I have been thinking a lot about punctuality and public decency for some time. We have internalised ideas about time, public norms , punctuality, efficiency as if they are Western cultural values and somehow we have to learn them. But after giving it a lot of thought, I realised these are not cultural values but modern capitalist values. A well oiled capitalist machine cannot function without it. Punctuality is capitalist value because time is literally money. Time is a value , a capitalist value violently imposed on working class folks to ensure production and profits. It is enforced on middle class management too. Efficiency and punctuality are necessary, critical for a well oiled capitalist machine. Politeness in the public space , understood public norms and public decency, too, ensure more stability and order. Europeans and Westerners project these as national cultural values but this is highly misleading. A good capitalist society values time, efficiency and public order. There is nothing cultural about being anal about time. Next time a European patronises you about time, I have been patronised far too many times to count as if I were some savage in my professional career, remember it is a capitalist value. Of course, we in Pakistan could do better time management, have better public order, be better at public decency but not because it is a culture but only to run things better.
Monday, 24 November 2025
Punctuality and efficiency are not cultural values but capitalist values
I have been thinking a lot about punctuality and public decency for some time. We have internalised ideas about time, public norms , punctuality, efficiency as if they are Western cultural values and somehow we have to learn them. But after giving it a lot of thought, I realised these are not cultural values but modern capitalist values. A well oiled capitalist machine cannot function without it. Punctuality is capitalist value because time is literally money. Time is a value , a capitalist value violently imposed on working class folks to ensure production and profits. It is enforced on middle class management too. Efficiency and punctuality are necessary, critical for a well oiled capitalist machine. Politeness in the public space , understood public norms and public decency, too, ensure more stability and order. Europeans and Westerners project these as national cultural values but this is highly misleading. A good capitalist society values time, efficiency and public order. There is nothing cultural about being anal about time. Next time a European patronises you about time, I have been patronised far too many times to count as if I were some savage in my professional career, remember it is a capitalist value. Of course, we in Pakistan could do better time management, have better public order, be better at public decency but not because it is a culture but only to run things better.
Dharmendra has passed.
Dharmendra has passed. End of an era. The passing of actors whose careers have spanned that long , were born in the 30s and were part of so many iconic films and music hints at our own mortality too. We have marked our lives with certain cultural eras. Dharmendra was stunning and his black and white films were especially amazing. And, his manner of talking was very gracious. Look up his videos, interviews.
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