Drift as a Planetary Phenomenon

Abstract

In this paper I situate the Situationists’ dérive within an analysis of drift as a planetary phenomenon. Using the concept of the ‘middle voice’, I suggest that drifting can lead us to a deeper understanding of the way that all things move, that move within the extended body of the Earth. I develop the idea of ‘driftwork’, in which drift is subsumed within a wider set of purposes or functions, and describe different forms of more-than-human driftwork, with different political implications. I conclude by suggesting that things adrift can help us trace the lineaments of a planetary ethic: an ethic that extends beyond the human, the animal, and the living to the whole extended body of the Earth; that allows us to recontextualize human practices of drifting within a planetary context; that is sensitive to the debt that all moving things owe to the planetary mobility commons that enables their motion; and that helps us to recognize our obligations of care towards all drifting things.

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