Introduction
Tools for Time
Time, it seems, is at a premium. There is a widespread perception that life these days is faster than it used to be. We hear constant laments that we live too fast, that time is scarce, that the pace of life is spiraling out of our control. Phrases such as “high-speed society,” “acceleration society,” “time famine,” and “runaway world” portray more and more aspects of our lives as speeding up.
These concerns are reflected in debates about work-life balance as people try to cope with the pressures of contemporary society, finding enough time for work, time for families, and time for leisure—even time for sleep. Indeed, the desire to slow down the pace of life increasingly features in studies of happiness and well-being. A lack of control over one’s time and unequal access to leisure are being identified as important dimensions of social justice. As leading European social scientist Helga Nowotny summed it up in her classic book Time, the challenge for modern citizens, who are liable to feel increasingly harried, is to “find time for themselves.”1
But hang on a moment. Weren’t modern machines supposed to save, and thereby free up, more time? Not so long ago, commentaries about postindustrial society predicted a “leisure revolution” driven by automation in industry and the home. Economic progress and increased prosperity would free people from having to focus on providing for subsistence needs, delivering more leisure time. Sociologists talked of the “end of work” and wondered with some apprehension how the vacant hours would be occupied.
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