Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

How Our Days Became Numbered: Risk and the Rise of the Statistical Individual
How Our Days Became Numbered: Risk and the Rise of the Statistical Individual
How Our Days Became Numbered: Risk and the Rise of the Statistical Individual
Ebook572 pages11 hours

How Our Days Became Numbered: Risk and the Rise of the Statistical Individual

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

3/5

()

Read preview

About this ebook

Long before the age of "Big Data" or the rise of today's "self-quantifiers," American capitalism embraced "risk"--and proceeded to number our days. Life insurers led the way, developing numerical practices for measuring individuals and groups, predicting their fates, and intervening in their futures. Emanating from the gilded boardrooms of Lower Manhattan and making their way into drawing rooms and tenement apartments across the nation, these practices soon came to change the futures they purported to divine.

How Our Days Became Numbered tells a story of corporate culture remaking American culture--a story of intellectuals and professionals in and around insurance companies who reimagined Americans' lives through numbers and taught ordinary Americans to do the same. Making individuals statistical did not happen easily. Legislative battles raged over the propriety of discriminating by race or of smoothing away the effects of capitalism's fluctuations on individuals. Meanwhile, debates within companies set doctors against actuaries and agents, resulting in elaborate, secretive systems of surveillance and calculation.

Dan Bouk reveals how, in a little over half a century, insurers laid the groundwork for the much-quantified, risk-infused world that we live in today. To understand how the financial world shapes modern bodies, how risk assessments can perpetuate inequalities of race or sex, and how the quantification and claims of risk on each of us continue to grow, we must take seriously the history of those who view our lives as a series of probabilities to be managed.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateMay 18, 2015
ISBN9780226259208
How Our Days Became Numbered: Risk and the Rise of the Statistical Individual

Related to How Our Days Became Numbered

Related ebooks

Business For You

View More

Related articles

Related categories

Reviews for How Our Days Became Numbered

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
3/5

1 rating0 reviews

What did you think?

Tap to rate

Review must be at least 10 words

    Book preview

    How Our Days Became Numbered - Dan Bouk

    1^book_preview_excerpt.html}˖ǑT" ANEH! 5 `EF$QJFл9zus3 ΟK53w[ݳXȌp7ǵk?d|ew]0U i }O>>@~o(۪[c9XʦxVU]MW Ƚ~W?M7]uC 嫮8~BuezB=0 v,}u=Pck68QWƱ,lnvE)ե̌L8/r׫:pVcӰ|x_}5Vg ߊ{w?,k/v aBuV|=-z؊>v떳 ſ 'a/vA&=(/+}a!ϊŃC^R<{G;'?彻2.2^Ogݻ胕#ݻe_>!>QhiݞrzV;d)$KB>iɲ?~tkQNa_ndIV8c*hYлM_MTӁOgg閴?|tvݻ?/7VO|=p?O~m,& W).nW#ǏwlʸkN'avy@{-+0eP>Ȼ NWץ(r0uyP}q(r>)EAnE rXyױkD}@{{\ه0:>Ď *kh>QnDeD[O}G u.o%[e돩k^;tr4 ^#n|kmW\u{ 6BnB"\(W2 f8[kBM_\m d#NBP/{DLV~r]UKjW/w<ܓ嗵5+LI+T ~ a!7/VdZl]-!0.}7m+`յc)A_ bo+FǛPE_VlZ]-4/U/o/Uųo^z)_Ȑ|źv|AմکI﷽W/<{|*]R,`XD6|Փ]…Y~:3O_|&k"+7߾/QQw/y_oxo oۋEW [=mAe3n_ $EweG~%_n(_Lԇم:mC3 2''ʃx&7Ol_ѝd}51  &>KvzcxKnEygvIn»q1L .l==4PV?&lA h->\ˮ^ 5*/ OSS0-'ץZ6Yq1~au5wZYfQ:J({uՔNtn4AvtxZ$l\nŲǮE!Cq5xC(_MaˠsU'v#5Bf79qbEzşI^Vi],_'a+F'D儙m#򋋪8N0IQhݞ* G[/ӳ( ۋ@qh8Qoa`v1rO8BzRhD})ɸq*{ftaX83*/CLcwްUVjS!N<-\Vyp@C'堃"fL+6QTIENaxRӅ薣#(^ҩaE5cKj3V,S!RtmՔdž#uW\ -_a.xe<~ nٕ'Hָt-lLpȧ=Gɷ'#( G~FVOn#0[Ԝh8 !fx2e΃7r[Q%='nW&:eh *e BA4](JK6a uڍޜ?<An?Q "eٰ$f8OHPlBXtvO ?٭"9!T#U!FC+8 sףpG_Gk? mO5{<Z{` 5 \ؕ1uugOӝ֧4DwbY71(뾥ɩ݈_'zӢѣ5 URU Zō"%d4:)*u1=T,;"KpǭEJ[Z~mpM jDD0sCv=oUcם'qR4l|G|&dFvi:IdsCq"!n8 "G/x&0r.of0 W$Fs">ʉ3BS#m򦓯% ]=B\>B$b7SBr&".nӇ (JJfLUGضK,KU0v#ʄlM0UN_Vf_U_ b 4\ğA}S6\ jE2UjDs kjzT0Nr`\d4ȥF5nT `1bKGR=Z[mٳ:ōyI". UY~3.vxmA@Xv{`45AMUr/Jv1"d O_(*$A+/uG޺C e#ӷf@ kPiŐo/ŷPi_؉)e3{yO k.Tˤ"ۺii8aw\ѹѫU\@%JCߟ, -81O. [-~_1OϮTpYsZu 'f7o6n@ cwp>ù|b77 @|!d?N6f'`M ˨j׉Cz@"#L.Ô/1+yE pqGĀ̓c8e3pTv>ؘsj:ԡ:!ܦ[ {:5wʁDJ >PAʹTb&w[FSEQz7oWbJޚ㘋JY5=,?[ 1vB a><]`VLpn [ފa-of 0C.&i eॡJ]7 z)"`sۅ(fo#k"W&[RgGz]xkjk%3"Z.SPut8qU:C_!tʜ [|k5c-aZe~wOu>2I23IF0y'EF5X= l /@OŹ1t^Z 298bfoFUX_VuZmiG iXb;z%;m48Ch cyՕU<n1dq#6HDIDW4YVv_*Ҳ\] 1qy(d{,5ĴSޢ;VG0dY]!Yk ,k;Y vt+8&GiVA˃tZ][uPti~Do)4L tU|~ʁ(lB>Y't_XM3n/,:ǤiF\U' ug֜{l%^Rą#tϊߴn}XY#*D>;vlw/=#?c%}gTQo5!ȯiP".CJl(LFdi[PY3*,KsK-4y _&#]%Y[j /10dGdjb!4z9Ea+mGMp]4 &+n j|</<)%^%Č0"bD5 F̯^.2c<18Fn4Ej/f`?s$a=dJ>Y.%dk= 2@bͤR B_)7k̯F P#U~| #l (7m@ 7&3. |ײ~xJF{|aYnh'|e}~Y> Ft<&ы/`p{,Ұ+/g7MIT-l&u El*"%*8u(2۩⁜1]_ojٯԐEHfů`.U+E8i@Z\vDHkKKٯI»2cJtVMvԈ 'nk_9{=<3#H`״acd~קZ* mg+=U'y*O ̬kO$,1dde,sjW'B>OB,5mُ?-{^(7 -F33屐Ũʂ29HABe阭YB1+4ܩ6,/yI#D.Q2d51TvJ18LdLiwUSߓlYxiWC+\Vj=mJ?ŶӠWub7«CAHhF1 `/hۺ61wӄ Έ$dpU.@OSF"߲?Fdu-TizxtEKQF}Ǣ0(g}H9(d dL `F&_g }R*6&V#'Lg; 7)YX8f2EܕnVnOTҿ8&C 퐥 ,N.+7UI4H)@Y5YMÇ(qlZdIӅ"mQDڀ7} 5OWDz6b$-bmGg{-ȮNo猄| ?\o F@+$F^]"؇2L=.VuS1,B[e\c!8PURc. jHݷzopuf32N/Tdb)eVqK` , u]cOLT%N{3X٦1YRLJK"^)l1Q:68}gM[H,0)YK.FȐ;WƔc^M~]yiw{)bhJfmhXexpmhncE9, jziGUkpNY:EսD^Y+ 飙0C/LD@⨑M|E˱ʸ @W\|w=3$!'=ݝvqd ؀f;-c%" `1ֳ͊2Zў%q]m1?%ꈔGNkM3a$~EWUjl1 Da UFKL:XCa.0b6?`kl!Ż5'k.axc4 LF&O51VQN$xn!'.~f!-GѡYUu$.dD̰2Vj:9+y坱́rԌSGX+Ux\U8Jl-8 UKVFLW隺iJ(ϙzt,-IHjFZ*O(c{ Ab|ߌ1#Z׭:ۻX]g M-e8(qw׃ڷZQ\T&"_{ f81ڢiLX% #ugt>%蓑>cwٰ,dۀb@S-5N&G쁝MTDᘩd5ٲeȠ|ĕ nM)۔Uq] 8LkTKE(nz|9fy1^\JK  n&Gw'(|r׳GBT6H@:>:BE \H6 ekxA!zg~{Å EXMi%,_%וM.6Yܒ*閉8j h gN˞kZ+UIY)fP~.V  ꂒcSd]_Z1OUit:Q1vz'hc#i yK IPmיce*XN F* LL]wPTst Ĩd{9@Қ٣S78Jz/+ťzkD|Ğg+W`Ƞ;AT3& >VvhJBNb(Sࣸ' ~X _7f EvW zKgkwsk0U݁?ȯÚTo|:JmW ?FlV$RZi9Slɘv@ 4._cnۣinX6ȰD S-^wMcV@ -XAƎHݤe8UĐQ!=TsFA2p}y Ok{&0~<̦ Ԇ.z+3E[ de-ln`V ib#כ{9NMNdWF;쏼M)*`Y*@C/i&Ywͼ&@zG"e<}#8Ou#e1 qSYK571' qs ? vyCdtGO[;*۱H$N=Ir)C6H[w D$!;qPgX3A]\2QteIްDD}%5Trk*/4ts WFFmDtaRs`7=XZ gP튎ⱟN, تOq#EHbW{ ieU]yzFtS&[QCEr"{g] j[j#-ņ*- !|^+].ug$n4,T)juzI_l{T kNf{ln?āY5:R*3dbB1,3ϧ9@h 2d[-Q1F>IoAܝR_O"I/zz9p/UBuJ:a#ZմF*Uv/^ױTA ! 5cv{[V 6}t۔`yx,w+PhC,מiVVG?H2f('i3QH5VD(QVμC۞΃P} 0Wi~Wc6nĸ"B9+ƞh8ָ}H릘yж˴ЊgymP{Qt"We[*(miR߁ZI˫L q$}.3q (31huau \g䮍jF|y%>c ΪY%uǮ7,,RF]C.,Tl4Ր5ųڬH8{ԧ@d4'u>(9f+j#J(rcU௬~5Ě9_$:@w;v ,K =,ޮ)/vG2 ?C͵+9ٙ[ {=2>ToH|2zq31sн {˒KyMS<2EֶY>bϏ @DFwQ,W-9:kRՄSFDX#P9,vȆg˜nMЬ^=WEHkϙL&-C̔FCa>O 5gQdiP.erM`SۋYRR;6 S;K~GWkv4 LoD;\=Jm$K LH!޶%SNCVj% h%(9gok&EՑŜ_"Cq>Q0*07BdiǛ];$Uo% X@>SjRr_'0_}{O$g:b_"_R<i-Te2,#cAA[iؖi w䜤Pw@JT|^94bm| w)=P s!gŭ 7]Pۥ{1 C94l54wbNdX[P+΁Zdj5vzH|cfDnn >"hȕ[bHqBm MK,kT;3K=;'4)G{RucZhEԽV2񙦳47w9-uضMCP򷸃lk8FUSzy\0u g9&#(jȾ0u>3wV$hh"EV:U&u3,-a7df.3?;".+TO]9(szH:с-r+x+w:O zV}VBMY/XΣp֑b;G죹oڸ>T<=Oi|ilj[R)(oԹٖWqfR<YMG{PJZ2.T2Ht-i5|0L&K1l̑4J14;5WvNʌ} D;ÒS5z67f;FN%/lu8L;]Vk?ͮXovRmh(nNe&v>ϨG_WfC#G88s`AT{1BcAN۽rbԎkL%)(tZQrQ OdJAc]y -R %ViP;c10_n4;/`.Ք"0tvd]gw,(<:C8w2d4NB}4:إS0X{7tIC:'@cN?/0E`}+PAF|x5vnP} o sHZe!U= ZޚPV} @@M*:#o /{X\u,^d<*a_Γ7"Rތ7d^g^^Ov r^!J@v٩7[lԎ$Ֆ(9|S8g#O}7)Ilm,Ǒ_tt;䙌֬|+%ڞ6ڹCR+ f٣N:nVE|:c`9W0gXC-O;%snCvuR&Mm$Hurhˬ(he{D_CWbu2em|5Hmb`|%O@Qs+*2TV/$%\*!-R:N&c߭Kel}swl:OM`8pɀm{Yz0mP5vEݳqZtedKZV֌|- /9˦ӣWӻw-jװ|"Ge1 xR}dϖpɋxDa`x" L"*KXy$B :.uˣ8&,54VAmh,W,Wkcu[ uFVp-«-wf#huV7"BgV!bRK&+dճ޶udN;^e-I\$߷!W܄['v҃lGuZnyilIEB 2n3VGW8.7gf"E~{jh7Š;2dKԎ`򃲼WUʲD`;5tf'*iXF_?643ޛU6Jƣmӵ؂>:šTޙ3E: CΎ:c8Iix̳؈}1f il˂6&Co h[Xf;ݒbSyA껽᪖Q U*dz&Kp ۝uv#]D̙*9eWyc;}8:"CcYQѻr=ìy,4\íϊ)9E]cJ(ʺݚg ~DF/}.@4Oػ`j>:Jl!̎/Fua\R͒Ԫ[{(5LUuꐨ~JZ&IT70xFZwznSM\e:SR$@f9B{rG oj$5dR#9>V/lFkr{c!Wxgv}©LN^W=%a.k,[TLcXPP8O6PD(JTȻT}eJlj"_;g5غeMg< K"Bch:?,O'(ē4bę c!!떐-a謈 b޵;:`~A{ZΣ1εv1"`NpUc+(}ж~Ǿ컴֪;>6Wl230\wd\`d;~4}*Y Q+tx+ptV/S)EdЏ󆵤HZHE(DԑG- ~ aBY]lxq`3Ą~xb5\ 01˗i, )KE::4B[Z=!{ 0ݕc/5v+DnZpR eݝzą'zH\v$"D|L+dZCwgO_Gi(B~3*q9bhcQpw"snr<֪R=SS &Lu#7E4^Q=+\/Cf*I }tRKX <~ Z#xhr qfBOn̲k+v̓㣽NS6_-OOPbŶMd/ao؈{JiHs~4̑th 1\CzHc2,!yyt,Ja>Ks3PO񀷣\gΚP#Y t0 0''ki]fG }JVJj{6-ÉM]ORPlɈcsϰJrc3d^Ֆ'5s򥚮n!םRQVs+#),DV$:[x"U ٙl[2 -Jz-9Vn '_7:rq.˺-œn2w579@$nEHmYS ~#cN.bL3%7lq~ql-V;A``ZZSuty1,@ i\]xR{j@*qF6!h*LϙuCsf>ž5:6|ǔ6FFM64hƏάLEWtGLuv-bljĀY 笻̨2^:a2 WOcFS[tK7Qh ,6,p_ky;k鳾M8 y1wK+YkdΐD{-n|%pt=elZiW9뜽 7 1* eacM!12W(smaWl(~0M6QgN)6&%*ףLMֹ[gxxyf(€27ZH9zA)|6/`eu V+8ӄWb`mb i]~7JZ"uR=@o~ƳN{NGDUie ktgIq/ rftK\/N JJ[t1d[w<.N*;O`d%[5Z&vg5K-@{ix!(Gk"BO?*ѓ38_MtSPqƔ%]ᯧ v.!ofݩHCn{3 % [cGrLXF^ &bO]$ufYKTɕ /anPء]/~YntU|NiLmPS9ζI\ w1p^W11'U8:(5ie/da{;o]JaN#_k XhKPCp?)3/ UBdK˃D>62]h"Qs$)hf9)1j(nګej?ho@\C[wpR7aQ /Ll56M۴%6.κB1t;4yv<:gs<ŸAvt'ͬufǤM<6U,YNLn(h0ZKz ۘh?a?yzo<9ROg#ɰxO?/raq&jb)/&fFaVcTzd+Fs,QTWJsQ;/n}Mqw_.Ί_~(?||(4y==?3[ <-Sxi8c?9< SC8Qz)nqMDN˲0el>>و~v(vHڇq~~tۀ>/yVjba4@ۛJz&̇1G}//xky\ًal[?<IxAq={Ǿ,`D5?k:!f= oے7(*ci>5_Cv{a}ԫ5H[ s,2= \Hs_p+RZ7 NG寞X1_+Ga˔߿`Fϔ|h3?9֞`lvhvۻZO&aGX v|X@Xs575`?n.Kq nd)KfGt#ԏaO@5x=#,t]A2axz7֔uq{w,oCYGXGbs}mhU`uȘLFکkv r,^t@yR^Qf8:ET-!O~KT_܇x}h>127N!STmly7]ss-h߻{=n9yd PL3/c xc!aOks_#ΦQM |ooc{ײWMz>Ͽz78Hy|rs?/=q7O{ѶŋozI02<Ȁfԗq Ϟ/%4mqݓ1Ey5+ B0P$EH蹍褾P^۶{o}i5`+
    Enjoying the preview?
    Page 1 of 1