Metropolitan complexity forces exact punctuality to prevent social collapse

Evidence

Because of the character of calculability which money has there has come into the relationships of the elements of life a precision and a degree of certainty in the definition of the equalities and inequalities and an unambiguousness in agreements and arrangements, just as externally this precision has been brought about through the general diffusion of pocket watches. It is, however, the conditions of the metropolis which are cause as well as effect for this essential characteristic. The relationships and concerns of the typical metropolitan resident are so manifold and complex that, especially as a result of the agglomeration of so many persons with such differentiated interests, their relationships and activities intertwine with one another into a many-membered organism. In view of this fact, the lack of the most exact punctuality in promises and performances would cause the whole to break down into an inextricable chaos. If all the watches in Berlin suddenly went wrong in different ways even only as much as an hour, its entire economic and commercial life would be derailed for some time. — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 751

Categorization

• XREF: The ‘if all the watches in Berlin went wrong’ thought experiment is vivid evidence for how punctuality is infrastructural—relates to the essay’s framework of civil inattention as navigational tech. — connects to: Urban order arising from any source makes social life predictable and bearable — Lyn H. Lofland, World of Strangers_ Order and Action in…, 260; Control of time enables coordination of activity and social control — James W. Carey, Communication as Culture- Essays on…, 848; Urban exactitude suppresses irrational, instinctive, sovereign impulses — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 751 (+7 more)
• SEED: Excellent concrete anchor for an essay paragraph on how urban coordination imposes temporal discipline that suppresses spontaneous expression.

Related

• Urban exactitude suppresses irrational, instinctive, sovereign impulses (similarity 0.85)
• Social synchronization needs generate waiting times and time pressure in differentiated societies (similarity 0.78)

Broader Connections

• Growing social complexity increases the need for trust in the present #expands (0.85)
• Metropolitan life forces a rational over emotional response to protect the psyche #expands (0.75) — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 749
• Modernity’s globalising tendencies connect individuals to large-scale systems #corroborates (0.75) — Anthony Giddens, The Consequences of Modernity, 409
• Urban exactitude suppresses irrational, instinctive, sovereign impulses #expands (0.70) — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 751
• Urban order arising from any source makes social life predictable and bearable #expands (0.60) — Lyn H. Lofland, World of Strangers_ Order and Action in…, 260
• Control of time enables coordination of activity and social control #expands (0.55) — James W. Carey, Communication as Culture- Essays on…, 848
• The time-zone grid ignores geography and embodies imperial control #exemplifies (0.50) — James W. Carey, Communication as Culture- Essays on…, 850