The social Theory of Georg Simmel

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Monograph

Identifikator:: 1024612627

URN:: urn:nbn:de:zbw-retromon-166627

Document type:: Monograph

Author:: Spykman, Nicholas J. http://d-nb.info/gnd/124229867

Title:: The social Theory of Georg Simmel

Place of publication:: Chicago

Publisher:: Univ. of Chicago Press.

Year of publication:: 1925

Scope:: XXIX, 297 S

Digitisation:: 2022

Collection:: Economics Books

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SPATIAL RELATIONS OF SOCIAL FORMS 161 nn ty 1d lon ver che nip re- le. ~he in- wu- be ept an er- is pxX~- nd o- hip id- of der OW the een nd - 18 Jt. The dominion over the land is, in relation to the dominion over people, of a secondary importance. The dominion over land is, however, of immediate importance if in the form of ownership or otherwise it means the right to the products of its soil. It is only when confusing the two meanings of the term dominion that the fact of the funda- mental sociological nature of the concept becomes ob- scured.! The Function of Empty Space Another spatial expression of specific sociological for- mations is the use of empty space for the purpose of ex- pressing neutrality. Primitive peoples often laid waste a small strip of land between their territories and agreed that neither of the two groups was to enter that borderland. They relinquished the advantages which such an occupa- tion would have in the case of an offensive for the advan- tages which accrued from the non-occupation by the oppo- nent for their own defensive. The empty strip between them was the spatial expression of a relationship of armed peace, which might be formulated in the words: If you do not harm me, I shall not harm you. The neutrality of empty space obtains a different sig- nificance if, instead of merely separating the groups, it is used for positive services. Its function can be, not only to separate, but also to unite the groups. Meetings of indi- viduals which cannot take place on the territory of either group may be arranged to take place in a neutral area. The neutral area in primitive times is the uninhabited re- gion between the territories occupied by the tribes. It is the place where the trading is done and where individuals potentially at war meet under conditions of peace. And the existence of that unoccupied empty space is the most char- Ll Soz., pp. 691-96.

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