Quotidian

I have been thinking of our mundane behaviour in this modern world. Modernisation indeed has mould our way of life. Efficiency and effectiveness are becoming the daily philosophy as it is seen in how people rationalise and bureaucratise their life. Time management is then essential to make things easier.

Interestingly some will find their mundane activities are uninspiring, banal, and unextraordinary even though they are doing it for twenty four-seven. We got up in the morning having a bowl of muesli and a glass of juice then off to work. On our way to workplace, we pick up newspaper and read them on the train station or shelter bus.

Quotidian life is the most tangible manifestation of capitalism. Routinisation of life goes on following the logic of capitalism. Marx warned us about the alienation from which capitalism will produce. As the system is growing stronger and solid, some fear of being alienated. Once alienation happens, it gives a signal to us about the demise of our natural ability as a creative human being. However it may seem stronger, the system itself is not self-sustained.

Resistance, if they might like to call it that way, could occur in a very surprising way. Michel De Certeau in his book The Practice of Everyday Life said, "ordinary people can undermine centralized power systems with a form of consumption characterized by its poaching, its clandestine nature, its tireless but quite activity, in short by its quasi-invisibility”. Reading newspaper in the train is often underappreciated as a form of resistance. Likewise, arriving at work after 9.00 am could have a different meaning than merely a sign of being slack. But these are short of forms of escaping from our routine. Reading or even sleeping on the train mean that people can invade a public space with their routine which is usually done at home.

You might like to have what-the-fuck look when you are telling your friends about this. Given that any meanings attached to social and cultural activities is not natural, we should be humble enough to try to understand how meanings are constructed. If two people are walking in two opposites direction in the shopping strip then they stop to have a chat, they will move away from the footpath and claiming the space for themselves. This kind of knowledge is learnt not from a revelation.