Motion and Vulnerability in Contemporary Capitalism: The Shift to Turnover Time

Abstract

In Marx’s analysis of capitalism, time and motion are central to the dynamics of the system. In the twenty-first century, capital deployed new forms of technology and logistical planning to increase profits and reduce the circulation phase of the turnover time of capital. The introduction of fibre optic cable, data centres, the transformation of the warehouse into a site of movement, the rise of third-party logistics (3PL) firms, and improvements in infrastructure all promoted ‘the annihilation of space by time’ in the effort to increase profitability. As increased velocity of value became central to capital, the system in turn became more vulnerable to disruption by labour.