Sociology of quantification

According to a review published in 2018[2] Sociology of quantification is an expanding fields which includes the literature on the quantified self, that on algorithms,[3] and on various forms of metrics and indicators.[4][5] Older works which can be classified under the same heading are Theodore Porter’s ‘Trust in numbers’[6] and the works of French Sociologist Pierre Bourdieu.[7] The interest in this field is driven by the increasing importance and scope of quantification,[2] and by the perception of its dangers as weapons of oppression,[3][5] or as means to undesirable ends.[5][8] The ‘governance by numbers’ is seen by jurist Alain Supiot[9] as repudiating the goal of governing by just laws, advocating in its stead the attainment of measurable objectives. For Supiot the normative use of economic quantification leaves no option open to countries and economic actors than to ride roughshod over social legislation, and pledge allegiance to stronger powers.[9] The French movement of ‘Stat-activisme’ suggests fighting numbers with numbers under the slogan “a new number is possible".[7] To the opposite extreme, algorithmic-based automation is seen as an instrument of liberation by Aaron Bastani,[10] spurring a debate on 'digital socialism'.[11][12] An ethics of quantification including algorithms, metrics, statistical and mathematical modelling is suggested in.[13] According to Espeland and Stevens[1] an ethics of quantification would naturally descend from a sociology of quantification, especially at an age where democracy, merit, participation, accountability and even ‘‘fairness’’ are assumed to be best discovered and appreciated via numbers.