ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION Over 150 years ago, the German philosopher and economist Karl Marx encapsulated in a few words a dilemma that has puzzled social scientists ever since. People, he wrote, ‘make their own history, but not … under circumstances they themselves have chosen’ (1981: 143). They also of course make their own geographies, as this book shows, but again they only do so under certain conditions and circumstances. The difficulty for those studying these geographies is to tease out just how much of their making was contributed by human agency (people making their own geographies) and how much by broader social structures (the circumstances and conditions not of their choosing). To help puzzle this one through, think for a while about the last time you went for a night out. Think about where you went and what you did; think about who you were with and what they did. You probably chatted beforehand and decided to go to see a film or have a drink, or maybe go to a club. You decided who else to invite, and once you were there you decided what to drink and when to dance, and who to dance with. You decided when to go home and how to get home. You decided whether to get a taxi or take a bus. Filling in all these questions would give you an account of your last night out. It would also give you a view that emphasizes your freedom to choose your own activities. It would place you at the centre of the night’s decision-making, and would explain the events on the basis of your decisions.
