 .
  8. ↑ a b c Paech, Niko, 1960-: Liberation from abundance: on the way to the post-growth economy . oekom verl, Munich 2012, ISBN 978-3-86581-181-3 .