Convergent futures: Time mastering in accelerating and decelerating temporalities

The present article traces the mastering of time as a demand for controlling the future within the onset of social thought, addressing the treatment of time by modern institutions to demonstrate the future-making process they deploy. Based on the former, it explores the acceleration theorizing as a milestone example of time mastery, along with the seemingly contrary claims of deceleration. The article asserts that, despite their apparent differences, both temporalities are driven by a convergent future orientation, challenging the prevailing dichotomy that often separates them. Finally, the article explores the mastery of time as a limit for the future. It is argued that the contemporary threat of ‘the end of the world’ does not necessarily refer to the collapse of the planet, but rather to the demise of a linear future along the rise of a hinged temporality.