durability

is about ordering through time whereas mobility is about ordering through space.

If durability is about ordering through time, then mobility is about ordering through space. In particular, it is about ways of acting at a distance. (law 1992: 6)

is not something given in the nature of things. It is an effect. Walls may resist the escape attempts of prisoners -but only while there are also prison guards.

The argument is attractive, but it is not as simple as it may seem. This is because durability is yet another relational effect, not something given in the nature of things. If materials behave in durable ways then this too is an interactional effect. Walls may resist the escape attempts of prisoners -but only while there are also prison guards. Another way of putting it is that durable material forms may find other uses: their effects change when they are located in new networks of relations. In sum the argument about durability is attractive and has much merit -but it needs to be handled with caution. (law 1992: 6).

durability, n.Definitions

durability