THE DERIVATIVE CONDITION

118 THE DERIVATIVE CONDITION Dus in B ei ling The de i a i e condi ion explo es he na u e o he Con empo a y unde s ood h ough i s espec i e ela ionship wi h Mode n and Pos -Mode n A o g asp how he dis inguishing ea u e o ou e a becomes cha ac e ized as an in ini e ep oduc ion o con ingency and isk ha in ima ely mi o s he logic o inancial capi alism. Unde aking a su ey in o he inancial ins umen s o de i a i es as ehicles o empo ally mining he u u e and o malizing a globalized isk-economy, subjec i i y also becomes ano he si e ans o med h ough hei in e pene a ion in o e e yday li e. Ye , h ough he eme gence o blockchain echnologies, i is e alua ed he e how hei employmen becomes a possible an ido e o coun e he co osi e e ec s o inance and o possibly seed al e na i e social-binding o ganiza ions and empo ali ies. A and i s connec ion o empo ali y has bo ne an inex icable, ye uneasy ela ion conce ning wha i s ole and ope a ionaliza ion means in he possibili y o nega ing o being a com ade o ime. I de ises and deploys i s ch onocidal uses, i s a emp ed execu ions o up u e om adi ion ha mani es i s conju ing powe s, a one end o e ase he pas , and he o he o disco e he h eads ha wea e he lineamen s o a u u e o come. Ye , wha conce ns us he e becomes how empo ali y in ela ion o he de e mina ions ha a e cons i u i e o a and i s p oduc ion gene a e he e y possibili y o e lec upon he p esen a ional quali ies o a ime o be iden i ied and ec ea ed. I is p ecisely his conce n o p esen a ion ha mi o s a shi , in ela ion o wha is conside ed he dis inc i e ea u es and imescapes, ha he espec i e modali ies o Mode n, Pos -Mode n, and inally Con empo a y A p oduce. Mode n A became e lec i e o an alchemical labo a o y, enginee ing u u es o come o mo e poignan ly “in which he ini eness o he p esen was seen as being po en ially compensa ed o by he in ini e ime o he ealized p ojec : ha The De i a i e Condi ion 119 o an a wo k, o a poli ical u opia.” 1 Pos -Mode nism became a c i ical e lec ion o suspension o belie owa ds he p omises p omulga ed by he g and na a i es o he Mode n p ojec i sel . Now, we ind ou sel es e e mo e pe i ied in o an in e minable p esen ness o nowness ha is ep esen a i e o he con empo a y e a. I is an e a cha ac e ized by an in ini e loop o epe i ion, suspension, pos ponemen , and inde ini eness ha a once bleeds in o a u u e, ye a u u e yoked o a p oduc ion o epe i ion o a p esen . He e, as Bo is G oys iden i ies h ough Gilles Deleuze’s concep ion o “li e al epe i ion,” he con empo a y in oduces and opens a adical shi in wha is ega ded as na u al, changing, and de eloping, including na u al law and mo al law. “The e o e, i is p ac icing li e al epe i ion ha can be seen as ini ia ing a up u e in he con inui y o li e by c ea ing a non-his o ical excess o ime h ough a . And his is he poin a which a can indeed become uly con empo a y.” 2 I is he e ha we can con on wha is cha ac e ized as he Con empo a y, i s impasse quali ies ha e ace dis inc ime ma ke s ha di ide and de ine pas , p esen , and u u e o mo e p ecisely elimina ing a pa icula empo ali y – a pa icula u u i y – by a pa icula spa iali y. 3 Respec i ely, con empo anei y and o ou pu poses Con empo a y A ope a es acco ding o wha Pe e Osbo ne posi s as a “disjunc i e uni y” 4 o space ime, encompassing a his o ical p ocess ha acco ding o Osbo ne en ails a p ojec ion o uni y o he inc easing uni o miza ion o li es. They a e in p inciple di e en bu equally p esen o each o he in some way, a some pa icula ime. None heless, hey a e dis inc i ely caugh up in a nexus o unique spa ial, geopoli ical, and social de e mine s ha unde line i s quali a i ely “disjunc i e” cha ac e . Suhail Malik, a ellow co e ie and c i ic o con empo a y a simila ly diagnoses he cul-de-sac o con empo anei y bound up wi h a logic o inde e minacy. 5 Inde e minacy becomes encapsula ed by he laissez- ai e maxim ha ‘any hing can be a .’ Eschewing any bounda ies o a s’ mode o p esen a ion, con en o medium o exp ession, o exhibi ion o ma unde lies 1 Bo is G oys, “Com ades o Time,” e- lux jou nal, 11 (Decembe 2009): 04/11. 2 G oys 06/11. 3 Pe e Osbo ne, “Tempo aliza ion as T anscenden al Aes he ics: A an -Ga de, Mode n, Con empo a y,” The No dic Jou nal o Aes he ics, 23.44-45 (2012-2013): 28-45. 4 Osbo ne 44. 5 Suhail Malik, On he Necessi y o A ’s Exi om he Con empo a y A (Falmou h: U banomics, 2018). Dus in B ei ling 120 he ‘ubiqui y’ o he con empo a y, one consonan wi h globalized capi alism gi dling he globe o be ‘anywhe e, any ime.’ An ‘anywhe e a any ime’ e hos ha is symp oma ic o a new cul u al opology o spaces, loops, ela ions, and in e s ices ha un old h ough he c umpled space- ime laye s o a ne wo k socie y. Mo eo e , i was h ough he ise o a neolibe al spa ial g amma , which swallowed up non-places, de elic si es, non-a loca ions ha a decoupling om he con ines o ins i u ional galle ies owa ds an ‘expanded si ua edness’ was also u he solidi ied. I is an expanded si ua edness ha was ega ded as democ a izing he p oduc ion, pe o mance, non-speci ici y o si e owa ds a and i s ecep ion ha is ep esen a i e o his shi owa ds he Con empo a y. He e, i is his spa ial g amma , concomi an wi h a ’s “concep ual u n” unde gone in he 1960’s, ha has also become a majo plank o Con empo a y A ’s synonymous ela ion wi h he logic o la e inancial capi al. I is a logic embedded in he p ocess o abs ac ion ini ia ed by concep ual a , unde lined by Con empo a y A ’s u he de achmen om in as uc u al and economic eali ies and disman ling o medium speci ici y. I becomes especially emphasized h ough he dissolu ion o an a ay o o mal, ma e ial, o p oduc ion-based c i e ia o a . Vic o ia I ano a posi s ha wha makes some hing conside ed an a wo k in Con empo a y A hinges upon he in o ma ional aming and encoding o ha en i y. I ano a a i ms: “Gi en ha aming is cons i u ed and insc ibed in o he socio-ins i u ional domain h ough in o ma ion and i s ci cula ion, con empo a y a is i s and o emos a pa icula kind o in o ma ional landscape,” 6 subsuming i com o ably wi hin he logic o he ma ke . Re u ning o Con empo a y A ’s logic o gene ic any hingness is-à- is a and i s commensu a e logic o inde e minacy; we can ind how con empo a y a aligns squa ely wi h inancial capi alism. Financial capi alism, an au onomiza ion o ma ke s om social o ma ion, becomes a me as asizing o ce, inc easing he eo ganiza ion o e e yday li e along he lines o inancial ma ke s, inancial mo i es, inancial ins i u ions, and inancial eli es. This is b ough o elie h ough de i a i es and mu an o ms o c edi ha ha e p oli e a ed, u he engende ing a ime- i . Fundamen ally, a i be ween he locus o ac o y p oduc ion, as a gene a o o alue and he eme gence o inancial ins umen s ha by hemsel es a e delocalized and inc easingly independen om he conc e e si e o he labou p ocess. 6 Vic o ia I ano a, “Con empo a y A and Financializa ion: Two App oaches,” Finance and Socie y, 2.2 (2016): 132. The De i a i e Condi ion 121 De i a i es a e simply de ined as con ac s ha a e designed by wo pa ies, whose alue is p edica ed on an ag eed “unde lying” which can consis o an en i y, a commodi y, o a inancial index. Impo an ly, de i a i es de i e hei p ice om luc ua ions in he unde lying asse , hus subjec o ma ke luc ua ions and such po en ially exogenous ac o s as wea he , na u al disas e s and geopoli ical u moil whe e “[ ]ime coun s because he wage is on wha he alues o he unde lie s will be some ime in he u u e. Obse e ha he wage is on wha happens o he ela ionship be ween he unde lie s – i s ela i e a iance o ola ili y – a he han wha happens o he unde lying asse s hemsel es.” 7 Fo ou concep ual pu poses, we can encapsula e he signi icance o de i a i es as complex ime-binding ools, on a con inuum wi h mode ni y’s dis inc i e and gene alized condi ion ha subjec s he social-o de o uncon olled exposu e o u u e con ingency. Mo eo e , he de i a i e is u he ep esen a i e o he a ionali y o isk ha bege s a “ ecu si e, ci cula and e isable” quasi-o de o binding unce ain ies. O e all, de i a i es a e a u he ad ancemen in econs i u ing ou socio empo al binding ha ashions ou p esen s a e o he wo ld as e isable o plas ic. The e o e, he u u e is o ganized along he axis ha ende s i s unknowabili y and inac uali y as subjec o being con inually de e mined and made anew. 8 We can ex end in o wha Johna han Belle has e med he “de i a i e condi ion,” 9 whe e he in e pene a ion o inancializa ion in o he e e yday becomes caugh up and p og ammed acco ding o an ex ac i e logic o inde e minacy ia he de i a i e. Thus, i he Con empo a y is a condi ion o ongoing nego ia ion o ou p esen con igu a ion, i also deploys he means o assail he si e o subjec i i y. Subjec i i y becomes ans o med acco ding o he logic o he de i a i e, o ganized a ound wage ing and hedging on a pa icula semio ic s uc u e o a wo ld. He e, in addi ion o he ma ix o au oma ed, compu a ional, and da a- mining p ocesses ha con inually ans o m subjec s o be pe pe ually lexible and cogni i e a ailable o acc ue social capi al, we wi ness a social- echnosphe e su used by “ he cu encies o ‘likes’ and he like” ha “a e one o he salien 7 Edwa d LiPuma, The Social Li e o Financial De i a i es: Ma ke s, Risk, and Time (Du ham, NC: Duke Uni e si y P ess, 2017) 39. 8 Suhail Malik, “The On ology o Finance: P ice, Powe , and he A khéde i a i e,” Collapse Vol. VIII: Casino Real, ed. Robin Mackay (Falmou h: U banomic, 2014) 629-811. 9 Johna han Belle , “The De i a i e Machine,” La Fu ia Umana, 37 (2018), h p:// www.la u iaumana.i /index.php/70-l u-37/899-jona han-belle - he-de i a i e-machine, accessed 19 Decembe 2019. Dus in B ei ling 122 ea u es o he ways in which we (as indi iduals, di iduals, cellula ized in ensi ies, wha e e ) a e enjoined o wage in he p og ammable image o ge ahead in he ho oughly inancialized ma ke o daily li e ha has become insepa able om sociali y i sel .” 10 Ye , capi alism’s o acious appe i e o b eed wha has been e med “no el y niches” o he capaci y o seed no el beha iou s, ma ke s, cu encies, echnologies and ins i u ional p o ocols po en ia es localiza ions and si es o esis ances. I is hese localiza ions ha capi alize on he con adic ions p oduced by capi alism o comba agains a uni e saliza ion o ma ke exchange. I also u he lends g ound o poin o capi alism’s inhe en de e i o ializing endency o simul aneously des oy and ec ea e axioms ha a e ca ied ou by echnologies imbued wi h he possibili y o econs i u ing ou social ime- binding. This e y econs i u ion plays ou h ough he immanen possibili y o echnologies, pa icula ly ou ocus on c yp ocu encies and hei p og amma ic ope a ions ha ollow he logic o de i a i es, by making a claim o e wo lds ha ha e ye o ac ualize in space and ime. Respec i ely, i is wi hin c yp ocu encies and pa icula ly o ou sake blockchain ha inhe es he possibili y o he looping and eci cui ing o empo al dynamics. This becomes ca ied ou by an ensemble o p o ocols, so wa es and sc ip ing in e aces ha s ip away and po en ially obsolesce he dominan mode o gene a ing alue in ela ion o ime i sel . The possibili ies o hollowing ou he subsump ion o he a - o m o commodi ica ion, whe e con en ionally unde s ood, he commodi y ope a es as an index o ime ans o med in o money. Fu he mo e, he de e mina ion o ‘ alue’ i sel is gene a ed and measu ed by ime uni s such as hou s o days ha os ensibly e lec he labo p oduc ion p ocess. Ye , h ough he mo phing landscape o inancial capi al, his o hodox concep ion o he law o alue o he alua ion o labou becomes ounced by a need o coun e mo e sophis ica ed ins umen s o abs ac ion and ex ac ion. He e, blockchain bea s me i in e ec ua ing a mo e owa ds a decoloniza ion om he ex ac i ism o inancial hegemony, epi omized by he likes o Robin Hood Co-op and i s subsequen inca na ion Economic Space Agency. We can b ie ly ou line he con ou s o an e ol ing echonomic imescape ha weighs he conside a ion o whe he blockchain con ains he seeds o be an al e na i e p o ocol o he ex an hie a chy o ‘ alue.’ A guably, we can see blockchain as a sp ingboa d ha a emp s o p y open he possibili y o 10 Johna han Belle , “In o ma ic Labo in he Age o Compu a ional Capi al,” La e al, 5.1 (Sp ing 2016), h ps://csala e al.o g/issue/5-1/in o ma ic-labo -compu a ional-capi al- belle /, accessed 19 Decembe 2019. The De i a i e Condi ion 123 enginee ing ou comes, u u es, and alue egimes ha a e shaped acco ding o p o ocol and collec i e so wa e consensus-based decision-making. Rega ding he na u e o blockchain and okens, i is hei u iliza ion and unc ion ha echoes he e y logic and p ope y o he “de i a i e,” a logic ied up in i s capabili y o again make a claim o e e en wo lds ha ha e ye o ac ualize in space and ime. To unpack he signi icance o okens, we can unde s and hei ole as pee - o-pee coded uni s o alue ha can no only ep esen c yp ocu ency, ye also ex end o any o he kind o digi al asse s, which can comp ise any digi al ep esen a ion o adable commodi ies ha ange om physical objec s such as gold, o compu ing powe and cloud s o age. Mo eo e , okens ha bou he possibili ies o use s and p og amme s o p og am he ypes o social and economic ela ions ha in o m he eme gence o hei ecosys em ha in u n becomes a subs a e o c yp ocu encies o build in as uc u al dynamics. The u he possibili y o democ a izing inancial ools and a commi men owa ds an “abs ac ion wi hou ex ac ion” becomes ideally pla o med. A pla o ming ha enables he sc ip ing o decen alized inancial and social a chi ec u es ha a o d a o m o op -in sociali y, alue- de e mina ion, and “ o design capi al o de e mine speci ic ac ions.” 11 Ap opos o he na u e o empo ali y, we also can highligh wha is ega ded as blockchain’s capaci y o spawn and econ igu e i s e y na u e, whe he h ough “block ime” o he capaci y o o king. Now, as Rob Mye s highligh s ime sheds i s dependency on he ex e nal ne wo k o disc e e and hi d-pa y, o ou en elopmen wi hin he cons ella ion o a omic clocks ha a e imed o he e olu ions o he ea h, o a block ime. Time abides by he une o accumula ion o ce ain y, which is based on hashing powe . 12 We can u he e ch ou he di e en ial na u e o ime ap opos o i s measu e o alue in blockchain by unde sco ing i s eliance upon Cen al P ocessing Uni s and G aphic P ocessing Uni s ha is cons i u i e o i s p oo o wo k. A p oo o wo k ha is con ingen upon cap u ing alue h ough he consump ion o elec ical ene gy and sol ing compu a ionally complex and in ensi e puzzles o blocks o be added o he dis ibu ed da abase. Block ime is de ined as he measu e o he ime i akes o p oduce a new block, o da a ile, in a blockchain ne wo k. Addi ionally, i is he leng h o ime i akes o alida e he exis ence o a new ba ch o bi coins. Fundamen ally, i 11 Calum Bowden, “Fo king in Time: Blockchains and a Poli ical Economy o Absolu e Succession,” APRJA, 7.1 (2018): 145. 12 Rob Mye s, “Blockchain Poe ics,” A is s Re:Thinking he Blockchain, ed. Ru h Ca low e al. (London: To que Edi ions and Fu he ield, 2017) 239-50. Dus in B ei ling 124 wa an s unde s anding and unde lying how block ime di e s om a s anda d “emp y ime,” whe eas he o me can be con e ible ye no educible o i as a me ic. The e o e, block ime becomes speci ied in uni s o ansac ion block con i ma ion imes, as opposed o minu es o hou s such as a human ime sys em. We can unde sco e ha as p e iously poin ed ou , block con i ma ion imes can be con e ible o minu es, bu hese con e sion me ics ha e he possibili y o mo ph o e ime, o example, wi h block con i ma ions being o he scale and equency o con e o mic o-minu es o nano-minu es. Mo eo e , compu e clock ime has a mo e a iable landscape o imekeeping h ough disc e e ime, asynch onous ime ha di e s om human physical and biological ime. The inc easing sophis ica ion o sma con ac ing u he enhances he p ospec o empo ali y playing a mo e cons i u i e ea u e, h ough an a ay o possibili ies such as ime speed-ups, slow-downs, e en - wai ing and e en -posi ing, ha can ack and moni o ce ain e en s o changes in he e i ica ion o s a es o condi ions s ipula ed. 13 Con e sely, “ o king” unde s ood as he capabili y o sha e he i e e sible ime-sequence o blocks, by i ue o disag eemen s o e consensus o he sequence o blocks, can e ilize a plu ali y o al e na i e empo al pa hs o ou comes. The wo a ian s o o king known as “so o king” and “ha d o king” con ain he possibili y o e ain a e sion o so wa e known as “backwa ds compa ible” such ha new blocks can be accep ed by nodes unning he p e ious o old so wa e. O , he e can be a new e sion o blockchain whe e a new se o consensus ules a e in oduced in o he ne wo k, ye a e no compa ible wi h he olde ne wo k, igge ing issu es along he conge ies o mine s, de elope s, and use s who can de e mine which so wa e hey will suppo . Building on he mo ley o imescapes possibili y a o ded by block ime and compu ing, o king i sel enables and becomes an engine o wha Calum Bowden posi s “nonsynch onici y” a possible an ido e o ou uni e sally s anda dized and coo dina ed ub ic o ime. Nonsych onici y becomes imp egna ed by mul iple blockchains, and hei al e na i e ules ha cul i a e a iega ed alua ion and exchange sys ems. 14 Ge mane o ou pu poses o in e oga ing he na u e o a in ela ion o he con empo a y s anglehold o ‘p esen ness,’ we can conside blockchain’s ex an usage o pu poses o no me ely ep oducing he condi ions and p oduc ion o 13 Melanie Swan, “Blockchain Tempo ali y: Sma Con ac Time Speci iabili y wi h Block ime,” Rule Technologies: Resea ch, Tools, and Applica ions, Con e ence P oceedings RuleML, ed. Jose Julio Al e es, e al. (Swi ze land: Sp inge , 2016) 184-96. 14 Bowden 146. The De i a i e Condi ion 125 a con ined o spaces and galle ies as one index o i s possibili ies. None heless, i is no a ma e o me ely ega ding ei he blockchain o a is ic p ac ice as ehicles o each o he . Ra he , i emains in eg al o conside he implica ions o wha echnologies and wha means we can u ilize o ca e ou al e na i e ime- binding s uc u es linked up o he o maliza ion and cons uc ion o ‘ u u es.’ Echoing he adical a i iciali y o li e al epe i ion highligh ed a he beginning o he essay, which is in insic o he na u e o he con empo a y, we can u he ponde how he epe i ion o he p oduc ion and ci cula ion o di e en ime- binding s uc u es linked o alue, ha ches a b eak om he p esen .