Quarantine: Contradictory Spatial Practice between Abstract and Concrete

As time passes, there will undoubtedly be a moment for all people to understand that the current strategy of socio-spatial distancing with the hope of safety is nothing but a top-down imposed perception. Contemporary life cannot be sustained on pause for a long time, since the ongoing form of life is a life at its best in terms of being virtually constructed. At present, we are living Lefebvre’s (1991) defined perceived, conceived, and lived space together at the same time as well as none of them at all simultaneously. If the lived, perceived, and conceived realms are treated as abstraction and cannot be realized as concrete, then they will lose their meaning. It is really difficult to inscribe all these realms in a spatial dimension and have them constitute a coherent whole. This is the moment of experiencing a kind of contradictory spatialization, which is supposed to be prevention from danger—an abstract idea that is far away from everyday lived reality—and this very practice, actually, can produce unintended by-products. Here, then this question can be asked: Why do we allow ourselves to be manipulated in ways so damaging to our lived spaces and our everyday life activities?

However, the act of isolation for safety can bring about other unsafe situations. Living in quarantine as a contradictory space inevitably has impacts on each and every individual, whether physically or mentally. You are supposed to bring all activities that necessitate their own spatial dimension (space-specific activities) inside your space that is defined as safety zone, which is an unrealizable expectation. Constructing a place where everyday life activities can be practiced inside it virtually helps to keep some parts of society continue working; on the other hand, it can also generate irreparable outcomes. Blending real and unreal, abstract and concrete, and public and private produces a kind of illusion that when the quarantine ends, not only will it influence individual’s perception of the lived reality but rather it will also drastically transform formerly existed conceptions such as public and private realm. There exists undeniable urban reality that consists of places set aside for work, leisure, and private life. Due to the present practice of quarantine, our houses (abstract sense of safety zone) embody all these places. This practice is paradoxical, because it links places together disregarding their inherent separation and then passively experiences produced space—such a space brings new contradictions into play.

Human beings need real socio-spatial activities, interactions, and public life, so when you take these from him or her, everyday life would lose its genuine concept. Meanwhile, in the absence of public life—as the essence of cities—cities can hardly be accounted for as living ecosystems. Cities are fundamentally about people. The way people experience public spaces throughout their daily life makes the city becomes alive. That is to say, power exists at the core of public spaces. In this regard, Habermas (1991) suggested that people by their public presence could possess the right to discuss different subjectivities. As long as people could meet face to face in shared spaces of cities, possibilities of exercising democracy and social inclusion could be maintained.

As much as quarantine is a contradictory and strict practice in itself, concern for the world in post-pandemic days also exists. The order of the world and everyday life we were used to living has disappeared and we are once more facing a kind of radical uncertainty. The quality of human interactions and bonds between people were already lessened before the crisis happened; thus, its deteriorating condition after the crisis ends can be foreseen. Even some current practices socio-spatial distancing can remain and can constitute a part of our daily life routines, which is a real-time threat to our future. On a larger scale, while in pre-pandemic times, right-wing extremist voices have already become loud in some countries that have positioned themselves as against foreigners and have longed for more segregation. This lockdown will turn into the best excuse for these so called nationalists for isolation. In the time that international solidarity and cooperation are the most needed, total isolation of some countries could lead to global disorder in the near or far future.

Today we are passing through a threatened experimental period in the eyes of dominant powers regarding possible changes in the job market and work force. It is understood that some jobs can be done remotely; hence these could be replaced or eliminated completely whenever present situation gets back to normal. This will help in some cases, such as reducing traffic, expenses, and so forth, but the most vulnerable social classes could become more vulnerable. Class differences do exist in the experience of quarantine and pandemic as they do the normal time. Without the States’ helps, it will be difficult for low-income families to survive. They will be forced to go outside of their homes to earn money to meet daily expenses. In other words, quarantine could only be practiced by those who can afford it. Behind the top-down imposed strategy of permanent lockdown, lie wealthy elite that are promised to be safe by living in their wealthy enclaves while taking remote control of their business. Some individuals can stay at home and still have their income, without having to experience income or career breaks. Low-skilled individuals are most likely to work in those jobs with high load of work, the least time off, and the least salary. Indeed, this moment of crisis highlights the burden that some jobs have to bear in the society for the reproduction of everyday life. If the rich could socio-spatially seclude themselves at the very moment of pandemic, it is merely because of the working-class people and their physical presence at their workplaces. Hence, the practice of quarantine, contrary to common belief, is not equal for all social classes, and the existing class conflict is happening even more intensively during these days of pandemic.