xxiv,413. Tail of the spine is pressed. Minor ordinary shelfwear to the jacket. Otherwise pristine. Bound in chocolate brown cloth, with stamped silver lettering to the spine. If you order this from outside the United States, we will almost certainly request an additional payment to help cover the postage. Please feel welcome to message us with any questions, or a request for photographs. Every order includes tracking and is wrapped and robustly packaged with care in Tucson, AZ. ~Mesquite Booksellers.

Seller Inventory # 75833

Contact seller

Report this item

Bibliographic Details

Title

Calculated Values: Finance, Politics, and the Quantitative Age

Publisher

Harvard University Press

Publication Date

2018

Language

English

ISBN 10

0674971876

ISBN 13

9780674971875

Binding

Hardcover

Condition

Fine

Dust Jacket Condition

Fine

Seller catalogs

About this title

Synopsis

Modern political culture features a deep-seated faith in the power of numbers to find answers, settle disputes, and explain how the world works. Whether evaluating economic trends, measuring the success of institutions, or divining public opinion, we are told that numbers don’t lie. But numbers have not always been so revered. Calculated Values traces how numbers first gained widespread public authority in one nation, Great Britain.

Into the seventeenth century, numerical reasoning bore no special weight in political life. Complex calculations were often regarded with suspicion, seen as the narrow province of navigators, bookkeepers, and astrologers, not gentlemen. This changed in the decades following the Glorious Revolution of 1688. Though Britons’ new quantitative enthusiasm coincided with major advances in natural science, financial capitalism, and the power of the British state, it was no automatic consequence of those developments, William Deringer argues. Rather, it was a product of politics―ugly, antagonistic, partisan politics. From parliamentary debates to cheap pamphlets, disputes over taxes, trade, and national debt were increasingly conducted through calculations. Some of the era’s most pivotal political moments, like the 1707 Union of England and Scotland and the 1720 South Sea Bubble, turned upon calculative conflicts.

As Britons learned to fight by the numbers, they came to believe, as one calculator wrote in 1727, that “facts and figures are the most stubborn evidences.” Yet the authority of numbers arose not from efforts to find objective truths that transcended politics, but from the turmoil of politics itself.

About the Author

William Deringer is Leo Marx Career Development Assistant Professor of Science, Technology, and Society at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

Store Description

Mesquite Booksellers specializes in history, philosophy and the social sciences. Most titles are academic press. We offer some heavily discounted Bradt Guides, as a service to the world-curious. We buy collections of academic books; please message us through AbeBooks should you wish to sell yours. More photographs of any book will happily be sent to you upon request. Please message us with any questions!

Visit Seller's Storefront

Seller's business information

Mesquite Booksellers
AZ, U.S.A.

Sale & Shipping Terms

Terms of Sale

We carefully evaluate each title listed for sale. If you are unsatisfied with the condition of any book, you may return it (in the same condition as you received it) for a full refund within 30 days.

Payment may only be made via AbeBooks.

Shipping Terms

All shipments will originate in Tucson, Arizona, USA. Orders placed Sunday-Friday will be processed and shipped by 5pm the next day. Should you order on a Saturday or a holiday, we will ship on the next available business day.

All books are carefully and robustly packaged.

We do not drop ship. All titles are in our possession and immediately accessible.

Shipping within the United States will be conducted by USPS Media Mail.

International shipments will be sent via the United States Postal Service (USPS). This means that when the parcel arrives in your country, it will be handled and delivered by your country's national postal service (not a private courier). We are likely to request an additional payment to help cover the cost of an international shipment.

Important Notice to International Buyers: Import duties, taxes and other charges by your country's authorities are not included in the item price or shipping charges. Check with your local customs office to determine what these additional costs may be. Once a parcel arrives in your country, your country's authorities and postal service may process and deliver that parcel quite quickly, or quite slowly. Once the parcel arrives in your country, neither Mesquite Booksellers nor the United States Postal Service is responsible for a slow processing and delivery. Shipping time estimates concern the speed with which the parcel arrives to your country, not how quickly it arrives at your door. Some of the best (fastest) performers in this regard: Switzerland, Sweden, United Kingdom, Australia, Slovakia, Hungary, Israel. Some of the worst performers: Italy, Spain, France, Mexico.

Shipping rates within U.S.A.

Shipping rates within U.S.A.
Order quantity	5 to 14 business days	3 to 6 business days
First item	US$ 3.00	US$ 5.50

Delivery times are set by sellers and vary by carrier and location. Orders passing through Customs may face delays and buyers are responsible for any associated duties or fees. Sellers may contact you regarding additional charges to cover any increased costs to ship your items.