Alienation and Acceleration: Towards a Critical Theory of Late-Modern Temporality

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Hartmut Rosa (Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Germany; Max Weber Center for Advanced Cultural and Social Studies, Erfurt, Germany)

Alienation and Acceleration

Name: Alienation and Acceleration
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ISBN: 9781509572069

Towards a Critical Theory of Late-Modern Temporality

Hartmut Rosa (Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Germany; Max Weber Center for Advanced Cultural and Social Studies, Erfurt, Germany)

$93.95

Hardback

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English

Polity Press
12 March 2026

Social theory

Modern life is speeding up, constantly. While the art of saving time reaches unprecedented heights through the introduction of ever-new technologies of communication and production, it nevertheless feels as though we are running out of time. In all Western societies, time scarcity is increasing and individuals report the impression of having to run faster and faster every year – not in order to get somewhere, but just to stay where they are.

In this short book Hartmut Rosa outlines his theory of social acceleration and uses it to analyze the causes and consequences of the temporal processes that characterize modern societies. He shows that modern temporal structures are governed by the logic of an acceleration process that defines the essence of modernity. He also develops a critical theory of social acceleration, arguing that acceleration leads to severe forms of alienation from time and space, from things and actions and from self and others, thus constituting a key obstacle to the realization of a 'good life' in late-modern society.

By: Hartmut Rosa (Friedrich Schiller University Jena Germany; Max Weber Center for Advanced Cultural and Social Studies Erfurt Germany)
Imprint: Polity Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
ISBN: 9781509572069
ISBN 10: 1509572066
Pages: 144
Publication Date: 12 March 2026
Audience: Professional and scholarly , College/higher education , Undergraduate , Further / Higher Education
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Introduction PART ONE A Theory of Social Acceleration PART TWO Social Acceleration and the Contemporary Versions of Critical Theory PART THREE Outlines of a Critical Theory of Social Acceleration Conclusion Endnotes Literature

Hartmut Rosa is Professor of Sociology in the Institute of Sociology at the Friedrich Schiller University of Jena, and Director of the Max Weber Center for Advanced Cultural and Social Studies at the University of Erfurt, Germany.

Reviews for Alienation and Acceleration: Towards a Critical Theory of Late-Modern Temporality

""The urge to 'move fast and break things' has defined an enthusiasm for innovation as permanent acceleration in Silicon Valley and beyond. It has often been a human disaster and, even when not, a distraction from asking what makes for good human lives. In Alienation and Acceleration, Hartmut Rosa provides a much-needed account of what is going on, why, and what we can do to regain a sense of purpose in personal and social life."" Craig Calhoun, Arizona State University and Princeton University