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Testing prices in marketsHow to charter a tankerUniversity of Borås, Sweden, per.forsberg{at}hb.se
A B S T R A C T
Key Words: calculative process • judgmental process • technological devices • market price • neo-classical economics • ethnographic studies • interactive stories
Ethnography, Vol. 10, No. 3,
265-290 (2009) |
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This article is written to follow up on a discussion initiated by Callon and Muniesa (2005) who criticized the distinction between pure calculation (assumed in neoclassical economics) and pure judgment (assumed in ethnographic studies). They suggested a third perspective: calculations are performed by technological devices. Furthermore, they call this process ‘the qualification process’ and claim that it brings calculation and judgment together. However, in this third perspective, the meaning of judgment is reduced and has become synonymous with making distinctions. I argue that an understanding of real markets must consider two parallel processes: a ‘calculative process’ and a ‘judgmental process’. In the real market both a ‘calculative process’ and a ‘judgmental process’ involve a process where the buyer and seller ‘test’ different prices. When it comes to the judgmental process storytelling is an indispensable cultural tool. This is demonstrated using field material collected at a tanker chartering firm.