Metamorphoses of authority and ‘government by standards’: contributions from the pragmatic sociology of bigness, conventions and engagements

Abstract

The article unravels the workings of a new transnational “government by standards”, whose authority extends beyond that of nation-states and into the most diverse fields, from agri-environment to urban development, education and politics. The empirical analysis is based in particular on a large-scale international survey devoted to the worldwide certification of “sustainable” palm oil. The theoretical framework adopted to address this contemporary metamorphosis of authority is the pragmatic sociology of shared conventions and personal commitments. The analysis distinguishes common conventional forms, more or less instituted, that clothe with authority human beings, and their environmental dependencies that enhance their value. This approach to authority is introduced and discussed through a commentary on a tale of multiple cultural origins, “The Emperor’s New Clothes”. It features the radical doubt about conventional forms (“the king is naked”) that lies at the heart of contemporary criticism Government by standards, the article shows, extends the liberal grammar of the commons, which relies on the format of autonomous individuals choosing from options known to all. This government claims to integrate a wide range of political and moral goods by certifying the options offered for choice. The result of our analysis is to expand the realm of critique by exposing the various oppressions that this government and its invested forms impose on personal commitments and the construction of the common.