ABSTRACT
In this chapter, I will inquire into the material basis of the momentum of modernity. I will approach this topic by focusing on the social energy relations that steer the form of acceleration typical of modernity. Discussing Hartmut Rosa’s understanding of acceleration, I will argue that an understanding of the materiality of capitalist fossil energy relations is of key importance to grasp the accelerative momentum of modernity. Such an understanding of energy stands and falls with meta-theoretical presuppositions concerning the question of materiality/materialism. The approach I defend sticks to the Frankfurt School Critical Theory notion of society-nature relationships. As opposed to new or vital materialism, it upholds the necessity of a duality of nature and society but dialectically relates both in its historical analysis of forms of social mediation. I will critically discuss the grave differences between this “new” and the suggested “old” materialism, so as to show why an understanding of the energy form of modern acceleration can only be provided by dialectical materialism.
