How the West imposed its idea of time onto the world

What is time? Time is both a blessing and a curse. Time is inexplainable and yet makes perfect sense. Time is both the creator and thief of joy. We are simultaneously the architects and the slaves of time. Despite being utterly consumed by every single millisecond every single day, trying to define and understand time is, I feel, almost impossible. How can you explain something that feels completely constructed whilst also being so real? We see our parents become old, multiple pets leave our lives, and our childhood friends have children. Yet, time still feels fleeting and ambiguous.
Could it be that the idea of time that dominates our society might not be the correct version? Is there a correct version of time? Should we listen to nature rather than the capitalistic, Western idea of time?

The History of Time

Despite being intrinsically a part of everyday life, time, as we know it today, wasn’t always like this. It is almost impossible to pinpoint where the idea of time came from (it remains a popular topic of debate in both scientific and philosophical terms). One thing is for sure, it plays a fundamental part in the fabric of our existence.
For example, the world’s oldest calendar is believed to have been from the year 8,000 BC — believed to have been created to track a menstrual cycle. Other variations of time come from farming, for example.
The Western idea, in particular, runs by the theory that time is linear. We view time as a continuous flow, never-ending. We have an, arguably problematic, emphasis on precise units of time, leading to a lot of organising, planning, and productivity. The Western idea of time falls into capitalism’s arms extremely nicely.
Other cultures did not adhere to the same framework of time as the West. Indigenous people, for example, would often choose to adopt a more cyclical idea of time. However, colonisers would force indigenous people to learn their versions of time. The settlers were, essentially, forcing those who they colonised to cling to their rigid ideas of productivity, work discipline, and capitalist efficiency.
While we like to ignore the basic fact that other cultures not only had different calendars and an overall different idea of time but also different priorities that strayed away from the capitalistic priorities dominating the West.
During the industrialisation of England, clocks began to be used as a form of discipline and control. A physical metaphor for the idea of ownership and authority — especially for the working classes.
In Bombay in 1898, the destruction of a British clock is seen as a significant moment, signifying the rejection of the Western idea of authoritative time from the colonies. Unfortunately, as a result of colonisation (especially British authority and capitalism), the Western idea of time still prevails — even when it might be much more illogical upon deeper introspection.

The Colonisation of Time

The fact of the matter is, our (meaning the Western idea) time is against nature’s time. Not just in a literal sense, but also in how we spend our time. For example, our tendency to over-consume works completely against nature — crops are no longer able to adhere to their natural cycles. Our excess of eating meat and using energy is driving climate change, putting our planet in a scary amount of danger. When Jay Grithiffs said: “Days of equal width, hours of equal length, of watched time, replaced the stretchy hours of sun-time and the seasonal days gone by” he was referring to how the authoritarian idea of Western time has replaced nature’s natural time cycle.
Our framework of time doesn’t allow us to stop for one second and listen to nature’s time. It’s a form of ecological domination. The sad truth is, the way the colonised idea of time prioritises production and consumption means we will never be able to prioritise nature and healing.
The West’s domination of the right idea of time also leads to unfair stereotypes. As our capitalistic idea of time was forced upon other cultures, European settlers saw those from other cultures and countries as less progressed, lazy, and uncivilised. Mike Donaldson said: “They did not believe in meaningless toil and obedience to the clock. To them, time was not a tyrant.”
Importantly, other cultures also saw (and still see) those from the West as uncivilised. Often we are viewed as people who cannot control their impulses, who are controlled by mythical social constructs such as time and money.
Giodano Nanni stated in ‘The Colonisation of Time’ that: “The project to incorporate the globe within a matrix of hours, minutes, and seconds demands recognition as one of the most significant manifestations of Europe’s universalising will.” The way Europe imposed its rigid idea of time onto the rest of the world is, arguably, one of the biggest examples of cultural imperialism.

Time is a Political Weapon

As I studied time and moreso the colonisation of it, I have come to realise that time is just a political weapon. How we have come to be slaves of time is only beneficial for the rich and powerful, who use it to manipulate and control the masses.
Take Jeff Bezos and his army of workers who are underpaid, overworked, and underappreciated — they are also set to work a certain amount of hours, start and finish at set times, and only take breaks at specified times. Realistically, this is unnecessary — it’s a form of control to ensure people are working when and how the elite want them to. Lack of freedom, after all, keeps the proletariat in check.

Linear time is inherently death bound, which keeps people chained to a certain level of pressure and fear. The fear of immortality and running out of time keeps people chained to a capitalistic rate race — trying to achieve as much as possible in the shortest amount of time. Take the Forbes 30 under 30 as a prime example of this. The world has an unjustified obsession with age and success — we must be successful before certain notional concepts, otherwise, we are failures. This leads to the most privileged of people justifying exploiting and mistreating others for their materialistic success. This capitalistic framework of time makes us focus more on getting as much money and material possessions before a certain age or milestone than actually just creating a community that uplifts and helps other people.
We ignore that we have a responsibility for our future generations, that spans way more than making money and leaving them possessions. The way we view time is highly political, and the view that dominates at the moment is incredibly problematic.

Time is a Social Construct

The bottom line is, time is a social construct, and chaining ourselves to it only benefits the capitalist establishment at the expense of our happiness, health, and the planet. Linear clock time, in particular, is a social construct with profound consequences for the world.
There is a hope that we can bring together a new radical vision of time — one that puts nature and humanity at the forefront. We should be coordinating time with the rhythms of nature rather than to the beat of the capitalistic drum.
We can reclaim our time, freeing ourselves from this enclosed torture of schedules and limits.

As Michelle Bastian said: “My clock tells me nothing about what’s happening on the Antarctic ice shelves.”

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