Space as a Key Word - David Harvey

Harvey suggests that space has a much deeper meaning and importance than just absolute, he states from his prior writings that “it was crucial to reflect on the nature of space if we were to understand urban processes under capitalism”. He then puts forward a theory that space could be categorized as absolute, relative, relational or any combination of these depending on the circumstances. This approach to space is important because there are amounted urban experiences and memories that can only be analyzed inside the dialectical tension of these titles.

However he then explains how this method alone is not capable of articulating the complexity of human subjectivity “the point about grappling with space as a keyword is therefore to identify how this concept might be better integrated into existing social, literary and cultural metatheories and with what effects”. In order to help clarify this he refers to how other philosophers have referred to space as a experience, Cassier distinguishing between organic, perceptual and symbolic space and Lefebvre with experienced, conceptualized and lived space. to explore the complexity that these categories add to the understanding of space he stacks Lefebvre’s definitions up against his original three in a matrix as seen below:

Although the matrix has its limits is obvious to see the true complexity that space imposes and also how it is impossible to understand it without accepting that time is of equal significance to it. Also seen from the matrix is how space and time have relational qualities.

Harvey then expresses how capitalism does not engage relational feelings or subjective views, in fact the function is to stand away from relational space for its own privatization and reproduction. The nature of capitalism means there must indeed at some point in space and time meet its demise, whether the recent credit crisis will be its the start of its last reproductive cycle remains to be seen.

Harvey then turns to Marxian philosophy in saying that it is a political genre that does embrace relational thinking “Yet Marx himself is a relational thinker”. To help exemplify this Harvey put the Marxian theory through the same spatial matrix as seen below:

Only by engaging with relational feelings can one start to understand marxian political economy. With the marxian theory put into the matrix it can be seen that capitalist wage labour is incapable of fitting into all the categories of space at once. buy giving labour a value it creates social hierarchies and creates alienation. Marxism on the other hand works relationally and is capable of fitting in dialectical tension over the entire matrix, the third point of marxism is when the people seize control of the government on a international scale and abolish privatization and value. If this were to happen space could be realized and explored outside of capitalism on absolute, relative and relational levels.

“Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s need, but not every man’s greed”

(Mahatma Gandhi)

Images and quotes taken from Space as a key word