Geographies of Global Change Remapping the World in the Late Twentieth Century Edited by R. J. Johnston, Peter J. Taylor and Michael J. Watts * + * % + % Ms BBBLACKWELL Beneri © kml ie 195 A wry Catpig Pain Date [NCEP caso render tok ih ome Dei iy Se ae Bin cou ifias (Stacy TM Stat apt7 le aan Sop dance 0 Gust toe Contents List of Plates List of Figures List of Tables x Preface i Acknowledgment xiv 11 Global Change at che End of the Twentieth Century 1 Pater J. Taylor, Michael J. Watts and R. J. Jobnaton Part | Geoeconomic Change nu Introduction to Par ‘The Reconfiguration of Late Twenteth-Century Capitalism 13, 2 A Hyperactive World 18 Nigel Ten 3. From Farming to Agribusiness: the Global Agro- food System 36 Sarah Whatmore 4 Multinational Corporations and the New International Division of Labor 50 Richard Barff 5 Trajectories of Development Theory: Capitalism, Socialism, and Beyond a David SlaterPat ll Geopoltical Change Taroduction to Part I: After the Cold War 6 Democracy and Human Rights after the Cold War Join Agnew 7 The Renaissance of Nationalism Nuala C. Jobnson 8 Global Regulation and Tranestate Organization Susan M. Roberts 9 The Regulatory State: the Corporate Welfare State and Beyond Joe Painter Par i Gaosocial Change Inerodaction to Part I People in Turmoil 10. Population Crises the Malthusan Specter? ‘Allan Findlay ms 11 Global Migration and Ethnic: Contemporary Cave Satis Nort Kllor 12 Changing Women's Status in Global Economy Susan Christopherson 13. Disease Impistions of Global Change ‘Andrew Clif and Peter Hagett Part NV Goocutual Change Tntrodction to Part IV: Modernity, Idencty, and Machineres of Meaning 14 World Cities and the Organization of Global Space Poul L. Knox 7” m1 a7 us “7 152 175 191 206 ns az 22 Contents vii 15 The New Spaces of Global Media Kevin Robins 16. Resisting and Reshaping the Modern: Social Movements and the Development Process Paul Routledge 17 Understanding Divescy: che Problem offor “Theory” Linda McDowell Pan V. Gooervironmental Change Introduction to Part V: AvBurden Too Far? 18 ‘The Earth Transformed: Trends, Trajectories, snd Paterns Wiliam B. Meyer and B. L. Turner It 19 The Earth as Input: Resources Jody Enel snd Gavin Bridge 20. The Barth as Output: Pollution Maleolm Newson 21 Sestainable Development? WeM. Adame Part VI. Conclusion 22 Remapping the World: What Sort of Map? What Sort of World? Peter J. Taylor, Michal J. Watts, and RJ. Jobnston Bibliography List of Contributors Further Reading Index 248 263 280 285 27 302 318 333 354 ws 377 386 420 426 433List of Plates List of Figures Frontispiece South African elections, Cape Town: 6 May 1994: South African President F, W. de Klere listens to President Elect Nelson Mandela after a chtee-hour meeting at Cape Town Parliament. ©Poppetfora Reuter pws Philippe Wojazer- Chapter 1 ~ Geosconomic Sugar Cane Factory, Mexico, ©The Environmental Picture Library. Chapter 2 ~ Geopoitical ‘Swastika carved in to the snow along the Oder River which divides Germany and Poland, Clmpact Visuals, New York; photographer Clark Jones, Chapter 3 ~ Geosocial Rovandan refuges fill abroad roadway inthe Benaco Camp inthe remote Ngara district, where some 300,000 refugees gathered, “Tanzania, April 1994) CUNICER/94-0069/Howard Davies Chapter 4 ~ Geocutral Opening of MeDonal'sin Moscow, 31 January 1990. ©Poppetfoca! eaters Chapter 5 ~ Geoervironmental Damaged trees, Karkonosze National Park, Poland. ©WWE; photographer: André Maslennikov/BL. Conclusion Container/Dock Scene, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, OLife File; photo- srapher:D. Bellamy Focign exchange ting. Paris to Detot and back, South Cental Le Angee. _ ‘An outline of te comtemporary agrifood sytem. Tandasaizaion ofthe porto commodity cain. esi ath Ame Adjusting the Human Development Indices {HDD for male-ferale duparites, 1990, Increasing travel over four male generations of the ame fly Trend in the growth of population and one indicator off spatial x Schematic diagram of typical oveseas journeys. Hisoy ofthe 1967 Marburg fever outrean Bu Documented sources of HIV-1tranenision from teopcal Afcan counties tothe Soviet Union. Documented sources of HIV.2 tranmision fom twopcal West Alcan cous to Western Europe. Developnet of + new media market Location of some contemporary nonviolent focal movements, {Trends in selected forms of human-induced teanslormation of environmental component 28 30 40 8 87 194 208 209 210 16 220 2a 254 270 3074X Ust of Figures: 182 Regan tof cg tonne tastvaaton of exionscnal coos Risk and blame, a anal wordvide production of seed metals fen 15 ‘aul wre production of seed mms ea ed ional ad epee fl we. ‘dcp ara dene by he Sera Cah rive bl paras in pH ay of pepo. Oi contmiaaton sf te cean Sis o lies The send of the Chernobyl dered radiation lod om vers Bape Dae iocsien map a the Unio Card plane and {SC poloe lane Bhopl na ee 183 194 192 20a 202 203 204 20s 206 207 310 313 319 320 34 336 338 340 3a 343 4 | List of Tables i | ‘The balance of inward to outward direst investment: 1975 and 1983, 8.1 Tranestate organizations. 9.4 Central government expenditure per capita on health and education, ca. 1990 9.2. Active members of medical benefits insurance schemes as percentage ofthe labor force, Selected European countries. 9.3. Unemployment insurance: members as a percentage of the labor force, selected European, 9.4 Infant morality (deaths under one year of age per 1,000 live births), selected counties 9.5 General government expenditure as a percentage of GDP, selected European counties. 9.6 The socal distribution of expenditure on public services in the UK. 9.7 Government consumption and total expendicue, selected industrialized capitalist counties Global demographic indicators, 1994, Regional shares in world population, 1990 and 2100 (United Nations estimates and medium variant projections. ‘Gendersensitve Human Development Indices (HDD, Female-male gaps 104 102 56 as 130 133 133, 134 134 3s 137 136 159 193 202>A List of Tables 13.1 Direct (nonstop) pasenger flows on scheduled aircraft into London (Heathrow + Gatwick) from the 25 largest world cides 13.2 Indicators of international exposure of resident populations. 13.3, Possible health effets potenally attributable ro tlobal warming 14.1 Some world city functions 142. Albierarchy of world cits. 15.1 ‘The world’s top 20 audiovisual companies by 18.1. The great transformation: selected forms of human-induced transformation of environmental ‘components 20.1 Wilderness disibution by continent 202 Emissions of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere from human activities. 21.1 The 27 Principles of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development. 22 a3 24 238 240 22 308 335 339 363-5 Preface ‘We have designed a book that engages with globalization from 2 speciealygeogeaphical pepecave. The later ena a broad Sve af enoporay Sol pac od we have seme to produce 4 reaonahy comprehensive guide to globl chang. ‘Torts end we commisioned twenty rately shoe chapers that cover the five major arat of change that we Men: ec0- omic politcal soa curl and enone. We are gata fo ou Contbutrs who were given big tak i relatively ele space and responded splendidly to the challenge However good concept ofthe book, ukimately is succes rest upon the {Talty ofthe conten anon this count our audors have done {S proud. We think the end product an informative and Lely {ext foc students which wl enable ther to understand beer the ‘rod hey Hiei.Acknowledgments ee ree ‘The editors and publisher gratefully acknowledge the following {for permission to reproduce copyright material Table 15.1, from the repore commissioned by the ITV Neework Associaton, from the study by Boor, Allen Hamilton; figure 3.2, Feprodiced by permission of Oxford Univesity Press, from N ‘Theft and A. Amin, Globalisation ~ Insitutions and Economic Prospects; table 4.1, reproduced by permission of Guilford Pres, from P. Dicken, Global Shift: the Intematinalization of Eos. nomic Activity, table 14.2, reproduced by permission of Cann. bridge University Press, from Prul Knox and Peter J. Taylor feds), World Cities in a World-System; figure 18.3 reproduced by per rission of Routledge, originally published in Mary Douglas Risk ‘and Blame: Essays in Cultural Theory (Routledge 1992); gues 18.1 and 18.2, ables 18.1-18.3, reproduced by permission of ‘Cambridge University Press, from B, Le Turner ct al, The Earth Transformed by Human Action; material from various chapters reproduced from 1993 World Investment Report, by permission ofthe United Nations, Publications Board, ‘The publisher apologizes for any errors of omissions inthe above list and would be grateful to be noted of any corrections that shouldbe incorporated in che next edition or reprint of this books Global Change at the End-of the Twentieth Century Peter J. Taylor, Michael J. Watts and R. J. Johnston Introduction What sort of a world do we lve in? For most of the readers ofthis book their world is @ comfortable one, Consumers of textbooks are rypically drawn from that minority of the world’s population who are able to live relatively affuent lives. But Wwhat of the rest, the majority of humanity? Here aflluence is replaced by struggles for survival of various forms where textbooks and many other “normal” commodities of the comforable world are an unnecessary luxury. But these aze not two separate worlds, a8 they are sometimes coaveniently portrayed. “Worlds of com: for and “worlds of swrugle” are interweaved in complicated srographies as they penetrate one another's spaces in ever~ creasing ways. Hence, a6 we come to the end of the cwentith century the Sense that we all ive ia “one world” has probably never been stronger: “thie” struggle is related to “our” comfor. "To say we liv in an interconnected “one world” i only a very partial answer to the question we began with. What is “in this fe world, what is it made up of? One way to begin isto look at the mais media, peshaps the most overt expression of the “slobalizaton” of ose world, What is deemed newsworthy by media lites gives a particularly relevant description of our world because it provides the day-to-day window through which we look beyond our own direct experiences. In what follows,selection of news stories which appeared in the days between Christmas Day and New Years Eve 1993 are brief listed. The world we find has a mixture of hope, concern and despa. The “big stories” concerned hopes for peace in IraeVPalestne, South Arica and Northern Ireland. But inthe "ran ofthe mil” stories there was much less hope, with many regions seemingly vying ‘with one another co take the place ofthe above as “intractable” politcal problems. In Liberia guamen were atackng aid centers, inthe Congo there was “ethnic” violence, we were reminded of Somalia by a bomb blast in Mogadish, wheal the ime Sarajevo was being shelled during the failed Bosnian Christmas trace, Bat iolence was not limited to these civil wats it appeared in “reli- ious” stories: eight rourists were wounded ina gun stick on a bus by Muslims in Egypt, and after a bomb attack on 2 Roman Catholic cathedral inthe Philippines two mosques slfered gre nade attacks, In addition chee was a row between the Anglican ‘Charch and the Muslim government of the Sudan, while on a ‘more peaceful note a lant statue of Buddha was unveiled on a hill overlooking Hong Kong. There were also stores about language: the Serbs, Croats and Bosnian Muslime are trying to prove that they speak diferent languages rather than a single Serbo-Croat language as previously assumed, while the French ‘Assembly has passed a new law forcing French radio to play at least 40 percent of pop songs in the French language. And the Wall Street Journal as decided to bring out a Pois-language edition. These culural concerns are matched by politcal stories felating to international travel: British immigration officials car gta fight from Jamaica; Fidel Castro's daughter seeks asylum in the USA; and the recent Russian election winner, the nationalist Zhicinovsky, is expeled from Bulgaria and refused entry into Germany. Environmental stories ae also popular: we leaga about a threat to thinos in Afric; of evacuation af French and Spanish beaches because detonators are being washed ashore; that 15 percent of Rassian territory isan “environmental disaster zone” with 100,000 people living where radiation levels ae too highy and that the US ‘government admits having carried out secret radiation tests on ics ‘itizens, Pechaps mose disturbingly we heat from the head of the ‘Global Change at the End of the Twentieth Century 3 China National Neclse Corporation that “Noes industry and technology area yard ck for messing the overall szengh of 2 country” as part of his promodion to expo mucleat power Stations Finally, for light rel, Euro Disney i thinking of hanging is name to Pai Disney and there sa reprt of claims by World Bank economist that economic succes ha countrys largely matter of "ack." ve Ftc a pot pow! of sores ~ what can we make of hit verse covet of vey see ver ow da? The Bt ints that these are not presented ap exotic tals, lke raves onic in another es. The wold no longer consis of faraway places of which we know litle” buts mos deBsitely contracted Torus as one word Thre are inerconnetion implied simply by the section of stores for our eneumption, Mosk gunmen, Russian nationality and. Chines technocrats in ther ute Aifernc ways ae seen potential threats to ox comfortable ives, for exanple, But the connections ae by no means clear teoween, say some ofthe clara ies andthe enviromental iene chat were reported. sthe prime purpose ofthis olson ‘of essays 10 investigate sich connections £0 as to help readers Ine sense of ther world as global whole. After reading ths Volume a siadee should beable frst vo relate her or hb fe Uepercnces to the wider world and secondly osc hat word as {ive ny The ai of hi Ido i 0a the be for this task by broaching sme key questions foe a seme Seady of our world that cannot be plead from cumulative i+ {ake of media stories however thorough. We focus on or i, fet ingen grt onceming the ee of conten Joba changer and then we engie ing the nature of {eogaphic whlch are both arent of, and contbute vo, this jaune word Inthe owenty subsequent systematic essays these Guestioos wl be tackled in wide variety of ways and contexts {ofall the book's purpose. We do not claim to ind answers for fi the importat gestions that confronts a8 members of one world co claim so wool be fothardy inthe extreme ~ but the Temainder of the book does provide materials out of which 2 food understanding can be obtained s0 that the question wil ign to look dat mach les daunting“rea rayon Mt. J. Waits, and R. J. Johnston: ‘All Changel [As me come to the en ofthe swenith century there does sem to bea global ambiznce of pervasive change People all walk of ie ial regions are confontng an uncertain aout present onions and where the are eign oie woe exept ‘xperenes re becoming le and ls sound bans upon wich {plan or aon wet eal in imepetg t ontemporary claim wo be parslaty changeable Seca hang in all is many maneavon s+ somal fate of ous socal formation and has been s0 for many centuries iq: Maret memoria capa "al told mels into ai.” So what i 0 difercat abou today? The lai i tat contemporary change i both qunttegely nd ‘usta dace seed tha enue “nota = has come to ahead! o proce an unpreedeted ‘of change in ou Sine. In addition, ths “speeding ap our vrld fas crested global scope rs never before, mag on femporary gobalzaton 3 gualtatvly new phenomenon Both Of tes positions are coments but lust be wetedseroty inliemosimpein eo h utae ci we oe ving in “new tines isthe seer range of acute changes that ae being experince. The whole gamut of socal active bing tuned use down lvig nok sued In ono procees the cine of the Fords regime of acumulaton Based upon large vercaly-atgrated companies in loose allan with the abo force has given way t aerate onanzain, although he natue of "poss Fordsn is nor yer lly lear Cersinl i wil include the antes of Fords nt mote Sox: IM” reine with a more polarbed workforce. In he realm of police the changes have been equally dramas, with various forms of dimanting of welfare ste inthe riches counties and the virtual abolition of sate responsibility ori cen inthe ‘es ofthe wold This has been partly pina in wha were the communist states before te end ofthe Cold War The done ofthe later has telly ansfrmed international tclatony Bot hopes fora “new word order” ander US ruelage were thor lived a wha hasbeen oncally died a “new word duorder™ merged insted. People have responded to the uncer and ‘Global Change at the End of the Twentieth Century 5 chaos in different ways across the world. Where rural economies hhave collapsed, “mega-cities” are forming on an unprecedented demographic scale while others are forced to become border refuges, again to a degree hitherto unknown. More conventional international migration ranges from economic les moving be- tween morld cts, the control centers of capitalism, fo “economic” ‘refuges atempring to cros the “poverty curtain" separating the rich countries from the rev. But there are also cultural resistances to these changes which in fine dialectical fashion add their own impetus to the new dynamism. Emerging from what had been considered ro be a secularzing world we have witnessed a re- ‘markable revival of religions fervor in all regions of the world. “indus in South Asia, Muslims inthe Middle East and Christians in the Americas are the cree largest regional movements toward their respective “fundamentalsms.” But at the same time the supposed rearons forthe "tucces” ofthe “West” ~ markets and democracy ~ have never had such widespread support outside their core regions. And through all his socal turmoil the Earth ssa le euppore system has been discovered, or eather our threats tori in that rle have become recognized. Calminating with the “Earth Summit” in Rio de Jancizo in 1992, our uncertaingy now extends to whether we will even have a world that we can live in in the furure. Ie is this massive economic, politcal, social, cultural, and envoamental change simltaneously burdening out lives chat has persuaded so many that we do indeed live in "new ‘All the above changes have one prominent feature in common: they are global in scope. At the beginning of the twentieth century the poifeal geographer Halford Mackinder (1904) argued that we were entering 2 qualitatively diferent era since the whole world had come under the European orbit henceforth international politics would have to operate in ¢ “closed world". As we come to the end of the century this notion of one world has come to impinge upon all aspects of socal activities and no just relations| between states, New flexible accumslation in economic activites vwll often mean transfer of production across world regions, the political confets ofthe new woeld disorder can be watched nightly In our ving rooms on the American news channel CNN, world cites lead the way in expressing new social polarization almost‘6 Pd. Taylor, M. J. Watts, and R, J. Johnston 5 microcosms of the whole world, “terrorism” reaches the pacts ‘ordinary military aciviey cannot reach and everybody's polation contributes to making our world les liveable, This the justi cation forthe eerminology employing the pref “geo,” meaning world, used below for ordering the chapters ato five sections: as well as the familiar geopolitical and the increasingly populae seoeconomic, we have geosocial, geoculural and geoenvironmental Sections. The sum ofall these procesies has come to be called _lobalization, implying a qualitative change from the statecenteced Fhuman actives of previous eas the new times are global times, {eis inthis common global scale of operations that we can bein to se some of the connections berween the various changes ‘denied above. If we discount the possibly that itis 2 mere coincidence that these proceses have become global a the same time ~ the unlikely model of parallel plobalizations ~ then we ‘move coward the idea that they constitute a single holistic ‘movement. The big question is, of course, how do they fit t= ether? Here we must be very careful. In fac itis easier (0 liminate possibiles than to come up with generally acceptable answers, For instance we can be sure that globalization isnot the result of a simple cause-and-effect model where we reduce the ‘complexity 10 one prime explanatory factor. Such reductionism ‘usualy highlights che economic sphere asthe source of change and since we have chosen to begin with the eoeconomic, below, this warrants some explication here. We adhere broadly to materialist position in which the geoeconomic has a crucial role in creating globalization. Bue we do not believe this to be the “economic base” above which other human activities are mere “superstructure.” This famous Marxist azchitectural metaphor i sorely wanting as a world model. Our geoeconomics has aa important enabling role noe last because ofits expression a5 “Western” material succes to be emulated elsewhere: But we do not subscribe to discredited diffusion models of “modernization” (Blaut 1994), Politica, social and cularal activites are not merely ‘sponses to material diferences; they are integral tothe const ‘tion of those differences since economics never takes place ina non-economic world. Hence as well ae economics being imp cated in sy, cultural movements of resistance, culture is equally implicated in the nature of economic complexes. One metaphor ‘Global Change at the End of the Twentieth Century 7 that eaprutes some of this being and becoming is the notion of fa great vortex purposiely mixing up all thse activities as they re sucked into « holistic globalization (Wallerstein 1984). The destructive implications ofthis metaphor bring us starkly tothe froeavironmental question of whether che Earth's fragile ecology fan be sustained. ln fact, rather chan arguing an economic reduc tlonist positon, we would suggest that is this fst ever Secular tlmpse of the end of the wWoeld which makes our new global ‘imes qualitatively differen from the past. ‘Our organization of this volume into five sections could be interpreted as developing a global pespectve on five “adjectival” aeographies: economic geography, political geography, social ‘seography, cultural geography and the geography of the environ iment. No doubt some people will wse the esays that way, which ie fine, bur it is not how we intend them. These divisions go agains the spirit of holism whichis cental to our argument and, inoue view, is geography's ony legitimate rason d'ére in any ‘ase, Our organiation is a pragmatic one, putting together sim lar topics for pedagogic reasons, but with no fundamental disci plinary divisions implied. Nonetheless this is a book of multiple feographies, albeit not in the usval adjectival way, and chey Constitute our way of unravelling the globalization vortex. Mutiple Geographies One ofthe major intellectual developments in socal scene's Sempra to apple wth the new gota esas beens beer ndertanding othe role of space and tine in consiting scat formations, Space and tine had for long been rested in 2 aken- Segynted mater tant” ohana aie fing to a est edn we eopetnce cocoa The oblematzng of both space and tne in social anaes eps honed a previously marginal geography toward the cer of he train of socal sencet (Gragory and Uny 1985). Good gro- fraphial analy sould be parla sense to space and tine, We add tine to spac here becuse it dee not make feta o consider one without che other despite some aon8 PJ. Taylor, M. J. Watts, and R. J. Johnston Brographical claims ro the contrary. Hence for ws, “all geography 's historical geography." Focusing on che contemporary can never ‘mean ignoring the past for our arguments here the wile nosion of ne sins” bas resiposed comparison wih he pat at “non-new," for example. Bit bringing space and time together ino our discussion does noe mean pursuing the familiar analogy between the ewo, such as equating time petiodiation with space regionalization. Rather we need to consider both, in theie many social gues as multiple spaces and multiple times, It is these once tha generate the mull goprapies for aking the Social spaces and social times havea variety of meanings; here we focus on their respective use as models of time spans and spatial scales. An extreme interpretation of contemporary glo- balizaton would treat contemporary human activites 28 fep- resenting a new epoch for humanity. This is to focus upon a particular space-time analysis that privileges the global sale and the long-term perspective ~ Braudel’ (1980) longue durée in understanding where we are today. A more sensitive analysis a8 ‘promoted inthis volume, does not neglect other scales and spans ‘that continue to exse however powerful globalization might be for even become, AS we begin to consider other spans and scales we move along a route toward doubting the uniqueness of out new global times. In ocher words we locate the present into t ‘context where globalization is more a continuation than something new, more increasing i seale than specially global. For this inital lsussion we identify three time spans and three spatial scales For Braudel (1980), the opposite o longue durée isthe evenis with which we began this introduction, asing newspaper sores. This is a short-term view of socal time where the world consists ‘of multiple events. Some events are more important than others, ‘of course, and some aspire ro be crcil, the turning points of history. Obviously, earlier this century, the stock market crash of 1929 was an even where before and alter could no be the same. For our times the revolutions of 1989 and ther atermath rep. resent another “world shock.” As well a marking the end ofthe Gold War, these events ushered in a new world inthe sense that the demise of communism touched much more than international svalry. Despite all the things tha go to make up globalization ‘Global Change at the En ofthe Twentieth Century 9 having been readily apparent before 1989, iis only afer the ‘erlution that a nocon of ne snes Becomes generally accepted ‘noua, Bitte tm the shock of 1989 can be locsted Shin medio ine spans, wth pla analyse of soca Change, Lang economic waves of approximately half entry, Konda eye fi the pont Wold Wat 1 petiod gute neatly ta froth phase =the “posse boom 9 1970 followed iy eapnaon phase to he reser. In this comet ou new fines arean example of rexrcrring which oar ela in the wavelte progression of capi, Thi relates as eo even longer begemonie cle” when one country dominate the word conomiyat the USA cio midcentry. Ou eine, therefor, Seo represen decine from sch hegemonic eight, agains pro- Gens nr unique othe present, Bu the pont lott contact the Sire socal span rather we try and undereand how hey fnterac itoducing the shor and mediu‘erm spans doesnot disprove he exer of singular ew global mes legal all Sines have all spans ~ bur it doe sharpen out awarcnes of ow eh ee vies when "Returning wo the spel he opposite to global is local, whic ts agai wes evens take place As with span, ao wit rales 4 ses anal does not ange for one agit another bat focuses upon tir cations, Loel commutes ay be buted by eobal forces bu the are not bps victims with 0 coping statis, However, neither ean they be auronomous of he wodd they babi, so tat thei strategic wil inaraly involve con- {ejences beyond their direct comrol In is cate geographers devi laa desi, whe een nate Jal scr sich then impinge on lc events ina er five continuum (Wats 19923), ta adtion, in ems of cle the tational scale ofthe sete represent the medi eel. This an important loci of formal power wherein exist the capacity 10 {8th eal communis and the wie neraconal ae. Giobazaion i hypotesed se transfer of real ower "up tarde” fom states othe global but «proper treatment of cles ‘an modify sucha sople noi, Despite many predictions con. ‘Stn tr dermis, states re il around acting dangeosnly Ss eer, and any resonable irerpeaton of our present mst take rom for some degre of comin sallence fr sates (Tylor10. J, Taylor, M, J. Watts, and . J. Johnston 1994), Again this is not to undermine the idea of new global times ~ different spatial scales will exist in every society above ssmll isolated communities ~ butt does sharpen our perspective ‘on the question once again, “The really dificult mater is tying to combine sales and spans within a single analysis, This is where using globalization as our ‘carting point, in its fusion of longue durde with the global, may help. There aze multiple geographies historical geographies 0 be constructed at diferene spans and scales which together will help understand the vortex of globalization, which often seems to blind us by is power. The essays inthis volume, in theie very many different ways, provide perspectives on the question of the nature of our preseat predicaments through multifarious geo sraphies. They wil provide some answers, but not always con sistently, co the questions we have raised in tis opening chapter but they will also take che arguments much further. In the best tradition of geography, tis collective effort aspires to make sense of our complex and ever-changing world. | | PART | Geoeconomic ChangeIntroduction to Part | The Reconfiguration of Late Twentieth-Century Capitalism 1st any wonder that buckets of oes mony ~ aon $40 bilo, or oe arte ofl er border egy teen ss ‘emerging sockets of te words pore estan TE ‘ne Jay 8, 198, 9. Te ‘When the history ofthe late event century is ween, there sem lle doub that moby ~ of apt, laboe snd meaning wll be one ofits touchstone. The ceaseless seach for potty wih the ner- $c of world market har propelled adel resrctring of national fcopomiss around the world. The global sorporsson dominates the fcopomis iconography ofthe post 1945 pod elmo ae speed, innovation, proses, and what geographers have come tell space time compresion Harve 1990) Joep Schum’ (1952) invention of crestivedestraction se the “essential fact" of capita peovdes wich power image to andertand the goo-conomiccerutung Srrought by capital pales amt a worlwide sherri of mont Tn, laiser fae, deregulation and maker ttumphalism By the early 1980s thee were 37,000 tanmationsl corporaons (INGS| in the world with over 170,000 foreign alates (UN 1993 “The total sock of foreign dtc invent (FD) aecounted foe by eis snes of corporations wa in exces of $2 tron i 1992, and voted fre $5.5 rion in worlwide ales. Transnational capital ofcourse py concntated geographical, sory and in rerms ofthe hate of oteign asses contralled bythe largest Sms 90 percent of TNCs ate hesdquarered in the advanced capitals sats (ve major bome countries account for ove al of the developed county total ad the iad of Jopen, Norch America and Western Europe produced 70 percent of14 troduction to Part t: Geoeconomic Change bal og nese io 0d 96 percent of lob oufows in [oe Rasy pen of pret TCh on lf ho FO saat 100 TNCs acount for It pecan of he a world stock of outward investment, 4 pee of he Sst the m9 owe of fign iavxmet hve flied an sprandwend averaging 13 pent pe annum, Commonly une inom ofthe vominhoppte Gaulaton oe “eaaeerta ison” of he word economy re hve fen inact oe seg foreign investment ups oe om 1978198 growth mersed nk ete per yea) and sno brwen 186 and 1950 fnsaig 2 gps 36 pet sna upd en 85 wat ungusioniyfacitated by 2 pero of ono grow ok the wake of ce recon of the ely 1980s ad bya peed fens ‘neces and anqustiony bt here weal lng estate es ‘wrk In prt the scum of DI Kock toes te a tect, the peltraion of ited ineratonel pedacton Cite wor) andthe ada ange nthe cesopcl nase stich under the apts of momen inthe eet eng ‘gemony oth temo! Moncny Fund an he Word Soa 24 pepe, precede fade Theton, aay re ‘corm and pensation (uray in Westen Europ, ae sok tad inentlyinthe former COMBCON counts) The heal ‘ieppen ol sto e174 ne sn pe izaon inca the sling fof sate poperte od ce ‘stencil siking Nerwsandig te tet GATT ese Apeenct om Tats and Trae) agreement, 79 new pase, sy ed ng 992 8 cum ere eo FD ia “The rapid growth of FI hasbeen accompanied by important sis ini sector compotion, Dung the 1080 figs imeament oe onset in tary arate ed mates Bye Sd ‘ces scot for eto 30 prs all PI andy rb tox wots ofan dows Wh ineyaton wdc tay itd ia a cw dire acs cil seis spol the most al of camper sa stated by eens tamer and Stour ead The ie oho Incr good sytem, poplnd by ext etry changes ‘mgs by NATTA (Nort Asian ree Tene Agee ond GA, ont, howe tha al ars have the pose al cpa ows indeed easton pita oe fed pron and cing wie has enred an of the mon drs eg which te mkt opening op he lumer Sovet ere, Noses Inoducton to Pent: Geoeconomic Change 15 hypermobility of capital and fron apace shay the norm, and 1 uly global research and development and mapulacurng stm Fe ‘aig vested toa rlavely sll numberof fms i mie sectors tnd branche. "Worldwide FDI flows have, however, lowed since 1991 = forthe fist time in ft since 1982 ~ lnply a8 + rel of comtracions by Japanese fd Wert Enropean busines operations. Nonetheless, there iy sll {beans scope for farer grow andy asthe quotation from The Economist ced tthe outset ofthis diacssion sugges, the iow of foreign investment int the dersoping word has ben especially dynam. Developing coantries received 25 prcene ofall nows in 1991 fal tothe shre nthe est hal ofthe 1980) the Rare re ubesnialy fn 1992 Inows to Eat and Southoart Any and increasingly im Lata Amen, ave ban eoecally drama Invent Bows into Asi and the Pei rose by almost 10 percent in 1992 and ivesumen in East, tau Canal Europe, whl satay unevea, has ben igulayimpres five. The trananaionalanon of capital has been in this epee 3 propa fore inthe rapid indasazation of some newly industrial fing rates (most recently in Thallad, China and Malaysia, which represen a soto second wav of newly industrialized counties (NICS} folowing onthe beds of Taiwan, Singapore, South Korea and Hong Koag) Dusing thet industrial revolutions of te nineteen century Bian and the US rook a half century to double their incomes he Asian Tigers and thir new companion are achieving chs wiia 3 Ascade, Whether thie growing heterogeneity with the los developed sword and the rapidity of indarralstion i parsiculae,wserant the ‘ore of opis expresed by The Economist (8 Janus) 1994, p. 16) owerer™= “eapid changes ia the balance of the word economy” and ‘he NIG having “consigned othe rubbish bin the ld ton ha the Sich world... towers over the whole world economy” ~ is another ‘maces ete ‘Within the Brod parses of geoecnomic restructuring, capital flows and thie elec ze nonetbels highly uneven Some parts ofthe South sub Saharan Asc ie paricule~almos slid off the economi ‘map during the 1980, Indeed, the impact of structural adjstment and liberalization during the 1980s produced hortiying contraction and susteity in lage part of the Third Worl, with lle evidence of ftbreqsene economic recovery and. growth. In sub-Saharan Alia, ‘conomic oepat and exports rambled by 30 percent between 1980 and 1946; peta ne tanfersdcined fom postive iflow of $2. billion in 1980-2 co a net oul of 87 bilion in 1985-7. The standard of ling ofthe “average Alcan” is accoeding othe World Bank, lower16 Introduction to Part i: Geoeconomic Change now than a independence. Lain America did not fare much beter (Wats 1991). Sealed “shock therapy” im Russia and Eastern Europe ‘ns als ake its ol reected inthe ering rte of unemployenet, plan closures and economic insect, Lie expecsancyn Rusia doped from 62 o 59 yeas over twelve ont, the largest ingle ear op ever seconded in developed country, and the deth rte soared by 20 pce 1n 1992 Plagued by inflation and economic chao, Rusia looks crea ingly ike an archetypal Thied Woeld sss. More than anything the demise ofthe formes socials reveal that markers ant snp he ised ino existence but have wo be consaciad. Of they aed thar megs fom the ashes of oclem nota fee marks wenden but what has ben fered wo as market Sena, Market iteaization| 3s often as nor produces itera! pote, and ae infrequent wily iseoned marker Tn shor amidst the euphoris of Uberaiaion and global economic restructuring driven by new teade agreements snd inferatoaal cpa tmobiiy, he ead of she Cold War looks though ir bas been teplced by new foxms of Nonb-South dependency. According tothe Uaied Nations Development Program global polation of incase and wealth tas increased sbstantallys beeween 1960 and 1990 county differentials berween the wealthiest and the poorest 20 percent incensed frm 300 ‘more than 60, while real dspurtes berween people, tt opposed fo ‘ounty averages, became even move srk (UNDP 1998), Since the “Third World was is one sense the creation ofthe Cold War the New World Order implies as some have suggested, the end of the Third World. However i has bn replaon afer a dead of severe discipline meted out by the global regulatory agencies by a map of Nowth South Aependency which conveys an extremely blak prospec fo are pers ‘ofthe global economy (Armold 1995; Ballo 1994), “The costs of the economic restau daring the 1990s ace no ss in evidence among te advanced capa tte of cours, Unenploy- men in the OECD (Organization for Esonomic Cooperation and De- lopment) states sends at 2 hisoric high, whe i diferent ways and at diferent velocities the postwar Fordist areangements — a3 cxporatist systems of production, consumption, aad segulation~ ave been dismantled and reconfigured (Sayer and Walker 1992), High rmonetacim and neoliberal orthodoxy perpeated by Kohl, Thatcher, tnd Reagan have eroded the polical economic landyapes of bh ts EU and Nom Ameria, Whether thi represents ashi dnciely ew system of pst Ford or feb asrumultion mater of intease ‘ebat [Score and Storper 1993) What ies arguable i hat the shape land character of national economies, snd the woe and ature of public Introduction to Part I: Geoscanamic Change 17 inereton, hae been ally ered sine the mid-1970e, Wha ew Sf al ota and pvt mower lp renin cea youd moe des bower, in Eker nom modem nthe Noth a Sah ai ‘Sarthe unsea dopton of spl marke or xe mds no loge ee mh ihe’ And tn omen the ol of cl nye ht pole of economic develope ia seig Bgging economies Gating cnet senon am 19939 Nove oft toad Inpy that sow forme f repo tadeinepadon oe ereplaton INAEIA EEC. GAT or nepte memati proacion of m0 omequcce Bart weal lobe foolardy to ssie tat he caren tread toward farther erga fe ae, regal Iegation snd iypeenoble capa oe hss! nevis: Fin de se eaptaien ‘haor be so sey spre and connedA Hyperactive World OO Nigel Thrift Introduction Dr Rcpiatmaintah trek engen, Lovee see ae Soleeomietenn ee aoe tlic aen reser sod fortis aos the globe. Ar a eof novation ie ‘they once did. * de nhc th Src spon cmeemage ne aleioascctgeterteb eae Souci eh wine y came ae Siete me omer Sone ae ie aeamenc aa Pena te ences iy ae ek es ee raed cee Serge snes amie eer Sy eues ens fete i Shasta teaenaee Hinseaoratnaatins nae stare eree weet inet rueccare nto taees Eipoctscnna cree nee ino mina rmene A Myperactve World 19 4s “barometers of modernity” (Descombes 1993), big ideas about ‘what makes our modem world “modern.” Tn the fist part of this chaprer, I will examine these three barometers carefully because they inform so much cuerent die: cussion about modern global geographies. My purpose is simple. Tes to show that they are partial accounts made into a whole. Inthe second part of this chapter I hope to show, through a doublesake on the world of international money, jst how pail these accounts are, even in that sphere of the wodd’s economy which might be expected most closely to approximate to them. ‘Then in the last part ofthe chaper T want to propose the begin rings of a more moderate account of the signs of the times. Preamble {shall begin by taking a reading ofthe barometers of modernity. I will do this by examining illgbilty, hypermobility and time space compression through the writings ofthe thee authors who have most often deployed them; Fredric Jameson, Manuel Castells and David Harvey. "Each ofthese authors pats a piceure ofthe world as having ‘ome under the sway of & new form of capitalism ~ whether it is called late or multinational or informational or global capital ism. This form of capitalism usually iavolves a combination of n- ‘rediets, and most especially: the accelerated internationalization ‘of economic processes; a frenedic international nancial systems the use of new information technologies; new kinds of produc- tion; different modes of sate interventions and the increasing involvement of culture as 2 factor in and of production. The thre authors disagree on how swiftly the new form of capialsm has taken hold ofthe world. For Harvey for example, i has been 4 comparatively rapid proces. For Jameson, in contrast, the new orm has cept up on us "we have gone through a transformation ‘ofthe life world which is somehow decisive bur incomparable with the older convulsions of modernisation and industili- sation, less percepive and dramatic, somehow, but more perma ‘nent precisely because more thoroughgoing and all-pervasive ameson 1991, p. xxi). But each of the dhvee authors agrees that atthe heart of tis change has been space. The new system20 Nigel Theft ‘of capitalism atacks and suppresses distance, and our notions of distance, producing «new goal economic space in which lol capitalism can play ‘These three cartographers of global capitalism map its presence in diferent ways. They use diferent means of locating its pres: ‘ence. For Fredric Jameson, one ofthe defining characterises of slobal capitalism is simply chat i is hard to locate. Global cap talism’s labyrinthine complexity makes everything les and less legible less and less easly read, This is word where eleccom ‘cally generated images prevail. As a result itis a world which i increasingly dificult to touch or tie down; a world of confused senses which can only sense confusion, This brave new word of loba capitalism has nefarious consequences. Fist, the efects of power are all roo obvious ~ poverty, famine, war, disease ~ bet the exact causes of oppression are more and more difficult to discern. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse sil stalk the world bu ll we can see are che hoof-prnts. Secondly, the mod mm city becomes suspended in a global space "in which people are unable to map (in their minds) ether their own poston OF ‘the ucban totality in which they find themselves” (Jameson 1991, .51). Thus the observer experiences Kind of vertigo a sense of fan unseen abyss over which humanity teters. Jameson's answer is to call for “new cognitive maps” that will help us to reveat from the edge. ‘The barometer of hypermobilry i best expressed in the work ‘of Manuel Castells, who idenifis anew type of economic space = a mobile space of flows ~ whichis the precondition forthe coming into existence of a worldwide informational economy “the enhancement of telecommunications has created the mate- fal inrastructare needed fo the formation of a global economy, in a movement similar to that which lay behind the construction ‘ofthe cailways and the formation of national markets during the sinetenth century” (Castells 1993, p. 20). Thi space of flows “dominates the historically consricted space of places, a8 the logic of dominant organisations detaches itself from the social constraints of cultural idences and local societies through the powerfal medium of information technologies” (Castells 1989, . 6). Increasingly, in other words, electronic trade winds blow across the globe, ceating a new economic atmosphere AHyperecive Word 21 Fialy, the barometer of ine-spac compression s nowadays snlySnocaed wih the work of Dovid Harvey, who oe the i258 ovo main ways: ff espn mated incense the scr of ie brow shu by innovations ike modern lon Sonicains andthe ett that this has om the topology of oman communion = seming claps of space tnd ce = fod, secondly, o signal the sbvegoent best in out expri set and repcientation of spce and ome that this est ag abou “time-space compresion always exact ill om tr eapacy to gape with te eas nfl sound wi {Hsrey 1989, 300 Jot sin Jameson, tere cal or og nine maps that can be aed to navigate through period of = ceniveepemerliy inthe polal and private a2 well atthe ‘Sal ella (Garey 1999" p 300) “Th tre ‘accoue sare cach Ia common. Each isco cere with deewing ov the linea of andes al feemaions in econrin soit snd cles = and nthe naar of me and space Each dle a considerable dere of appre henson abot our ably to comprehend these eansormatons. Ech pact mach ofthe blame fori ste of ss onthe route pace of moder i which Mrs our wadertanding Bur each of them alo elves that i posto ind 9 theo teal space rom which rs pole took out and expan ‘hat ping on "What ought we to make of thee acount? Iwan o make a cri in two stage. Fie ofl T want to sgt that these ‘So sin et mean tation of thinking that goes bac «long long Way it history. They tobe taken wth“ large pinch of dj ro" (Porter 1993, . 16) Secondly, wane 0 sages thatthe account ae in dager of onscting global cpl ss more abac sytem han ‘cry wil want ro show thi by etence othe wold of iteratonl money snd ance Crtique 4: Antique Barometers? Each of the three accounts briefly outlined above has a long. history. Indeed they go back so far in time that they may even(22 Nigel Thrit, bare ech i itv ely dat, T laa hs pit vl take each account in turn ‘The debate over the idea tha the word, as it becomes in cresingly globalized, has Become icreningl gible at exe resonances in ninteenth-century reactions to the expanding _mezopolis asa disconcerting mntue of mull, moremene and. desenterednss (Prendergast 1993), These Fescions were threfld There was nostalgia forthe old days, anoxia whee vis not much mare than « demand for retumto she more secure and hierarchical social taxonomies ofthe pant where eryone coud be loated in thei proper place" There wes ke ides thatthe cy could fe conta trough new fons ef Yualation which ytematcal reused ose signcan forms Of dfn, dio, and conta in ate Palais. The, lsd, here was simple igh foun the cy, tuck into “rural” world of psychi peace and sented sab ities In each case these recon wl exit, Pathe, hey suena their charms “Took only atthe content of some madere {elevision advertisements ‘Ain, the account of space of ows is growing hoary with age. dates tom at lest the eighteenth contry and ideas of “Circulation” ~ of desea and leer celating a the Body of the nation sae. Bott comes ino i own the inca envy with the spread ofthe ralvay and then the Wlegash {Thaie 1990). In France, fo example, writes used i as com, ‘ention to describe the new space of continuous movement ed esion ha we a pel thinoratonn a life i drawn in terms of speed aed flow ~ everything ‘moves foo fast. In the twentieth contry, the inmovalons hay chang bt he phenomenology of peed td fom rin ach “This sime phenomenology can be found inthe account of time-space compression. One side of Harvey's account the sa hilton of space by tne, was a fvore medtason of the cay Vitoian writer: ic was the topos which the ety nice enya to describe the new tation nto whch oad Plced naar space after depriving ie of is hither baste Powers. Motion was no longer dependent onthe conden of ‘aural space, bor on a mechanical power that ceed sown A Hyperactive Word 23 ‘ew spaialty” (Schivelsbuch 1986, p. 10}. An article published in the Quarterly News in 1839 exactly captures the sense of straggle that resulted For insane, supposing that roads even at out present sim rmering fate of traveling, were to be suddenly exalted ll ver England, the whole population of the county woul, speaking metaphorically at once advance en mame ad place thet chai Stuer the Bresdeof thet metropoeby eo this of he time ‘whch sow separates ther from i they would slo st mere to ne another by wo thirds ofthe time which now respectively lentes thm Mf the ente were tobe stietlyacelerte, this proces woud be repented ou harbours, our dockyard, ou towns, the whole of our rural population, wo again not ‘only dwt nearer to each otber by two ted all would proportionally ap roach the national each, As distances were thus annie the farface of car country woul sit were shel in size unt became nor much bigger than one immense city. (cited in Schivelsbch 1986, p. 34), ‘The ides ofthe annihilation of space by time was recycled by. writer like Marx late inthe nineteenth century, surfaced again in geography textbooks of the 1920s and 1930s, and was then resurrected once more ia the geography ofthe 1960s and 1970s a the phenomenon of time-space convergence.” The other side ‘of Harvey’s account, the effets thatthe upheaval of our expe: Bence of space and time have on our powers of representation and, by implication, identity, has clear resonances with ideas that date from atleast the eighteenth century that the increased pace ‘of lfe would lead to a kind of general hysteria in society (Porter 1993); time-space compression leads to time-space depression. It is the kindof depiction of volatile, fragmented subject for vol: tl, fragmented times which Virgina Woolf eapeured so briliantly inthe 1920s inher discussion ofthe “atomism of the city” which Js staged not only as "a problem of perception” but also as one “which raised problems of identity” (Willams 1975, pp. 241-2); ‘Alter twenty minutes the ody and mind were ike seraps of torn ‘sper tumbling from a sac abd indeed, the proses of motoring [Est cut of London so mach resembles the chopping up stall of‘dent which precedes unconsiosnets and pechaps death iselt itis an open question in what sense Orlando teh fe ad oy have existed a the present moment. (Woolf 1926, sted ig Prendergast 1992, p13), cous, esas shes tre accounts are searig to show thir age oes not mean that they are withou cotes ind of acatve power. They make fora wonder moderne denice ‘ory; fll of mystery ilegbi), spas he space of low aed pace (time-space compression) ot do thee tre baronet node convincing represent the moet waded Se 2 question that we can annwerdcety. What we casa ie 4 that they prodace a paral eprsetation which Joss at Guin the an seo spe On Bee cms won at speded wp Bot beau the weld me nda dn ean ta noe i =r Soy ap ch m who mney ee Tene. Te wa dae “hse pi cn he made bey onder exam, ‘This example which forms the second pare oe cee wot mesatonl egy. Thoeen ge ‘be mos ling exam bee es a Ssract, complex, instantaneous, But what do we so ‘what do we find? Nothing of Critque 2: Hooked on Speed Take 1: masters of the universe? ‘A image which bas bacome a cick. A foreign exchange del ‘oom ofa maior bank in London New York of Tagor Tae mainly young men and women who inkabit icc roves tre A Hyperactive Word 25 ‘managers, from video camera, from tape recorders capeting all their cals. Above all, they are under pressure of time. Dealing ‘self i largely 2 matter of timing and dealers ace expected aot only to make profs from their deals but to make them quickly. You are only 2s good as your lst deal, "To capital these desles are atthe sharp end of time-space compression. Thee world isa world where tlecommunications have become more and more sophisticated and, as a result, space as virtually been annihilated by time. A dealer's world consis of a few immediate colleagues, the electronic screens which ace ‘the termini of electronic networks that reach round the world 0 ‘other colleagues in other cites, and the electronic texts that can be read off the batery of screens (gure 2-1). there iss space ‘of flows, then this i CCeresinly, what these dealers can do to the world i, in its own way, quite exraordinary. In any day's work of foreign exchange dealing, currencies are being ransmited backwards and forwards acros the world by dealers to the rune of $100 billion in day ‘This money is increasingly abe to gainsay governments. As one dealer (cited in Kahn and Cooper 1993, p. 10) put it "ts « huge big global casino, IF government steps out of line they get their ‘utreney whacked." There are plenty of governments that can attest 10 this, a6 the example of the European Exchange Rate System (the ERM) shows only too well, “The ERM, inwoduced asa means of transforming the European, Union into 4 zone of monetary stability in which the exchange rates ofthe diferent European national currencies would vary ia an ordered and predictable way, came under an intense series of speculative assaults from foreign exchange traders over the course of 1992 and 1993, Highly mobile flows of money began making speculative amas ‘on currencies believed to be partially vulnerable to devaluation. ‘alnerble currencies were Ment a8 thoweatachod to natioal economies where the internal costs of ceaning existing ERM tes were considered to be worrsinabl The sim was fo an ‘Spates curency devaluation which would generate windfall uns for currency tess. As seling presue i the foreign exchange tmatkets forced the valu of «currency down blow ts permed. floor vale in the system it was pose totum prob weling26 Nigel Tit owe 21 Fatsion exchange rating the currency hack at higher price othe EC central hanks inte ‘weing in the market to dled the prevading parses I owes: ‘ment and central Banks could be made to devalue a cerrency within the syste, chen sles of cacrency would makes peor By selling it back at aft lower peice (Leyhon 1995, p. 1558) ‘Therm ofthese speaae tes were devastating Alb ng. Al bu one ERM curency war devalued aunt the denser oe tochor carecy of he nen, oro fences ‘ording to Kahn and Cooper 1993, they apparently actually suffer lees atess than mrss dealing with the mentally handicapped), this is something of an exaggeration. Fest of all, che phantom fate" of international money is nomad state (Thift and Leyshon 1994), That is ie has no permanent spaces to call is own, aly series of transient sites in a few global ces. This constant tobilry as its advantages. In particular, che world of interna~ tional money is dificult to tie down. Buti also has is disadvan- tages, The phantom stat ie always in danger of being trapped by ‘ation sates which contol tentories, and are able to regulate ‘what goes on within them. Thus ths space of flows can be choked ‘off by the roles nation sates impose ~ like capital adequacy ratios, which force banks to set aside a certain portion of their Capital of rues on how or what financal investments to use. Secondly, the phantom state has co be constandy in mosion, chasing nto all the nooks and crannies of the world economy that might produce a prof. Such a task requires an enormous Investment of not only money but alto communication. Nowa: days money is esenilly information and geting that informa- ‘ion nverpreting i and wing ia the sgt ime, requires constant human interaction. The resale is thatthe hypermobile world of inernatonal money is actully a hypervcial world, a world of constant interchange between people, whether over electronic networks, of in faceto-face mestings, or atthe end of often Tenge journeys. In this sense this word of flows isnot abstract, atall itis the product of and its produced by people commun {cating about what is going on, ‘So the barometers of illebiiry, of a space of flows, and of time-space compression can clearly be seen to be partial, even When an example is chosen which should cat them in favorable Tighe. Bur there is one last point that neds 10 be made that repeats the historical lessons of the frst section ofthis chapee: for the denizens of the world of international money these ba ometers do aot represent some new condition. They are prac- ticed in living wth them, Since the international financial system hhas been in operation, its practitioners have had to live withFou 22 Pais 0a A Hyperactive World 23 uncertainty, using only limited information to assess the risks they run in investing money. Since international Snancial markets stared to coalesce inthe late nineteenth century, because of the telegraph and then the telephone, their practitioners have become ‘wel versed in living with time-space compression. I is all part ‘ofthe game they play everyday and it isa game they are good at Tako 2: networks and ghattoes “The dealers in the international financial sytem live life inthe fase Lane. Bue what about those of us waiting for the bus oF cursing the late tain? For us too, monetary transaction is speed- ing up. The installation of credit cards, automated teller machines (ATMs), and the like means that life in the slow lane is moving faster (figure 2.2) in Paris's ate ereing, and I need money quickly. The bank 1 goto i coved bur oud i ATM e7-Tisert mp ATM. card from ay beach in Watington DC and punch in my ie ‘cation suber andthe amount of $0 etc, coughlyequales ‘0 $300, The French bank's computes detect tha ics not thie ard, 50 my request goes t0 the Cer system's ine European ‘ching centre in Blgiam whic dete that isnot «European {rd The elecronic menage i then tanamited to the global friching centre im Detoe,which recognises that there's more ‘han $300 im my account in Washington and deducts $300 pl 1 fee of $1.5, Then ifs back to Detroit, o Begum and to the Pais bank and ks ATM and our comer $300 in French francs, ‘oral elaped ime 16 seconde. Increasingly, we ae all dependent on the sped and processing power of tleommunicadons that cxamples ke chi usrate Be the new space of tlecommunictons is not, in reality a ‘evooth global space over which massage can How without Fc: tion, Iria skin of nenworks which ae “neither local noe global bur ae more or les long and more or Jes comneced” (Latour 1993, p. 122) To think otherwise iso mistake length or connee tion for diferenes in sale level believe tac some things (ike people ot ideas or stations) are “local” whist oes (ike of lzaions or laws of rls} ae “lob.”