Numeracy or Enumeration? The Uses of Numbers by States and Societies

Quantification is often taken to be a hallmark of modern society and science. This is perhaps nowhere more obvious than in social science disciplines, marked by often heated debates about whether quantitative methods illuminate or obscure social reality. Quantification itself depends upon numeracy, that is, the ability to count, keep records of these counts, and make rational calculations. Thus, numeracy, like its more frequently studied counterpart, literacy, is central to modern life, both inside and outside of academia.

Examining numeracy is a daunting task. With respect to literacy, numeracy is not only understudied, it is also more difficult to measure. Unlike literacy, for which signatures, though a poor measure, provide some baseline, there is no good measure of the level of numeracy (Thomas 1987: 104–5). Numeracy is much more a matter of degree than is literacy, because oral language always includes some basic quantitative comparisons and information (ibid.: 105; Menninger 1969: 7–8). As Patricia Cline Cohen (1982: 6–12) wisely pointed out, it is actually impossible—ironically enough—to measure numeracy quantitatively. In addition, insisting on a quantitative definition of numeracy creates insurmountable threshold problems in drawing the line between the numerate and the nonnumerate. Despite these definitional difficulties, the rise of numeracy can be considered to be a social process with two components. The first, its spread, is the way in which more people become numerate at any given level, and thus more people are able to perform any given numerical task. The second, its development, is the way in which individuals become numerate at higher levels and are thus able to engage in more complicated numerical calculations and representations.

The study of numeracy comprises a small but growing component of the social science literature. One important strand of this research points to the relation between government bureaucracies and the rise of numeracy (Appadurai 1996: 116–17; Desrosières 1998: 324–27; Espeland and Stevens 1998: 338; Goody 1986: 63–64; Hacking 1982: 279–82, 1990: 3; Porter 1995: 22–48; Szreter 1986: 522–24; Woolf 1984: 88–90, 167–69). Numeracy can be thought of as an outcome of the interaction between states and societies over time: as one side becomes more numerate, the other reciprocates. A higher level of knowledge by one party necessitates a higher level by the other. For example, tax assessments and population statistics required the existence of numerical categories and the ability to record quantities within them. Once the official information is available, individuals make use of it in everyday life, thus spurring the need for more thorough information gathering.

Sometimes, the growth of numeracy occurs in a "top-down" manner. ¹ It may spread as government officials collect information that forces individuals to categorize and to think quantitatively. Sometimes the collection of this information requires individuals to keep more detailed records and thus contributes to the development of their numeracy.

Below, however, I present a "view from below." In particular, I argue that states, instead of contributing to the development of individuals' numeracy, may simply respond to the rise of numeracy in the population and thus collect more detailed records in reaction to this spread and development of numeracy. A top-down explanation, though not incorrect, may be incomplete or overemphasize the power of states to extract information and shape thought. ² Furthermore, I do not contradict all of the "top-down" literature. To a large extent, either a top-down or a bottom-up perspective can be used to view the rise of numeracy as an interactive social process that is driven by the interplay of states and societies. The bottom-up view is also largely in agreement with those authors who argue that a low level of numeracy may be widespread even without state intervention (e.g., Porter 1995: 22–23). However, in contrast to a top-down view of the rise of numeracy, I highlight society...