Session Four: Marxist Thinking - The production of space by Henri Lefebvre - 'Social Space'

I found 'Social space' by Henri Lefebvre puzzling and in most parts I found myself questioning and disagreeing with his theory, mostly due how limiting single minded view it imposes on any inquisitive mind. .

Let's just forget about the fact that he was a communist for a second and think about him as a philosopher.

Henri Lefebvre is examining with a deep approach into the subject that explaining the two terms involved 'production of space'.

In Hegelianism we are a product of nature (humanity) created by nature.

The concept of classification of social space, Lefebvre talks about it as possibilities from nature, production to works and products. He talks about nature doesn’t know that it creates products only creates what humanity uses.

How would he know what nature feels? Why does he think everything have to be produced?

On one hand the burden of proof to his hilarious theories can easily be flipped around because he makes assumptions about something intangible and clearly beyond his comprehension and the current level of intelligence (or lack of thereof) as if it was a fact, or that his perception is the only valid and undeniable truth, please tell me it isn't so... Smiley face.


Lefebvre comparing nature and its agents as a production entity that doesn't produce anything, only mankind produces.

A product by definition is created by a process of manufacture and processing of materials by some organized agents—man and beast—alike in this sense. God or the flying spaghetti monster dont even factor into my reasoning.

Politics, religion, juridical forms are the product/creation of violence much like mountains are the production/creation of natures and ever violently changing form and to control and change climate.

I think it is arrogant to think that we are the only ones that produce. Nature produces in a more subtle manner and trade as well. For example: Flowers are colorful —they know why they need to be vibrant colours—and produce a perfume smell to draw insects to pollinate them, that helps the flower at the same time bees produce honey out of it (Oops! Nature produced honey). Nature created a free market they are exchanging products and services, trading in its purest form, something we try to mimic and mostly fail...

Having read The production of space, I am reminded that we do not truly understand how nature and its agents/mechanisms function if there's a greater conscience behind it and to the philosopher its far easier to speculate since to imagine the alternative would reveal the real secrets of the universe. Mankind is only able to scrape tiny pieces of which make out our most brilliant inventions/discoveries, and nature does so in manner we can only mostly admire from afar.