Certeau on "tactics"

"I call a 'tactic' a calculus which cannot count of a 'proper' (a spatial or institutional localization), nor thus on a borderline distinguishing the other as a visible totality. The place of a tactic belongs to the other. A tactic insinuates itself into the other's place, fragmentarily, without taking it over in its entirety, without being able to keep it at a distance. It has at its disposal no base where it can capitalize on its advantages, prepare its expansions, and secure independence with respect to circumstances. The 'proper' is a victory of space over time. On the contrary, because it does not have a place, a tactic depends on time - it is always on the watch for opportunities that must be seized 'on the wing.' Whatever it wins, it does not keep. It must constantly manipulate events in order to turn them into 'opportunities.' ... The intellectual synthesis of these given elements takes the form not of a discourse, but of the decision itself, the act and manner in which the 'opportunity' is 'seized.'" - Michel de Certeau, "General Introduction," The Practice of Everyday Life, University of California Press, 1988, page xix.

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