上海交通大学：《跨文化交流》教学资源_Time & Culture_People of the Future

People of the Future The inhabitants of the globe are divided not only by race,nation,religion or ideology,but also,in a sense,by their position in time.Examining the present populations of the globe,we find a tiny group who still alive,hunting and food-foraging,as men did millennia ago.Others,the vast majority of mankind, depend not on bear-hunting or berry-picking,but on agriculture.They live,in many respects,as their ancestors did centuries ago.These two groups taken together compose perhaps 70 percent of all living human beings.They are the people of the past. By contrast,somewhat more than 25 percent of the earth's population can be found in the industrialized societies.They lead modern lives.They are products of the first half of the twentieth century,molded by mechanization and mass education, brought up with lingering memories of their own country's agricultural past.They are, in effect,the people of the present. The remaining two or three percent of the world's population,however,are no longer people of either the past or present.For within the main centers of technological and cultural change,in Santa Monica,California and Cambridge, Massachusetts,in New York and London and Tokyo,and millions of men and women who can already be said to be living the way of life of the future.They live today as millions more will live tomorrow. What makes them different from the rest of mankind?Certainly,they are richer, better educated,more mobile than the majority of the human race.But what specifically marks the people of the future is the fact that they are already caught up in a new,stepped-up pace of life.They"live faster"than the people around them. Some people are deeply attracted to this highly accelerated pace of life-going far out of their way to bring it about and feeling anxious,tense or uncomfortable when the pace slows.They want desperately to be"where the action is."A person living in Mississippi reports:"People who are used to a speeded-up urban life-can't take it for long in the rural South.That's why people are always driving somewhere for no particular reason.” But if some people thrive on the new,rapid pace,others are fiercely repelled by it. To engage at all with the emergent super-industrial society means to engage with a faster moving world than ever before.They prefer to disengage,to idle at their own speed. Much otherwise incomprehensible conflict-between parents and children, between husbands and wives-can be traced to differential responses to the acceleration of the pace of life.The same is true of clashes between cultures. Each culture has its own characteristic pace.F.M.Esfandiary,the Iranian novelist and essayist,tells of a collision between two different pacing systems when German engineers in the pre-World War II period were helping to construct a railroad in his country.Iranians and Middle Easterners generally take a far more relaxed attitude toward time than Americans or Western Europeans.When Iranian work crews

People of the Future The inhabitants of the globe are divided not only by race, nation, religion or ideology, but also, in a sense, by their position in time. Examining the present populations of the globe, we find a tiny group who still alive, hunting and food-foraging, as men did millennia ago. Others, the vast majority of mankind, depend not on bear-hunting or berry-picking, but on agriculture. They live, in many respects, as their ancestors did centuries ago. These two groups taken together compose perhaps 70 percent of all living human beings. They are the people of the past.By contrast，somewhat more than 25 percent of the earth’s population can be found in the industrialized societies. They lead modern lives. They are products of the first half of the twentieth century, molded by mechanization and mass education, brought up with lingering memories of their own country’s agricultural past. They are, in effect, the people of the present. The remaining two or three percent of the world’s population, however, are no longer people of either the past or present. For within the main centers of technological and cultural change, in Santa Monica, California and Cambridge, Massachusetts, in New York and London and Tokyo, and millions of men and women who can already be said to be living the way of life of the future. They live today as millions more will live tomorrow. What makes them different from the rest of mankind? Certainly, they are richer, better educated, more mobile than the majority of the human race. But what specifically marks the people of the future is the fact that they are already caught up in a new, stepped-up pace of life. They “live faster” than the people around them. Some people are deeply attracted to this highly accelerated pace of life—going far out of their way to bring it about and feeling anxious, tense or uncomfortable when the pace slows. They want desperately to be “where the action is.” A person living in Mississippi reports: “People who are used to a speeded-up urban life—can’t take it for long in the rural South. That’s why people are always driving somewhere for no particular reason.” But if some people thrive on the new, rapid pace, others are fiercely repelled by it. To engage at all with the emergent super-industrial society means to engage with a faster moving world than ever before. They prefer to disengage, to idle at their own speed. Much otherwise incomprehensible conflict — between parents and children, between husbands and wives — can be traced to differential responses to the acceleration of the pace of life. The same is true of clashes between cultures. Each culture has its own characteristic pace. F. M. Esfandiary, the Iranian novelist and essayist, tells of a collision between two different pacing systems when German engineers in the pre-World WarⅡperiod were helping to construct a railroad in his country. Iranians and Middle Easterners generally take a far more relaxed attitude toward time than Americans or Western Europeans. When Iranian work crews

consistently showed up for work ten minutes late,the Germans,themselves super-punctual and always in a hurry,fired them in droves.Iranian engineers had a difficult time persuading them that by Middle Eastern standards the workers were being heroically punctual,and that if the firing continued there would soon be no one left to do the work but women and children. This indifference to time can be maddening to those who are fast-paced and clock-conscious.Thus Italians from Milan or Turin,the industrial cities of the North, look down upon the relatively slow-paced Sicilians,whose lives are still geared to the slower rhythms of agriculture.Swedes from Stockholm or Goteborg feel the same way about Laplanders,Americans speak with derision of Mexicans for whom manana is soon enough.In the United States itself,Northerners regard Southerners as slow-moving,and middle-class Negroes condemn working-class Negroes just up from the south for operating on "C.P.T."-Colored People's Time.In contrast,by comparison with almost anyone else,white Americans and Canadians are regarded as hustling,fast-moving go-getters. Precisely this issue is symbolized by the widespread European dislike for Time. This is not entirely political,but stems unconsciously from the connotation of its title Time,with is brevity and breathless style,exports more than the American way of life It embodies and exports the American Pace of Life

consistently showed up for work ten minutes late, the Germans, themselves super-punctual and always in a hurry, fired them in droves. Iranian engineers had a difficult time persuading them that by Middle Eastern standards the workers were being heroically punctual, and that if the firing continued there would soon be no one left to do the work but women and children. This indifference to time can be maddening to those who are fast-paced and clock-conscious. Thus Italians from Milan or Turin, the industrial cities of the North, look down upon the relatively slow-paced Sicilians, whose lives are still geared to the slower rhythms of agriculture. Swedes from Stockholm or Goteborg feel the same way about Laplanders, Americans speak with derision of Mexicans for whom manana is soon enough. In the United States itself, Northerners regard Southerners as slow-moving, and middle-class Negroes condemn working-class Negroes just up from the south for operating on “C.P.T.” — Colored People’s Time. In contrast, by comparison with almost anyone else, white Americans and Canadians are regarded as hustling, fast-moving go-getters. Precisely this issue is symbolized by the widespread European dislike for Time. This is not entirely political, but stems unconsciously from the connotation of its title. Time, with is brevity and breathless style, exports more than the American way of life. It embodies and exports the American Pace of Life