From: GERALD LEVY (gerald_a_levy@MSN.COM)
Date: Wed Dec 19 2007 - 11:18:35 EST
> Wow!! I finally understand what this temporalism stuff is all about!> :-) Hi David L: Yes, indeed. Computers can experience "down time" (i.e. malfunction, be off-line, and require repair) and this down time if put in the context of capitalist enterprises can impact the firm's rate of profit. Firms (and workers) clearly know that there is not simultaneous determination in practice! In addition to constant fixed capital being "down" within a "period of production" , there is also the possibility of a temporal lag in production occasioned by workers' collective action (a strike, a slow-down, etc.). Because workers know that firms understand that "time is money" they grasp how their self-activity can shape firm profitability (this was one of the motivations of the trend in the auto industry towards the "world car" beginning in the 1980's: indeed, it could be seen as one of the benefits of globalized production for capital). Moreover, "down time" can be be due to the difficulty of obtaining constant circulating capital in a "timely way" (i.e. as needed from the standpoint of production): this was one of the motivating forces for the transition to flexible (just-in-time) production systems in manufacturing. This "temporalism stuff" could also be seen as a motivation for many of the transformations in transportation and communications systems which have been developed over the course of the last few decades. As one moves away from "high theory" to a consideration of more concrete questions, then the temporal (and spatial) stuff becomes more and more significant. I hope you don't mind my taking your Laibmanian humorous comment and turning it into a possible topic of discussion. In solidarity, Jerry
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