A Warm Up

What follows is a summary of the rise of the middle class in Sweden; the authors are mentioned below. "What does Sweden have to do with me?" you may ask. Our societies are quite similar. Read this, and it could be as if you were looking into your_own_reflection:

The Time Keepers

Frykman and Lofgren begin this section stating that time plays an important role in all cultures:
- Marks phases and rhythms of individuals and the collective.

- Creates stability.
- A society’s understanding of time reveals its cultural foundation.
- Alterations w/in this concept can signify changes w/in society.

In the 18th and 19th centuries:

As Swedish society began the transformation to an industrial economy, rifts developed due to differing concepts of time between the upper class and the peasants.
- Elites found the peasants to be lazy and irresponsible, not grasping time’s significance.
- Their more standardized concepts confronted the perceptions of the peasants.

How did the lower classes view time?

For them, time was cyclic. Their levels of production and work were inseparable from the conditions of nature.
- Sow oats when the beech leaves begin to sprout
- Mow hay when the arnica is in bloom.

The working year also received its structure from periods of rest and annual festivals, which were landmarks in the annual rhythm.

Upper classes:

Time was linear and could be broken down into components. (seconds, minutes, etc.)
They valued punctuality and efficient organization of time.

Time Becomes Money:

Time became a market commodity. New ideas of rational economic production and profitability led to splits among the peasant class.
- Development of industrial production during the 18th and 19th centuries put greater demands on workers and their organization.
- Working life became organized by the principle that a worker sells his labor (time), to the employer, who buys it.
- Success depends on the efficient use of the workers’ time.
- Increased production demands led farmers to view labor as a resource demanding management.
- Industrial capitalism transformed some peasants into small businessmen, negotiating exchange between farmers and consumers.

Disciplining Time:

During this transition, factory administrators and farm owners remained dissatisfied with the peasant’s concept of time. The lower classes were reluctant to adjust to linear perceptions. A few solutions were developed:
- The gruel bell efficiently marked times of work and leisure on the farms, increasing production, efficiency, and profitability
- In the factories, the whistle performed a similar, but more specialized purpose.
- Regulations were developed to organize factory life into a precise schedule.
- Violations resulted in fines.

These trends further distinguished the boundaries between work and leisure, and the control of time became a symbol of power in the workplace.

Bourgeoisie View:

Virtues of punctuality and efficiency were highly regarded as evidence of one’s worth. This view was employed by the middle class to justify their perceived entitlement to lead the old nobility and the mass of peasants.

Time becomes geared toward the future:

- In education, “evolutive” time developed. Foucault describes this as the chronological linking of educational elements in direction of a fixed goal, the career.
- Mentalities of upward mobility and accumulation were all geared toward future expansion.

- Life was a career ladder to be climbed.

- Working classes were not expected to be career minded. There was no upward mobility. Their lives progressed in predictable steps.

Built-in-clocks:

Times was to become clear and visible.
- Clocks were found in public places as well as all areas of the bourgeois home.There was constant awareness of time’s passage

The Tyranny of Time:

In modern settings, time can be seen as an object with life of its own. It prevents a person from doing the things they want to do. Work and leisure are defined by the concept of time.
- Blue-collar workers felt controlled by time as it defined so many aspects of their lives.
- White-collar workers felt they had time under control because of their efficient means of time management. (planning calendars)
- This perception was merely symbolic. As the white-collar worker utilizes the calendar to organize time, the person does not notice the way their lives become shaped by the calendar, actually limiting their future activities.

Interest to me:

Foucault’s concept of “gaze”. In the Swedish system, it is the lower class under scrutiny, and they are the ones subject to the power structure maintained by the middle class, their bosses. In this system, I believe the clock represents a structure of power similar to the “panopticon”.