Transforming time regimes

The temporal orders of Western societies are under transformation, engender ed by complex processes of change. The post-war industrial time regime, tie d to the dominant organisational and cultural forms of industrial capitalis m, has been characterised by a nucleus of principles, the most important be ing the primacy of wage work over other areas of existence. In this paper I examine transitions to a postindustrial time regime in Norway by focusing on change in the norms and values that have underpinned industrialism's tem poral organisation - particularly the hegemonic work ethic. Discourses abou t the place of wage work in society are examined, as represented in nationa l politics of time and in the population's temporal orientations in the 199 0s. The analysis develops from a theoretical notion of time regimes, conten ding that transitions from industrial to postindustrial time regimes follow different paths nationally. The analysis discloses how transformations of the temporal order exhibit complex and contradictory trends. The work-fixat ed culture is being undermined by new norms running parallel to other proce sses maintaining and reproducing it. In understanding these transformations it is argued that a "coexistence thesis" is the most fruitful. That is to say, an approach which seeks to identify the complex patterns of change and continuity, and in which tensions arising from these patterns are valued a s an important source for comprehending change in contemporary societies.