In todays world, numbers are in the ascendancy. Societies dominated by star ratings, scores, likes and lists are rapidly emerging, as data are collected on virtually every aspect of our lives. From annual university rankings, ratings agencies and fitness tracking technologies to our credit score and health status, everything and everybody is measured and evaluated.
In this important new book, Steffen Mau offers a critical analysis of this increasingly pervasive phenomenon. While the original intention behind the drive to quantify may have been to build trust and transparency, Mau shows how metrics have in fact become a form of social conditioning. The ubiquitous language of ranking and scoring has changed profoundly our perception of value and status. What is more, through quantification, our capacity for competition and comparison has expanded significantly we can now measure ourselves against others in practically every area. The rise of quantification has created and strengthened social hierarchies, transforming qualitative differences into quantitative inequalities that play a decisive role in shaping the life chances of individuals.
This timely analysis of the pernicious impact of quantification will appeal to students and scholars across the social sciences, as well as anyone concerned by the cult of numbers and its impact on our lives and societies today.
Introduction 1
1 The Measurement of Social Value 10
What does quantification mean? 12
The calculative practices of the market 15
The state as data manager 17
Engines of quantification: digitalization and economization 21
2 Status Competition and the Power of Numbers 26
Dispositives of comparison 28
Commensurability and incommensurability 31
New horizons of comparison 33
Registers of comparison and investive status work 35
3 Hierarchization: Rankings and Ratings 40
Visibilization and the creation of difference 40
On your marks! 43
University rankings 47
Here today, gone tomorrow: the market power of rating agencies 53
4 Classification: Scoring and Screening 60
Credit scoring 63
Quantified health status 67
Mobility value 71
Boost your score academic status markers 74
Social worth investigations 78
5 The Evaluation Cult: Stars and Points 81
Satisfaction surveys 82
Evaluation portals as selectors 84
Peer-to-peer ratings 87
Professions in the evaluative spotlight 89
Like-based reputations on social media 93
6 The Quantified Self: Charts and Graphs 99
Health, exercise and mood 101
The collective body 104
Motivation techniques 106
7 The Power of Nomination 111
The nomination power of the state 112
Performance measurement and the framing of competition 115
The nomination power of experts 119
Algorithmic authority 123
Critique of nomination power 125
8 Risks and Side-Effects 129
Reactive measurements 129
Loss of professional control 133
Loss of time and energy 135
Monoculture versus diversity 137
9 Transparency and Discipline 141
Normative and political pressure 144
The power of feedback 147
Technological surveillance in the workplace 149
The new tariff systems 151
The interdependence of self- and external surveillance 153
The regime of averages, benchmarks and body images 155
10 The Inequality Regime of Quantification 158
Establishment of worth 160
Reputation management 162
Collectives of non-equals 166
From class conflict to individual competition 168
Inescapability and status fluidity 170
Self-reinforcing effects 174
Bibliography 177
Index 196
