The Enigma of Capital by Harvey David

Author:Harvey, David [Harvey, David]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Published: 2010-09-09T05:00:00+00:00

In what space does the co-evolutionary process outlined earlier occur? Consider, first, a typical US suburb in a major metropolitan area such as Washington DC in the year 2005, before the financial crisis broke. The population is relatively homogeneous (mainly white but with a scattering of educated African Americans and equally educated recent immigrants from countries as diverse as India, Taiwan, South Korea and Russia) and reasonably affluent. The suburban tract housing is laid neatly out and the schools, supermarkets and shopping malls (incorporating entertainment functions), medical facilities and financial institutions, gas stations and auto showrooms, sports facilities and open spaces are all within easy driving distance. Local employment is heavily involved in services (particularly finance, insurance and real estate, software production and medical research) and whatever production there is, is either oriented to supporting a middle-class suburban lifestyle (car repair, garden centres, ceramics, carpentry, medical equipment) or involved in the reproduction or further production of the built environment (all facets of the construction industry and its suppliers such as plumbers, roofers and road menders). The tax base is stable and adequate and the local administration, apart from engaging in the usual suburban practices of cosying up to construction interests and developers, is reasonably efficient. Commuting times are longish but bearable, particularly with the help of all that electronic equipment that turns the interior of a car into an entertainment centre. Daily life is reasonably well ordered, apart from a few scandalous family break-ups or egregious crimes; social relations are individualistic but loosely integrated through social forms, particularly those associated with the churches, schools and local golf clubs. Home ownership (mortgage induced and tax subsidised) is widespread, which guarantees that the defence of individual housing value is a collective norm, upheld by homeownership associations, even in the midst of plenty of isolated individualism. The houses are all laden with different kinds of electronics and of course everyone has iPods and cell phones which are in perpetual use.

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