Which brings me to a final point. As the example of driving shows, new modes
of embodiment are being invented by the grand experimental forces of capitalism,
science and war. One very popular reaction to such developments is to fall back
on a narrative of beleaguerement, in which everyday life is gradually being crushed
by forces without its control. But another reaction is to argue that such models
are at root too simple to be adequate to a situation in which new capacities are
continually being formed as well as new modes of control. This might be seen as
a Panglossian response: I prefer to see it as a re-affirmation of a Certeauian politics
of ‘opening the possible’ (Giard 199 7 ) which realizes that new spaces for action
are continually being opened up as old ones are closed down. New and friendly
habitabilities are therefore constantly on the horizon, some of which may still be
able to be realized. Escape, no. Work with and on, yes.
88 Part I